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
I just made a double batch of these cinnamon rolls tonight. They turned out excellent! I’ve made SO many different cinnamon roll recipes and this I would say is the best. The dough was extremely easy to work with. That made the the rolling out task and rolling up task so pleasant! To one pan I added small apple chunks along with the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Oh my…that was an excellent addition. I would definitely add those again. I didn’t measure the filling ingredients. I just smeared soft butter then sprinkled a lot of brown sugar & cinnamon. I think I was a little heavy handed but it turned out well! Thanks for the recipe! I will definitely make again!
I’m so glad you loved them Heidi! I haven’t tried apple in this recipe but I think that would be SO amazing!! Thank you for sharing!
Awesome. Would recommend this recipe. I used AP flour in error and they wee fantastic.
I’m so glad you loved them!
Can I put the cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator until I am ready to eat them hot?
Are you looking to refrigerate them before cooking?
Followed recipe exactly as instructed and made the best cinnamon rolls ever~ thank you for sharing!!!
So glad that you enjoyed them! :)
Hi Holly,
Made these beautiful cinnamon rolls, and the recipe worked perfectly for me (it was my first time, btw!). It was soft and melt in the mouth. Glad was able to see your recipe in Pinterest! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Cheers,
Alodia
I’m so glad you enjoyed these Alodia! :)
When I first read this recipe, I thought it was strange that the yeast just went in with everything else without first activating, but I did it anyway. Cinnamon rolls did not rise. :( it’s Christmas morning and I used all organic ingredients. It doesn’t look like anyone who commented has actually made these- FAIR WARNING. these are not edible.
How disappointing that these didn’t rise for you Emily. There are several comments from readers who have had great success with this recipe as written.
I can’t say for sure why yours didn’t rise however hopefully if you leave them on the counter a little bit longer they will rise. I know that doesn’t help this morning.
So just a tip for those of you asking about the rising in 45 minutes. I’ve made these three times, each time mine also do not rise at all in the 45 minute time frame. Don’t stress. Heat your oven to 200, turn it off and place your tray in there (covered) to sit for the 45 minutes. They will rise and be beautifully fluffy! You can refrigerate overnight after that or turn your oven back on to baking temp and start baking them then. They are such good cinnamon rolls! They have become my Christmas tradition! Happy baking.
Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas Christine!
Can these be made the day before-refrigerated overnight and then baked
Yes they can. You will want to cover/refrigerate them before rising in step 4. Check them in the morning before baking and if they still need to rise a little bit more, you can leave them covered on the counter.
Just made a test batch of these to see if I wanted to make for Christmas. They turned out fantastic and are a big hit. Taste just like the real thing. Thanks!
I’m so glad you love them, they’re one of my favorites too (I could eat that frosting with a spoon)! :)
The recipe says to mix the milk with the flour. Did you mean mix with the melted butter mix? Could explain why some people didn’t get this recipe to rise.
Thank you for your suggestion Andrea, the warmed milk mixture (including the butter) is added to the flour.
Yummm!!
Hi, I found your recipe on Pinterest, and omg!! I must try this out. But I notice you said we can use a bread machine, but I was wondering if I can use a stand mixer. My kitchen aid has the bread hook, would that work also?
Yes, you can certainly mix the dough with your stand mixer.
Hi!
I made these the other day for my husband and co-workers and everyone LOVED THEM!! they said they were the best they ever had! It was my first time making cinnamon buns and they turned out great! Thank you for all the amazing recipes! I’ve made 4 of your recipes now and everyone of them was delicious!
I’m so glad everyone loved them Catherine!
They look simply delicious and can’t wait to try them.i love new receples. Always looking for new ones.
Thank you Barb!
After I let the dough rise for one hour and then form the cinnamon rolls, could I put these in the refrigerator overnight to let rise for a second time? I want to make them for breakfast, but I don’t want to spend the entire morning making them and not be able to eat them until noon. I want them rise for a second time overnight so they will double in size again and result in jumbo sized cinnamon rolls and because it won’t cause my back to hurt near as bad as if I did it all in one morning.
Thanks
Yes, I have done it this way before. You may need to leave them out on the counter for a little while in the morning if they haven’t risen quite enough.
I have been using this recipe for about 9 months now, love this and do in my kitchenaid mixer….they are amazing
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
How much is 1 package of active yeast ?
1 package of Active Yeast contains about 2 ¼ teaspoons of yeast.
Whats the size of the yeast package? Mine has 0,7oz (20g).
Each yeast package has about 2 ¼ tsp of yeast.
This recipe looks so wonderful. I was inspired to try it, but the rolls did not rise. My powdered yeast was fresh (not expired) and I used a digital thermometer to make sure my milk, butter, sugar and salt mixture was within the temperature range you had given. The other ingredients were appropriately measured and I covered the rolls with saran wrap and a tea towel and placed in a warm section of my kitchen. Can you tell me what type of yeast you are using? Some of your other readers suggest a longer rise time than the 45 minutes. How long should I let it rise before I can determine it is not going to work at all? Shouldn’t there be some rise within the first hour? I cannot pinpoint what can be the problem since I did everything in accordance to the recipe. Any help would be appreciated.
I’m so sorry this didn’t work out for you, that’s so disappointing especially because these rolls are a lot of work. Was your yeast active dry yeast? I use Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast (although any brand of active yeast that hasn’t expired which you checked) should work just fine).
It sounds to me like you’ve done everything right. There should definitely be some rising in the first hour and if there was no rise at all that makes me wonder if there was another issue. You can also check your thermometer here as the temperature could’ve been an issue as well.
I’m sorry these didn’t work for you, I’ve made them several times and they truly are delicious. I hope you try them again sometime with great results.
I am at 1.5 hours now and they still aren’t quite as high as they should be. It looks like 2 hours will be the right time. At 45 minutes nothing looked as if it had changed. Good luck!!
What is the difference between bread flour and a regular, white flour? I would love to make this in the morning .
Bread flour has more protein/gluten so it results in a higher rise and a slightly chewier texture.