I can’t think of many things that make your house smell as amazing as homemade cinnamon rolls. This Copy Cat CinnaBon Recipe is no exception! The house will smell heavenly when you bake these!
These are just beautiful rolls that melt in your mouth and warm you from the inside out!
While homemade rolls take a little time, they are worth every single second. Don’t skimp out on the frosting because… it is amazing! Seriously… it’s the best!
These taste exactly like the cinnamon rolls I love to get at the mall! I’ve made them so many times and they turn out soft and perfectly every time!
Mmmm…. perfect for breakfast or dessert… or snack. Ok, makes a good brunch too, and I’m not saying I’ve never eaten them for dinner… but I’m not saying I have either.
Items you’ll need for this recipe:
* Active Dry Yeast * Cinnamon * Vanilla Extract *
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup butter room temperature
- 4 to 4 ¼ cups bread flour (plus extra for rolling)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 0.25 ounce active dry yeast 1 packet, about 2 ¼ teaspoons
Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- ⅓ cup butter softened
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt over medium heat until temperature reaches 120 to 130°F (butter will be almost melted). Add milk mixture to flour mixture along with eggs and mix with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Stir in as much of the flour as you can. (see note below for bread machine)
- Place dough a floured surface and knead in as much of the remaining flour as possible. Continue to knead the dough until it is very smooth and elastic (this will take about 5-10 minutes). Cover dough with oil or cooking spray and plastic wrap. Let rest covered for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
- Roll the dough into a 18x21-inch rectangle. Spread ⅓ cup butter on the dough and top with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Starting with the long side, roll up dough so you have an 21" log. Cut into 12 even rolls. Grease a 9x13 pan and place the rolls in the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel or kitchen towel and let rise until nearly doubled, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F.
- Bake rolls on the center rack about 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
- While the rolls are baking, combine cream cheese, ¼ cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt with a mixer until fluffy.
- Allow rolls to cool for about 10-15 minutes and spread frosting on warms rolls.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Here are some more recipes you’ll love
* Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls * Apple Pie Roll Ups * Apple Pie Tacos *
This recipe was slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
This is a no fail recipe! Totally tastes like cinnabon and I love it so much! Thank you!
Absolutely brilliant. Everyone loved it.
Hi, I am making these and it’s been 2 hours and my rolls have not doubled in size? Is that normal
Hi Samantha, this step usually takes about 45 mins for us. It can take longer depending on how warm the area you are letting them rise in is, if there is a draft, and even things like where you live (based on moisture and elevation). You could try popping them in the oven with the stove light on to give them a consistent temperature place to rise, or if you have a “proof” setting on your stove, you can also try that.
you can proof in microwave heat 1 cup of water for 2 minutes, put in corner of microwave and then place bowl etc. into microwave and allow to rise. your yeast may be out of date also if it’s not rising. or if you mixed salt into the yeast instead of the milk mixture.
So good. I made these on a whim and after i had my heart set on making them i realized i didn’t have any butter. I know what your thinking..it’s not going happen. Well luckily i had coconut oil on hand. So i substituted coconut oil for butter and they came out amazing. Didn’t even know they were missing butter. My husband couldn’t tell the difference and we were both very happy. Thank you
I love Cinnabon and this recipe is SPOT ON! I agree with the other comments. I love them so much that I am making them today to eat for Mothers Day!
My question: can you make these & then refrigerate them overnight raw and bake then the next day? Im letting them rise now but would I need to let them rise again tomorrow after pulling them out or can I put them in the oven straight from the fridge?
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!!!
Hi Jen, They will rise a bit in the fridge but may need to rise more in the morning. Check them and if they do need to rise more, you can leave them on the counter for an hour or so to rise. Otherwise, pop them straight into the oven to bake!
Awesome recipe!! It was my first time baking anything with yeast and I was STRESSED lol. I ended up using instant yeast and AP flour, as that’s what I had on hand. Everything else, I did as instructed. Had to wait about 2.5 hours for the rolls to double in size before baking, but it was so worth the wait! The rolls turned out beautifully. Everyone in the family loved them! Can’t wait to try again with better technique and correct ingredients, now that I’m sure of the recipe.
Lemme tell ya!! I worked at Cinnabon as a supervisor for four years and these are SPOT on! I had the rolling technique down along with the frosting but this dough recipe is perfect! Made it twice this last week AND have sent it to all my friends and family members!
I made them this week , and they tasted lovely but alittle dry i did get abit confused. On the ingredients list it says 4 -4 1/4 cups of flour but in the instructions it says combine 2 cups of flour . so what happens to the other 2 1/4 cups of flour have i missed something . Also did you use unsalted butter?
Hi Reena, we use unsalted butter in this recipe. And In step 1, we start by combining 2 cups of flour with the yeast then the milk mixture. From there you mix in as much flour as you can (4 to 4 ¼ cups). Hope that helps!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I have made more than 6 batches and they were perfect every time! Exactly like Cinnabons which are my fav! I have had so many friends requesting recipe after I baked these for them! Cheers!
This recipe was not clear at all. It doesn’t mention what to do with the yeast. Please fix your recipe.
Step 1 says
Combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar and salt over medium heat until temperature reaches 120 to 130 degrees (butter will be almost melted).
Hope that helps.
I’ve made these so many times… I let them rise for about 2 hours after I cut them and place them in the baking pan… I also let the dough ball rise for about an hour before I roll it out but I’m in Houston tx so we have high humidity which affects the rising time…. they come out perfectly every time… delicious!
I’d never made cinnamon rolls before, and these came out incredible. I’m so excited to have them again. I’m going on vacation next week and wondered if there was a point in the recipe that I could freeze them to take with and just be able to thaw/rise/bake once we’re there. I’m all about the prep ahead for vacation, but still want all the yummy things. .
So glad to hear you loved these! A family favorite for sure! I haven’t tried freezing them (although I do think it would work). If you refrigerate, they will rise a bit in the fridge but may need to rise more in the morning. Check them and if they do need to rise more, you can leave them on the counter for an hour or so to rise. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Where do you put the other 2 cups of flour? In the list of ingredients are listed 4 and in the instructions just 2…
Step 1.
Combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, sugar and salt over medium heat until temperature reaches 120 to 130 degrees (butter will be almost melted). Add milk mixture to flour mixture along with eggs and mix with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds. Stir in as much of the flour as you can. (see note below for bread machine)
Made these today and they were amazing! I used the braed proof setting on my oven and it took about 75 minutes for them to double in size, then baked for abut 22 minutes and they were perfect! Thanks for the recipe!
Absolutely fantastic Thankyou so much I’ve made 3 batches so far and they are spot on exactly like Cinnabon’s which is our favourite ever
These were so good!
Really hit the spot!
The frosting wasn’t as smooth as Cinnabon’s normally is but still super tasty!
Has anyone tried making these with gluten free flour? Would love to know if they will work and if anything needs to be adjusted for them
Sorry Ellie, we have not tried this recipe using gluten-free flour but maybe another reader has.
When checking the temp for the milk mixture is it in F or C?
Thanks!
Hi Jess, the temperature is in Fahrenheit.
Love this recipe,
But I was wondering if I can make the dough the night before, and then bake it in the morning?
Hi Sydney, we haven’t tried premaking these rolls but other readers have with success! They let them rise then stuck them in the fridge to bake in the morning. Hope you enjoy them!
Do I add water to the yeast first to activate it? My dough has little balls of yeast in it. When does the yeast activate?
Water does not need to be added. The yeast is simply added to the flour.
It turned out better than I could have imagined. Exactly like they sell in the shops in the mall. My kids ate the whole batch in 10 mins.
I have tried this recipe twice both times they didn’t rise after over an hour and came out small and dense. Followed the recipe to a t.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that Carolyn. I am not sure what happened.
Perfect.
Hi, I’ve made these about 10 times and I can never get them just right. The dough never rolls out. It always springs back a lot and has a bunch of air bubbles. They shrink when they cool as well. Also why only one rise? Not 2?
P.s the taste is excellent! Everyone loves them. I just wish they would come out light and fluffy.
Hi Catherine, are you using bread flour or all-purpose flour in this recipe? Also, you can check to make sure you are using the correct amount of flour by following this how to measure flour guide!