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
Just a note — I stumbled across this recipe back in Nov 2013, and have been making them ever since. When people ask, I point them to your website.
I’ve never had a bit of trouble and follow the recipe (though somedays I don’t need as much flour — dependent upon weather & humidity). I do bake at 375*F since our oven runs hot.
I often make the night before, and allow to rise (loosely covered) in a cold oven. People remark about the size of the rolls that they proof to!
Beautiful, easy recipe — THANKS for sharing!
Amazing recipe. Only one small tweaking needed IMO. The flour is a bit confusing since it reads 2 cups flour and then never states “remaining flour or rest of the flour etc”. Just says “stir in as much of the flour as you can”. We slowly added the flour and it was a total 4 1/4 cup and worked out great. Just got a bit confused. Thank you so much!
Note- for fun swap the vanilla out for almond flavoring. To die for!
Hello and happy new year. Can you please tell us hiw many grams is a cup you use for the recipe? Thanks
Hi PS, the cup size we use is about 250ml but we don’t use a weight measure for this recipe. Hope you enjoy them!
These copy cat cinnabon cinnamon rolls are heavenly. Bet you can’t eat just one! :-)
Nothing is happening with my rolls – they are not rising. Your Ingredient list says “active dry yeast”… which is exactly what I have, a brand new jar… and to add it to the dry flour and that it doesn’t need to be proofed/activated.
“ The Difference Between Active Dry Yeast & Instant Yeast
The difference between these types of dry yeast is simple: active dry yeast has a larger granule and needs to be dissolved in water before using, while instant yeast has a more fine texture and can be mixed right into dry ingredients.”
I’m sorry these aren’t rising for you, I’ve only made the recipe exactly as written and mine have risen made as directed. Did you use a thermometer to ensure your milk mixture reached 120-130°? The milk mixture is a bit warmer than a typical 110° used when proofing as it is added directly to the flour in the recipe.
I would suggest covering it with a warm damp towel and although it may take longer, hopefully they rise for you.
Just made 3 batches of this recipe and I threw it all in the bin. This recipe is missing the step to activate yeast so the buns didn’t rise. What a waste of time and money in ingredients. Very disappointed.
How disappointing, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I can’t say for sure why as the written recipe is exactly as I make it (and as you can see from most reviews, it seems to work just fine for most readers).
Me too!!
Hi How much is 1 packet of dry yeast?
2 ¼ teaspoons
Can this recipe be prepared, shaped, and stored in the refrigerator overnight to bake in the morning?
Yes that should work just fine. 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.
Hi, Holly. In step 4, can I let the dough stay overnight and continue the following step in the next morning ?
That should be fine Cathy. I hope you enjoyed them!
Can you please clarify how much flour because you said 4-4 1/4 cup but the instructions says 2 cups combined with yeast
2 cups is added at the beginning of step 1. The remaining 2 to 2½ cups is stirred in towards the end of step 1.
AMAZING!!!! Easy, doesn’t take a long time to make and tastes like the REAL THING!!! Made the recipe 3 times in one week. My daughter couldn’t get enough of them (neither could we) Since the real cinnabons are not really available in the Netherlands and we only got to taste them whenever my husband brought them from the States, this recipe was what I was looking for.
That is so awesome Tania! Now you can enjoy Cinnabon at any time.
Temperature way to hot. Buns are too brown and middle is all dough. I will not use again
So sorry to hear that Deb. We have made this recipe many times with great success.
I’ve made these several times this year with no problems. I get several requests to make these again and again. Thank you!!!
So happy to hear that Sheila!
I bake at 350* for 22 minutes and they come out PERFECTLY!!!
I am using my honey roll recipe with Sams Club flour. They raise better on a sheet cake pan. Dough setting of bread machine, roll out, rise again
1 c warm milk, 2 T honey, 1 egg, 3 1/2 c flour, 1/4 c oil, 1/2 t salt, 1 pkg yeast
Sounds great, thank you for sharing your recipe and bread machine tips!
No first proofing?
Hi Bev, we make this recipe as listed and have great results. We let it rise for 15 minutes after first kneading it, and until doubled in size once we make it into cinnamon rolls. Hope that helps!
there’s no proofing 1st before rolling out
We let it rise for 15 mins after first kneading, then let the cinnamon rolls double in size before baking. Hope that helps!
I’m trying to follow you. Not sure why I can’t. Can you add me…
Hi Deborah! Click here to follow us on Pinterest and select follow just to the right Spend With Pennies.
Has anyone thought of adding some raisins to these cinnamon rolls?
That sounds like a delicious idea James!
Made these for my family and they insist that it won’t be a one time deal.
So happy to hear that Teresa! Enjoy!
Whoever is saying these cinnamon buns did not rise….. I Have one thing to say…
These cinnamon buns rose so fast. And rose to triple the height. I did modify the recipe slightly: i “fed” the yeast in part of the water and part of the sugar before I combined,I also added only 2 tbsp of cinnamon, and I had to add about 1.25 cups of flour to make the dough less sticky.
I went to go get a picture and when I turned around, no joke, the family had eaten every SINGLE LAST ONE. They had only nice things to say.
Thank you so much for your kind words and helpful tips Evelyn! I am thrilled that your family enjoyed the cinnamon rolls!
Wow, best cinnamon rolls ever, even better than my grandmas recipe! I used half&half instead of milk because that is what I had on hand and they turned out nice.
That sounds like a great substitution! Glad you liked them.
I’ve tried this recipe three times. It is delicious, but the insides are always chewy rather than doughy, and the buns do not rise at all when they are sitting inn the baking pan. Recipe expects they will double in size in 45 minutes per step 4, mine do not rise measurable after an hour. I use bread flour and follow the directions to a T. I have used the bread maker and have kneaded by hand. Yeast was fresh, bought today. Should I double the yeast? Is it Canadian vs US flour?
It’s hard to say what went wrong. The flour should be the same regardless of country and with fresh yeast they definitely should be rising. Hand or bread machine kneading shouldn’t matter either. Are you using active dry yeast? What temperature are they set to rise at (I cover mine with a tea towel and let rise near a heating stove)? If it’s drafty or cool, that could contribute.
I wouldn’t suggest doubling the yeast but you could try blooming it first and see if that helps. Add a bit of sugar and warm the milk to 105-110°F. Add the yeast and allow it to sit 5 minutes. Proceed with the recipe as written. I hope that helps!
I let it sit, covered on the stove that is warming to 400 degrees.
Do I bloom the yeast in the milk/butter mixture or another amount of milk?
In step one, you combine 2 cups of the flour with the yeast in a large mixing bowl, then combine and heat the milk, butter, sugar and salt. This milk mixture to flour mixture (which has the yeast) along with eggs. Hope that helps Gaylen!
Hi!!! I hace made tour recipe many times. Its delicious. Today I did 1 and 1/2 recipe but after 15 minutes they Werent golden. I let them 4 minutes more and they taste great but the outside os a little dry. How do I calculate how many more minutes I should bake them in this case (one and half recipe or if I doble it). Thank you
Oh no Cristina, I’m sorry the 1.5x batch didn’t work out for you. I haven’t tried increasing this recipe however it sounds like maybe a little bit of a lower temperature for a little bit longer might be ideal. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
Make sure that you aren’t using a black metal pan. It tends to heat things faster resulting in a Center that’s not completely done. Also, when you roll the dough, try not to make it too ‘tight’. The middle will get heat easier and will thank you for it later. Oh, if all you have is a black pan, try adjusting the temperature down a tad. Depending on your oven, altitude, you might have to experiment. Please feel free to invite me to your experiments!