You can make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls right at home! Super soft and full of fantastic cinnamon flavor and topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting, these are the perfect cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast, Mother’s Day, or any day of the year! You can even prep them the day before and bake them in the morning so they’ll be hot and fresh!
Any time you go to any mall in America, there’s a certain point where you start smelling something heavenly. It’s sweet and cinnamony, and you know that you are approaching the Cinnabon store. It’s SO HARD to walk by and not buy a cinnamon roll. (Do they actually have fans where they blow the scent through the mall? I swear they do this).
Now you don’t have to go to the mall to get a super fluffy, packed-with-cinnamon and smeared-with-frosting cinnamon roll. You can make them right at home! The recipe doesn’t have any special ingredients. In fact, you probably have everything you need at home right now!
I’m going to take you through the process, step by step. First, check your pantry and fridge for the following:
Ingredients for Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
For the dough:
- Milk
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Butter
- Salt
- Bread flour (or regular flour)
For the filling:
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Flour
- Butter
For the frosting:
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla
- Salt
How to Make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
First, you need to make the dough. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer, but you can mix it by hand and knead it by hand if you wish.
Let the dough rise until doubled in size. (Secret trick: to get it to rise faster, heat your oven to 200 degrees F. Then turn it off, cover your dough in an oven-safe bowl with a towel and put it in the oven. It will rise super quick!)
Now punch the dough down and roll it out on a large, floured surface. Roll it out pretty thin. You are going to have a really large rectangle about 16 inches by 24 inches. (Mine didn’t look like a perfect rectangle, and that’s fine).
Take your softened butter and spread it across the dough. I like to leave one edge uncovered so it will seal better when I roll it up.
After you spread the butter, top with your mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. I roll over it to press the sugar and cinnamon into the butter.
Now it’s time to roll it up. Start on the long end, and start rolling toward the other side. Since you’ve rolled the dough quite thin, you’re going to have lots of layers and end up with a really long log. Lightly score the top of the log so you know where to cut your rolls. You can make each roll about two inches wide. Now use dental floss to cut the rolls. To see how to do this, you can go to my post for Orange Rolls.
Line a 9×13 pan and an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. (Or if you have a pan larger than 9×13, you can just use one pan). Place your rolls in the pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled. (At this point, if you’re planning to bake them the next morning, cover with plastic wrap and place in your fridge. They’ll slowly rise overnight and be ready to go in the morning!)
Now bake at 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes.
Now if you really want gooey centers, you’re going to want to mix up your frosting while these are baking and have it ready as soon as they come out of the oven. While the rolls are still nice and hot, spread a layer of frosting over the top. It will melt down into the crevices.
Then once the rolls have cooled more, you can add more frosting to the top where it will stay thick and creamy.
Now it’s time to eat and enjoy! Add a cup of Mexican Hot Chocolate and you’ve got the perfect combo!
This recipe adapted from Cinnabon Copycat Cinnamon Rolls from Bite of Delight.
Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
You can make Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls right at home! Super soft and full of fantastic cinnamon flavor and topped with an amazing cream cheese frosting, these are the perfect cinnamon rolls for Christmas breakfast, Mother's Day, or any day of the year! You can even prep them the day before and bake them in the morning so they'll be hot and fresh!
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose flour)
For the Filling
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon flour
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl, add 1 cup warm milk, 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast, and about a teaspoon of sugar (from the 1/2 cup). Let sit for about ten minutes until the yeast is activated and is frothy.
- Add the remaining sugar, two eggs, 1/3 cup melted butter, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix.
- Add 3 cups of the bread flour to the bowl and mix with the dough hook or by hand.
- Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. If additional flour is needed, add 1 Tablespoon at a time until no longer sticky.
- Knead for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. (If using a stand mixer, continue using the dough hook to knead the dough).
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This may take about an hour (See the notes for instructions on how to get the dough to rise faster).
- While the dough is rising, combine the filling ingredients of 1 cup of brown sugar, 2 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon, and 1 Tablespoon of flour. Set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and then turn out onto a large floured surface. Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Then roll into a large rectangle, about 16"x24". The dough should be rolled out quite thin.
- Spread the 1/3 cup softened butter over the top of the dough.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon/flour mixture over the butter and spread evenly with your hands. Use a rolling pin to gently roll and press the mixture into the butter.
- Starting at the long end, begin rolling up the dough. Once rolled, lightly score the top of the log every two inches.
- Use dental floss to cut the rolls.
- Place parchment paper into a 9x13 and 8x8 pan. (Alternately, you can grease the pans). Place the cut rolls into the pans. Cover and let rise until the rolls spread out and fill up the pans.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. for 20-25 minutes, until golden.
- While the rolls are baking mix together the frosting ingredients. This is easiest done in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Add the 6 ounces cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter and mix well. Then add the 3 cups of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and blend on low speed until everything is mixed together.
- As soon as you remove the rolls from the oven, spread some of the frosting over the top so it will melt down into the cinnamon rolls. Once the rolls have cooled completely, spread the remaining frosting over the top.
Notes
To make your own bread flour, you can replace 1 1/2 teaspoons of each cup of flour with 1 1/2 teaspoons vital wheat gluten.
To prep these rolls beforehand, make the day before you want to bake them. Once the rolls have been cut and placed in pans, cover them loosely with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the refrigerator about an hour before baking to let come to room temperature.
To speed up the rising process, preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Then turn your oven off. Place your dough in an oven-safe bowl and cover with a towel. (Do not use plastic wrap). Place inside the warm oven. Check after about 20-30 minutes. When dough has doubled, remove it from the oven. Be sure to use hot pads.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 373Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 261mgCarbohydrates: 55gFiber: 1gSugar: 30gProtein: 6g
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