The BEST Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe - Boston Girl Bakes (2024)

This homemade cinnamon roll recipe is going to become a family favorite! An easy yeast dough is rolled up with a brown sugar cinnamon filling, and then frosted with a cream cheese icing that will knock your socks off. I have step-by-step instructions for you to help you master this cinnamon roll recipe at home!

Although I bake ALL the time, I actually have really good willpower to avoid completely overindulging on the baked treats I make. I can usually have a nibble and go on about my day. I thank my mother for that. I don’t think she has that big of a sweet tooth. Thank you Mom for passing that along. It’s really more the “act of baking” I enjoy. Thank goodness I probably wouldn’t fit in my jeans!

But then there are certain baked goods I make that I completely lose all control over. Like cinnamon rolls and pecan sticky buns. And I’ve shared with you all sorts of great variations of the original, like Healthy Cinnamon Rolls, Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls, and these decadent Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls. But never have I shared with you a classic homemade cinnamon roll! Well that changes today.

I blame my dad for my weakness for cinnamon rolls. I basically inhaled one of these as soon as they came out of the oven. And found myself sneaking bites from the rest as the day went on.

I brought these into work as soon as I could so the temptation was gone. Yup, I have a thing for soft gooey cinnamon rolls like these.

These cinnamon rolls start with an easy all purpose yeast dough. And then a butter/brown sugar/cinnamon filling gets spread on the dough and rolled up. Then of course no cinnamon roll recipe is complete without a cream cheese icing on top is it? I agree…it isn’t complete either.

Why You’ll Love This Cinnamon Roll Recipe

• 100% homemade, from scratch goodness
• Can be cut and shaped and stored overnight for cinnamon rolls the next morning
• Easy dump and stir yeast dough that’s perfect for beginner bakers
• All the tips, and tricks for making these cinnamon rolls perfect in your own home
• To-die-for cream cheese icing that melts onto the top of the rolls before serving.

Ingredients Needed

For The Yeast Dough:

• Instant Yeast – I used instant yeast, but you can also use active dry yeast in this recipe in a 1 to 1 exchange. However, the rising times will vary (I put the differences in times in the recipe for you). I always use and recommend Red Star’s yeast – it’s by far the best yeast and always yields amazing results.
• Milk – I always use whole milk for my cinnamon rolls because it has a higher fat content which will yield a more tender roll, but low-fat milk could also be used. I haven’t tested these with a non dairy milk. You want your milk to be lukewarm, not cold straight from the fridge, so it can begin to activate the yeast. Cold milk will slow down the rising time. I aim to warm my milk somewhere between 105-110_^oF.
• Granulated Sugar
• Salt
• All-purpose Flour – I always use all-purpose flour for my cinnamon rolls. I know some recipes call for bread flour to give the dough more structure but I find that all-purpose flour works just fine.
• Eggs
• Unsalted butter – I always bake with unsalted butter vs. salted butter because it’s fresher and I can control the salt amount. If you do you want to use salted butter than you will you want to reduce the salt in the dough by 1/4 teaspoon.

For the cinnamon roll filling:

• Softened Unsalted Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Heavy Cream – The heavy cream is not really “part of the filling” but poured on right before baking.

For the cinnamon roll icing:

• Cream Cheese – I used cream cheese in the frosting that gets spread on top after they bake. I recommend full-fat cream cheese, but low-fat would also work. I do not recommend fat free or the whipped tub varieties.
• Unsalted Butter
• Vanilla
• Confectioners Sugar

How To Make Cinnamon Rolls From Scratch

Make The Cinnamon Roll Dough

Proof the yeast. In a bowl combine the warm milk, yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar. Stir this together and then let it become foamy and bubble – about 5-10 minutes.

You want the temperature of the milk to be about 105-110^oF. If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast. Basically if you can’t put your finger in the milk because it’s too hot then it’s too hot for the yeast! Dried packets of yeast, either active dry or instant yeast, don’t need to be proved anymore but it does give the yeast a head start and also ensures your yeast is active before you start.

If the yeast doesn’t become bubbly then it’s either dead or expired – and start over!

After the yeast is active go ahead and add the rest of the dough ingredients – flour, salt, butter and eggs. If you’re making this in your stand mixer, stir this together until a shaggy dough forms together with the paddle attachment.

Knead the dough. Fit the mixer with a dough hook attachment, and knead at medium speed for 6-8 minutes. If the dough is super sticky, add additional flour a little at a time if needed. If you are kneading the dough by hand, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes by hand.

In this cinnamon roll recipe you will notice the flour measurement varies, with using 4 to 5 cups. Start with adding 4 cups of flour, then kneading it and then adding a little extra flour if needed. But do not use more than 5 cups, which could yield a very dry dense cinnamon roll and not a light fluffy one.

Your dough will be sticky at first, and get less sticky as you knead, so I add extra flour a tablespoon at a time if needed. The dough should still be slightly sticky to the touch but feel smooth and elastic.

Make sure to NOT overknead the dough, which can be done with a stand mixer (highly unlikely if you’re kneading by hand). Overkneaded dough will be very tough and chewy cinnamon rolls in the end. Don’t knead for too long, or too high of a speed.

Let the dough rise. Lightly grease a large bowl, and place dough into the bowl, turning once to coat.

You want to cover the bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours (for instant or rapid-rise yeast), or longer if you’re using active dry yeast). You can cover with a clean kitchen towel, or I use reusable plastic food bowl covers .

Roll out the dough. Once the dough has risen and doubled in size it’s time to roll it out. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out the dough into about a 18×12 inches rectangle.

To get that “perfect” rectangle shape I start by pre-shaping my dough into a rectangle before I start rolling it out and it helps to then create a more rectangle shaped dough as I roll it out.

Cinnamon Roll Filling

Add filling. For the filling I use softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. You want to spread the softened butter onto the dough, leaving the top edge with no butter.

Then sprinkle on the brown sugar cinnamon mixture, and giving it a slight press down into the dough so it sticks.

Cut rolls. You want to start on the long edge with filling, roll up the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the dough to seal and then cut into 12 equal sized rolls. You can use a serrated knife to cut the rolls or try my thread trick below!

Let rolls rise. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Place rolls into pan spiral side up. Cover the baking dish and let rise in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes until the rolls are slightly puffy, and nearly doubled in size. If you used active dry yeast, the second rise time will be near 75 minutes.

Then right before baking, pour on the heavy cream. Make sure the heavy cream is room temperature, or slightly warmed. If it’s too cold it could prevent the rolls from puffing in the oven.

Bake rolls. Near the end of the second rise time, position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350^oF/177^oC. Bake rolls in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. If the rolls are browning too much on top, lightly tent with foil.

Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then spread the frosting on. I like to spread some of the frosting on when they are still slightly warm so it melts into the rolls a bit, and then more later right before serving.

Just look at how soft these cinnamon rolls are…

Cream Cheese Icing For Cinnamon Rolls

Make cream cheese icing. In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, or in the bowl of your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed, for about 2 minutes until smooth and combined.

Add in the confectioners sugar, about a ½ cup at a time and mix on low speed until combined. Then beat in vanilla extract until combined. Beat on medium-high speed for about an extra 1-2 minutes until fluffy and light in texture.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe Troubleshooting

Here are some things that can go wrong with your cinnamon roll recipe and how to fix them!

• My dough didn’t rise – This probably means your yeast was expired before you start. Check the expiration dates on those packages. You can always proof it first if you are unsure. And make sure your milk isn’t too hot as it can kill the yeast. Aim for 105-110^oF, not any hotter.
• The middles popped out of my cinnamon rolls– Your dough could have been rolled too tightly. Or you used too small of a pan.
• My dough is really sticky!-Try adding a little bit of a flour, a tablespoon at a time, to the dough. But don’t go crazy! The recipe calls for 4-5 cups of flour. Start with 4 cups and then add a little bit at a time, but don’t use more than 5 cups. The dough should still be slightly sticky, however, and will get less sticky as you knead more.
• My cinnamon rolls are dry.– This is because you added too much flour. Go easy on the flour. The dough should be soft and tacky once the kneading is done. Start with 4 cups of flour and add a little at a time if needed. I’d err on the side of less and bit stickier than adding too much. You may have overknead them if you kneaded them in your stand mixer. Be sure to not knead for too long. You may have also overbaked them. Make sure to bake in the center of your oven, and get an oven thermometer to double-check that your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature.
• My cinnamon roll filling is falling out- Make sure the filling is spread into an even layer. I like to lightly press down on the filling to get it “stick” to the butter. And give each roll a bit of room in the pan so they can have to expand.
• The tops of my cinnamon rolls are getting too browned. – Cover the pan loosely with tin-foil if they are getting too dark on the bottom.

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

• Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
• 1 Hour Cinnamon Rolls
• Healthy Cinnamon Rolls
• Cinnamon Chip Scones