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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!

single copy cat cinnabon with frosting on a white plate with a tray of cinnamon buns in the background


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.

copy cat cinnabon baked and frosted

Items you’ll need for this recipe:

* Active Dry Yeast * Cinnamon * Vanilla Extract

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
single copy cat cinnabon with frosting on a white plate with a tray of cinnamon buns in the background
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Copy Cat CinnaBon Recipe

Copy Cat Cinna*Bon Recipe! Delicious Cinnamon Rolls at Home! 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! Your house will smell heavenly when you bake these!
Prep Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings 12 rolls
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Ingredients  

  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 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
  • cup butter softened

Frosting

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 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

The dough can be prepared in a bread machine. Combine dough ingredients in the order specified by your bread machine. Set on dough cycle. Let dough rest for 10 minutes once completed and continue with recipe as above.
4.93 from 606 votes

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1g | Calories: 495 | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 82mg | Iron: 0.8mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American

copy cat cinnabon recipe risen dough and ready for the oven

copy cat cinnabon baked and frosted

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

Copycat Cinnabon collage with close up of the pan of Cinnabons and a single bun

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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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Comments

  1. I have two questions
    1. What should be the size of package of yeast? My package shows 11g on it. Is it good enough?
    2. Is there any alternative for cream cheese?

    1. The yeast should be 2 ¼ teaspoons (7g), you can measure it with a teaspoon if you’re not sure. Cream cheese is used in the frosting, you can skip the frosting all together or make a glaze or buttercream frosting if you’d like.

  2. I’ve made this recipe ….and the temperature of 400F is to high( they brown way to quick). And end up with burn taste!! So I reviewed other cinnamon roll recipes and 350 was a majority in directions!

  3. I don’t know why people are asking how long they will last, because I can’t keep them in the house. They freeze well, I also freeze them right after I slice them , freeze them on a cookie sheet and then when frozen place them in a freezer bag, Just set them to thaw and rise then bake.
    Thank you for a great recipe.5 stars

    1. Hi Sharon!! My coworker asked me to make some for her family but wanted to know if she could freeze them so she can bake them fresh on fathers day. I’ve never have before, but see you’ve had success with it. Can you tell me how long it takes for them to thaw out on the counter and does the rising process suffer?

    1. Hi Sandie, you can use all-purpose flour in a pinch. They won’t be as light and chewy but they will still be delicious… especially with the yummy cream cheese frosting!

  4. This is the second time I am making these.. Never have to purchase the real thing because these are perfect. This time I will add some caramel to a couple and see how that works. Thank you for the awesome recipe5 stars

  5. Hello, I need some advice please. I’m French and I don’t understand what you mean by: “Add as much flour as you can”. Is it really 4 cups of flour that you have to incorporate? Thank you in advance for your reply

    1. Hi Geraldine, when the dough becomes difficult to mix in the mixer I stop adding flour in the mixer and transfer it to a floured surface and manually knead in the rest. You will use a full 4 cups by the end. I hope this helps!

    2. adding as much flour as need: you start with the 3/4 of the flour then add all the other ingredients and when it mixed together by the bread machine or mixer you can add much flour little by little to get the right amount. the dough has to be not too soft not too dry, easily being worked by the machine. maybe some flour will be left out bc every flour has a different capacity to absorb the liquids. its only a few tbsp or maybe not at all. depends of the size of the eggs and your measurements accuracy.5 stars

  6. Jist made 2 batches, neither worked, hard as a rock. can you tell me what I did wrong. it says put active dry yeast in with flour. Should this not be instant dry yeast. When was I to proof the active dry yeast. Anyhow, lot of time spent and product wasted. can someone help. thanks a bunch. was so looking forward to yummy cinnamon rolls. I must have done something wrong twice, unfortunately

    1. Oh no! How disappointing, we haven’t had that problem so I can’t say for sure what happened. The recipe is correct as written and uses active dry yeast. Did you test your yeast before using it (and check the date)? Did you use regular all purpose flour?

    1. If they are frosted with cream cheese frosting they should be stored in the refrigerator. We find they last about a week in the fridge. Enjoy Jayna!

      1. These are absolutely delicious! This is the third batch I made in the last week. Thank you so much for sharing! ❤️5 stars

    1. I haven’t tried freezing them (although I do think it would work). Let us know how it goes if you try it!

    2. I did the recipe, cut and then froze right away. Just take them out on the AM, placed in the pan with parchment, and let rest at room temp to let them defrost. They will rise! Once they rise, pop
      them in the oven! They come out perfectly. I get 3 in a loaf pan5 stars

  7. Best thang eveeer!!!!
    Sooo easy!
    Sooo good!

    I’m the mom that makes the best cinnamon rolls because of you! Thank you

    Xo5 stars

  8. I’ve never left a review for a recipe I found on Pinterest before. I made these tonight and they are so darn good I had to say something. If you are thinking these will be too much work, or you don’t have time, or you aren’t sure about making cinnamon rolls. Do it. Use this recipe. Your stomach (and husband) will be glad you did!5 stars

    1. I haven’t tried freezing them (although I do think it would work). Let us know how it goes if you try it!

      1. I have made this recipe a few times and sometimes they don’t rise. Do you have any idea what I could be doing wrong ?

      2. Did you test that your yeast is live? Add a little bit of yeast to a bowl with some warm water and sugar. Let it sit about 10 minutes and the top should be very foamy. If it isn’t foamy, the yeast will need to be replaced.

    1. We usually keep them up to 2 days on the counter. IF it’s going to be longer than that, you might like to freeze them to keep them fresh.

  9. I love Cinnabon but this recipe is too sweet. It overpowers the cinnamon. Might try again but with 1/4 sugar in dough. Also combining the butter sugar and cinnamon made it difficult and time consuming to cover the dough evenly. Will do that separately as in past.3 stars

  10. I made these using AP flour and quick rise yeast. Next time, I would roll and fill right away, sitting made the dough hard to work with as my yeast was already working. Didn’t knead by hand, used my dough hook on my stand mixer. Will definitely make again!5 stars