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
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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
Hi there! Thanks for the recipe. I ran into a problem with my end product- there was a lot of sugar that we were just crunching on because it did not dissolve or caramelise. The buns cooked for the full time. Should I use less sugar or use castor sugar maybe?
Was your brown sugar soft prior to mixing it? Did you use the full amount of butter?
Can these be made up the night before and refrigerated and then baked in the morning??
Yes! They will rise in the fridge overnight… if they haven’t risen enough, you may need to leave them covered in a warm area to rise a little bit more.
I love cinnamon rolls
I will try your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Baking for 15 min leaves the insides gooey and undone. I recommend baking for longer. Unfortunately I frosted mine before I found out they were not done…yay me.
Very good receipe .. followed receipe to the”t”… this is a keeper .. thanks
Did you dissolve the yeast in water first? I did because I’ve never used it before but after reading the comments realize you are supposed to put the dry yeast into the flour. Mine dissent expand at all & was a little hard. I will be trying to make these again…the right way
No, the yeast was not dissolved in water first.
LOVE this recipe!! I have tried about 10 different cinnamon roll recipes and this is the only one that turns out for me. however i do encounter a problem each time: my dough takes 3-4 hours to double in size once the rolls are in the pan. Why is that? Whenever I make dinner rolls or bread it never takes near that long so how come with cinnamon rolls?
There are a few factors that could affect your rising time. It could be related to the temperature (for example is there a draft), humidity or even the freshness of your yeast.
So these are currently cooling on my stove top and they are DELICIOUS! I’ve always wanted to make homemade cinnamon rolls but never had the guts. These were easy enough, and truly come out tasting like a Cinnabon! I didn’t have a rolling pin so I used a bottle of wine lol my rolls could have been a bit smaller and more tightly rolled but hey it was my first time! I will be making these again!
So glad you loved them… and a wine bottle is the perfect improvisation for a rolling pin!
Hey I’m kind of in a high elevation area and every time I try baking things like bread they don’t turn out as fluffy as I’d like. I’ve researched it a bit and I’ve heard it helps if you let it rise, punch it down and let it rise again…any tips on this recipe? Also, do you recommend starting it the night before if you want them around lunch time?
I haven’t had any problems with this recipe rising. I have made them the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator overnight. If you do try that method, I would suggest checking them first thing in the morning and if they haven’t risen enough you might want to set them out to continue rising.
I already try to make it,,,and fantastic coming out its really good,,,
Can I use a yeast substitute and not yeast? If so, which one?
I have only made the recipe as written so I’m not sure. Maybe someone here can help you!
You need a dash of lemon extract in the frosting.
This is correct.
I needs 2 teaspoon of lemon juice to taste just like cinnabon
woww these were amazing!!! I handed the recipe and gave me six big cinnoman rolls these taste just like Cinnabon !!!!
So glad you loved them as much as we do!!
I was wondering if I make it in my bread machine do I still have to let it sit for 45 minutes after
Once the dough is made into rolls, the rolls will need to rise.
In the start of the recipe it says mix 2cups of flour with yeast, when do you add the other two cups. Says you will need 4 cups total?
In step 1 you add 2 cups of flour, at the end of step one “Stir in as much of the flour as you can.”
I am about to try this recipe for the hubs! Cinnamon rolls are one of his favorites and I am excited to potentially have a great go-to recipe. Thank you!!
hi I was you wrote 1package dry active yeast, could you tell me the measurement because I’m not sure how much 1 package is?
1 package of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoons.
Made theses this morning…..SO GOOD!
Hello!
Bit of a silly question >.<
I used a 9×13 ceramic dish to bake the rolls in, at 400F this resulted in the tops browning a lot more, outside rolls done, but inside ones were not.
Would you suggest a different temp? (Convection oven) or a metal pan?
It also seamed that the rolls grew a bit to much and did not have that pretty flat surface. Too much yeast?
Ovens can sometimes vary which may cause your rolls to cook differently. In this case I would suggest cooking them at a slightly lower temperature if the outside rolls are cooking quickly and the inside rolls are not cooked. (I did use a metal pan for this recipe). Did you use active dry yeast?
Okay!
And yes active dry yeast.
First time baking with yeast. So this may seem like a dumb question but do I just add the yeast (dry) to the flour or dissolved in water?
Great question. In this particular recipe you add the dry yeast to the flour.
My rolls didn’t double in size at all even though I let them sit for more than an hour. I reread your recipe and realized that maybe the milk needs to be at room temperature also. I’ve only made cinnamon rolls one other time and I don’t remember what recipe I used.
The milk gets heated on the stove to 120-130 degrees.