Fluffy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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Soft and fluffy enriched yeast rolls filled with a buttery cinnamon filling and topped with a silky smooth cream cheese frosting. These fluffy cinnamon rolls only have one rise and can be made ahead of time and left in the refrigerator to bake in the morning.

I have a breakfast weakness. And that weakness, my friends, is a fluffy, gooey, cinnamon roll. But it has to be all of that. If I’m going for it, it better be made with soft dough, a very-much-there cinnamon sugar filling, plenty of cream cheese icing seeping into every crevice.

I’ve had too many cinnamon rolls in the past that didn’t fit the bill, so instead of letting all of you wander around the world possibly missing out on a really good and delicious cinnamon roll, I’ve spent a lot of time perfecting the best cinnamon roll recipe to share with you so that you, too, can have the best cinnamon rolls of your life that you made from scratch.

There’s nothing like seeing a pan full of perfect cinnamon rolls, warm and gooey straight from the oven, on Christmas morning, a special occasion like a birthday, or, you know, just because.

There is nothing wrong with just because cinnamon rolls. Ever. Cinnamon buns should make an appearance in your oven whenever you deem appropriate.

And lucky for you, I’ve laid everything out step-by-step with lots of pictures so you get the best results every time.

This means you will need:
• warm water
• active dry yeast
• warm milk (I prefer whole milk here)
• granulated sugar
• salt
• vanilla extract
• eggs
• all-purpose flour
• softened butter

For the filling, you’ll need:
• melted butter
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• ground cinnamon

The key is to get the consistency perfect, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

For my cream cheese frosting, you will need:
• full fat block cream cheese
• softened butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla extract
• salt

Pour some warm water into a bowl (we’re looking for about 110ºF [43ºC] on an instant read thermometer). If you don’t have one of those, simply use your wrist as a guide.

Run your wrist through a stream of warm water from the tap. If you can feel it, it’s either too warm or too cold. If the feeling seems to disappear into your skin, it’s perfect.

Sprinkle the yeast over the water, whisk around with a fork, spatula, or wooden spoon, then allow to sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

I find doing things by hand gives me more control and helps me understand more exactly what my yeast dough needs, but especially if you’re a beginner, there’s nothing wrong with using a mixer.

You’ll start by adding just 3 cups of the 4 and ½ cups total and allow the dough to come together.

Once together, you’re going to add the softened butter, which has been cut into slices, to the dough. This might seem strange and lead to an odd texture, but just like we cut fat into pie crust and homemade biscuits to create flaky layers, we’re doing the same here with our cinnamon rolls, so just trust the process.

When the butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining 1 and ½ cups of flour and continue to blend until the dough has mostly come together. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.

Next, turn the dough out dough on a well-floured surface. I say “well-floured” because the dough will still be quite sticky, and you may feel the need to add more flour as you knead, which is fine.

I’ve built wiggle room into my homemade cinnamon roll recipe for adding more flour, but kneading by hand in this step is where you become most familiar and comfortable with what the texture of enriched dough should feel like.

You’ll want to knead your dough for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until it smooth and elastic.

I know. That’s a long time to be kneading. Take short breaks when you need to!

Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done.

Your dough will only need about 10 minutes to rest, so walk away from it and get your filling ingredients ready to go.

I’ve found the best cinnamon filling to be done in two parts: a butter layer and a separate cinnamon mixture. And yes, I like to call it the cinnamon mixture because while there is sugar, the highlight is really the cinnamon. No shortage of it here, that’s for sure!

No shame in using a tape measure, ruler, or ruled rolling mat. While it doesn’t need to be exact, it should be pretty close so we have enough surface to work with when rolling and cutting into equal pieces.

It will seem like a lot, but again, trust the process. Brush with a pastry brush almost to the edges, leaving about a ½” border.

Spread as far as you spread the butter, again, taking care to maintain that ½” border.

Starting with the 18″ long side, slowly and carefully roll the dough over itself to form a log, doing your best to keep the seam side down. I like to use my fingers or palms on either end of the log to gently squeeze the log to “contain” the uneven ends.

It’s important to use a sharp knife so you don’t squish the rolls, but don’t worry if you ruin the shape. They will still bake perfectly and, most importantly, still taste delicious.

Also, don’t worry if filling spills out.

Gather any cinnamon-sugar that fell out, sprinkle that over the rolls, then cover loosely with foil or a clean kitchen towel.

If your kitchen is particularly cold, you may need to allow them to rise for 2 hours or sit them near a heat source.

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Next, turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the salt continue mixing until smooth. 

If you feel like you need it to be thinner, add some liquid like milk, cream, or even water. Just remember that when you spread it onto the rolls, the heat from the rolls will start to melt the frosting, so it will naturally thin out.

Use an offset spatula, silicone spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the cream cheese frosting into every crevice. You won’t regret that.

Also, a little bird told me that adding additional cream cheese frosting to bites as you go isn’t a bad idea, but… You didn’t hear that from me.

This is a great option if you’re making homemade cinnamon rolls for a holiday– you can spend a bit of time bringing the dough together, then have glorious rolls the next morning with little hands on time.

You’ll just need to let your cinnamon rolls rise for about 1 hour before you bake them.

You can also make the cream cheese frosting and store it at room temperature up to 18 hours in advance, too.

If you’d like to freeze unbaked rolls, you’ll want to parbake the rolls for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking the next day for the remaining 18-22 minutes before frosting and serving. 

There are so many ways to enjoy my favorite homemade cinnamon roll recipe, and I hope that they will become your family favorite, just like they have ours over the years.