Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

These Homemade Cinnamon Rolls taste like they came from a bakery! They're soft and fluffy, and topped with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. A make-ahead dough breaks up the work.

By
Cindy Rahe
Cindy Rahe
Cindy Rahe
Cindy has over 10 years experience as a recipe blogger and was a contributor at BettyCrocker.com. Cindy began contributing to Simply Recipes in 2017.
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Updated January 30, 2022
Cindy Rahe
Bakery Style Cinnamon Roll
Cindy Rahe

My mom lives in a small mining town nestled among the mountains of rural Nevada, and in that town is a gem of a deli-cafe run by a Mennonite family. This family makes the most enormous, fluffy cinnamon rolls slathered in sticky cream cheese frosting that I have ever seen.

Those cinnamon rolls were exactly what I channeled while working on this recipe. I wanted to deliver a recipe for big, puffy, bakery-style cinnamon rolls that anyone can make at home.

Video: How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Pillowy Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls

In my vision for these perfect cinnamon rolls, I wanted a dough that would bake up into pillowy spirals, each roll squishing up to its neighbor, leaving a feathery stretch of bread when pulled apart.

This dough is rich, but it's not actually all that sweet. This makes it the perfect canvas for the buttery brown sugar and cinnamon filling.

Spread the cream cheese frosting over the rolls while they're still warm. This way some of the frosting melts into the cinnamony-spirals.

Bakery Style Cinnamon Roll
Cindy Rahe

A Slow Rise for the Best Cinnamon Rolls

The dough I ultimately created is best made over two days.

  • Day 1: I mix the dough the night before baking and let it slowly rise in the refrigerator overnight.
  • Day 2: The next morning, I roll, fill, and bake the rolls.

Not only does this break up the work, but I think the flavor from a slow-risen dough tastes better. It’s also much easier to work with cold dough when you're rolling and shaping the rolls.

You can get a lot more spirals in your cinnamon rolls with cold dough!

Bakery Style Cinnamon Roll
Cindy Rahe

Butter Makes Cinnamon Rolls Better!

Also, if you've never tried adding butter to your cinnamon roll dough before, just wait until you try this recipe. It's very similar to a brioche dough, and it makes rolls that are rich, fluffy, and incredibly tender.

This recipe works best if the butter for the dough is very soft. Take the butter out of the fridge a few hours before you want to make the dough to give it time to soften, or even the night before.

If you forget, or don't have time to let the butter soften, slice it into tablespoons and knead each piece between your fingers before adding it to the dough.

Storing and Freezing Cinnamon Rolls

I think these rolls are best the day they are made, when they are still slightly warm and the frosting nice thick and sweet. They’ll start to dry out the longer they keep, but you can still enjoy them.

  • To reheat: I like to reheat them quickly in the microwave for about 20 seconds, just until the icing begins to melt.
  • To freeze unbaked rolls: Make them through the rolling and cutting step and place them in the pan but don’t do the second rise. Cover them, and freeze. When you want to bake them, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Let the rolls rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size. Bake as directed in the recipe.
  • To freeze baked rolls: It's best to freeze unfrosted cinnamon rolls, as the frosting gets sticky when thawed. (Though if you don't mind that, go ahead and freeze your leftover frosted cinnamon rolls!) Freeze the rolls individually and thaw them in the microwave in 30 second intervals until warmed through.

More Ooey Gooey Sweet Things to Love!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls topped with cream cheese frosting
Cindy Rahe

Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Rising 9 hrs
Total Time 9 hrs 50 mins
Servings 8 rolls

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 1 cup whole milk

  • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 4 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 6 tablespoons room temperature unsalted butter, very soft

For the filling:

  • 1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or slightly less table salt)

For the frosting:

  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

  • 1 to 4 tablespoons milk, whole or 2%

  • 2 cups powdered sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • Pinch kosher salt

Special Equipment

  • Stand mixer

Method

  1. Make the dough:

    Warm the milk for 15 to 30 seconds in the microwave, until it's slightly warm to the touch but not steaming. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let the mixture stand until foamy, about five minutes.

    Add the eggs, flour, and salt to the bowl and mix on medium speed until a sticky dough is formed. Beat in the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until the butter is incorporated before adding the next batch. The butter needs to be very soft for this to work; if the butter isn't incorporating, knead each piece in your fingers until soft before adding it to the dough.

    Once all the butter is incorporated, knead the dough for 10 minutes on medium speed (or knead by hand).

    Dough for the best cinnamon rolls in a glass bowl.
    Cindy Rahe
  2. Rise overnight:

    Shape the dough into a ball, place in a large, lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight, at least 8 hours. It will slowly double in size.

    Dough for homemade cinnamon rolls in a glass bowl to show how to make cinnamon rolls.
    Cindy Rahe
  3. Cut and shape the rolls:

    In the morning, remove the dough from the refrigerator. The dough will be quite stiff and firm, but should roll easily. Dust your work surface and a rolling pin lightly with flour, and roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 12x16 inches in size.

    Spread the dough with butter, leaving a 1-inch border on one of the shorter edges. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Sprinkle the mixture over the butter in an even layer.

    Starting from the short edge (the one with butter all the way to the edge), roll the dough into a tight spiral. Pinch the spiral closed (the unbuttered edge should stick to the log of dough). Trim the ends if they are shaggy.

    Cut the roll in half crosswise to make 2 pieces. Cut each piece in half again to make 4, and each piece again to make a total of 8 rolls. Place the rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.

    Dough for easy cinnamon rolls rolled out on a marble board with a rolling pin behind it.
    Cindy Rahe
    Dough for the best cinnamon rolls rolled out and topped with cinnamon and sugar mixture. A rolling pin is behind the dough.
    Cindy Rahe
    Homemade cinnamon rolls rolled into a long tight spiral and placed on a marble board. A rolling pin is behind the board.
    Cindy Rahe
    Cinnamon rolls from scratch cut into individual rolls with a bread knife. The inner spiral is visible and a rolling pin is behind them.
    Cindy Rahe
  4. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap, and let them rise in a warm place for 30 to 90 minutes:

    Rising time will depend on the temperature in your kitchen. When ready, the rolls should be puffed and pillowy. They should be touching each other with very little space between each roll.

    Homemade cinnamon rolls on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
    Cindy Rahe
    Cinnamon buns rising on a parchment lined baking sheet.
    Cindy Rahe
  5. When the rolls look half-risen, preheat the oven to 350°F.
  6. Bake the rolls:

    Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes until they are golden on top and puffy. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 minutes before frosting.

    Bakery Style Cinnamon Roll
    Cindy Rahe
  7. Make the frosting:

    While the rolls bake, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Add half of the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk. Beat for 1 minute. Add the remaining sugar and vanilla, and beat for 1 additional minute. Add additional milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is as spreadable as you like.

  8. Serve warm:

    Frost the cinnamon rolls generously while they're still a bit warm. Serve immediately.

    Bakery Style Cinnamon Roll
    Cindy Rahe
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
750 Calories
34g Fat
102g Carbs
11g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 750
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 34g 43%
Saturated Fat 20g 101%
Cholesterol 133mg 44%
Sodium 375mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 102g 37%
Dietary Fiber 2g 9%
Total Sugars 52g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 106mg 8%
Iron 3mg 19%
Potassium 198mg 4%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.