Cinnamon Rolls are one of life’s most essential comfort foods. Big, soft, pillowy dough- swirled with oozing gooey cinnamon-sugar filling and topped off with creamy frosting. It can seem daunting to make the best homemade cinnamon rolls at home, but I assure you this is the easiest recipe for homemade Cinnamon Rolls! I call this recipe my “every day” cinnamon roll because while we have multiple recipes for cinnamon rolls on Our Best Bites, this is the most basic and simple and it’s so quick! It requires basic pantry ingredients, no proofing of yeast, and can be made start to finish before a movie is over. One batch just makes 1 9×13 pan of small-medium sized rolls so it’s perfect for most families. Want big giant cinnamon rolls? Simply double this recipe and bake on a standard, rimmed baking sheet. Want to make these a day ahead? Instructions included. Want to know if you can freeze them pre-baking? That’s covered, too. NOTE: There are LOTS of tips outlined and described past the recipe card below. Keep scrolling to read them!
Everyday Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 4 Tbs butter cut into chunks
- 3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 1 .25 ounce package instant or 'rapid rise' yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup butter softened
Icing
- 1 1/2 C powdered sugar
- 2 T melted butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1-2 Tbs milk
Instructions
- Dough: Place milk and 4 tablespoons butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for about 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be mostly melted, but do not boil. Stir and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Switch to a dough hook if you have one and ad remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes. If you are not using a stand mixer, turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 5 minutes by hand. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.Filling: It helps to have butter super soft. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to "crumble" it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces and then cut into rolls. Place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. If desired spread with icing while still warm. Makes 12 rolls.
Notes
When it comes to cinnamon rolls and other breads, it seems like everyone has their favorite recipe, but I think part of the reason they taste so good is that when people have a favorite, they know exactly how the dough should look and feel so they come out perfect every time. I’m going to share a few of my little tricks for this recipe in hopes that it will turn out perfect for you too. When I was a teenager, I tried cinnamon rolls over and over and they were always dense and dry. It wasn’t until my Mom’s friend LeeAnn (who’s also my friend), a cinnamon roll master, made them with me side-by-side that I saw I was adding waaaaay too much flour! When she showed me how the dough should look and feel, it made all the difference.
How to Make Quick and Easy Cinnamon Rolls
The first thing you’ll do is melt some milk, butter and sugar in the microwave. You don’t want this boiling- I know mine is perfect when I can still see a pat of butter in there. It will continue melting after it comes out of the microwave.
Then add your dry ingredients to your mixing bowl, only part of our flour is going in at this point. You’ll see there’s yeast in there- there’s no need to proof your yeast in this recipe! You really do just toss everything in a bowl and it all works out. Make sure you’re using “Quick Rise Yeast” in this recipe.
Now add the milk mixture and you’ll also add an egg in there and mix it up. It will be a thick mixture, but a runny dough.
At this point it’s time to add the rest of the flour. Do not add too much flour! It took me a long time to figure this out and it’s still one of the biggest mistakes people make. Cinnamon roll dough should’t look like play-dough. It should seem like it would even be too soft to roll out, but when you gently dump it on a well floured surface it works just fine. Remember that a soft tender dough results in soft tender rolls. Too much flour and your rolls will be dense and dry. As you’re beating with a dough hook, it should come away from the sides of the bowl and not totally stick to your hands when you touch it, but it will be quite soft. You can see how mine is holding together in a solid blob, but also kind of gently falling off the dough hook and that’s what you want.
For the filling I mix everything together and spread it on in one step, If you want, you could spread on butter, then sprinkle on sugar, then cinnamon.
I roll out my dough and just spread on my cinnamon blob.
I’ve told you this before, but one thing I always keep in the kitchen is dental floss. It’s the best way to cut bread dough. Using a knife often ends up smashing it. And yes, that’s mint flavored- don’t worry, it won’t flavor your dough!
Use the piece of floss to score the roll of dough into 12 pieces. Tip: If you want even sized rolls start from the middle. So for 12 rolls, divide evenly in the middle and then divide each of the halves into thirds, and then into thirds again. After the dough is evenly scored, slip the floss underneath, then cross over top and just pull to slice. Use this same method to cut these Cheesy Garlic Bread Swirls (have you guys all tried those? They’re amazing.) . Then pop them in your pan to rise!
How to Freeze the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
If you’d like to freeze your cinnamon rolls pre-baking, this is the point to do it! You’ll want to freeze them BEFORE they rise. Place your rolls in/on a parchment-lined pan and pop them in the freezer. When they are frozen, you can then remove them from the parchment and place them in an airtight container or ziplock bag for easier storage. Or you can simply freeze your prepared pan like in the photo above.
To Cook Homemade Cinnamon Rolls from Frozen
When you are ready to eat your cinnamon rolls, they’ll need to be placed in a baking pan and both thaw to room temperature, and then rise as normal. You can transfer them to the fridge to thaw overnight, and then place them on the counter in the morning to plump and rise, or you can place your frozen rolls at room temperature and wait for them to thaw and then rise (just like you would Rhodes Rolls). The total time for both of these really depends on the temperature of your home and other factors.
Baking The Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Your rolls are ready to bake when they’re plump and puffed! They’ll rise faster in a warm, steamy environment.
My favorite place to proof rolls is in the oven or microwave (while it’s turned OFF). Tip: Heat a small bowl of water in the microwave until it boils. Open the door, quickly move the bowl aside and set the pan of rolls in and shut the door. Just let them sit in there to rise. The hot water will warm up the temp, and also keep the dough moist. You can do this same thing in your oven with it turned OFF. Place your rolls in there and add pan to the rack right below it. Fill the empty pan with boiling water and then quickly shut the oven door to lock it all in there.
Bake the rolls until they’re golden on top. I think of those centers as built-in timers. Most of the time, when the middle pops up, they’re done!
Honestly I’ve never measured icing before, ever. I just grab some powdered sugar, add some vanilla and melted butter and then add milk until it’s the consistency I like. I put it on warm so it melts in all the cracks. You could also use this cream cheese frosting if you prefer cream cheese icing on your rolls.
How do I make Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls?
This recipe makes just one pan of small-medium cinnamon rolls. If you want JUMBO cinnamon rolls, then just double this recipe and they fit perfectly on a standard rimmed baking sheet (like a cookie sheet). I like to line my pan with foil and pull the overhanging foil up to mimic a taller pan. It helps keep them nice and shaped.
I suggest putting the icing on when they are just warm. If they’re too hot the icing will melt all over, too cool and it will be harder to spread. Just warm is perfect.
Enjoy these easy to make, every day cinnamon rolls!
Questions & Reviews
These cinnamon rolls are WONDERFUL. It delights me that I can easily and quickly (one hour!) make something so…perfect, light and utterly delicious. I think I’ve made them six times in the last month. This is a great recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Cinnamon rolls get a lot of hype because they typical take so much effort. I’ve made cookies and brownies and cakes that take double the effort than these! Holy smokes! These were so easy to make. Thanks for sharing. [And the floss tip? NEVER GOING BACK!]
I just made these for the third time and they are amazing, ALWAYS a great hit! However this time I divided my dough into thirds and made mini bite size cinnamon rolls for our PTA’s annual back to school teacher breakfast! It made 6 1/2 dozen!
These turned out okay, but I thought there was too much filling! They were almost swimming in it as they baked…but it mostly got reabsorbed. But, even the kids thought they were too sweet and needed a drink to wash down. Maybe next time I’ll half the filling so we can have a little “roll” with our “sugar!”
Best ever! Once again! Thank you!!!
made these MANY time, and they are such hit at bake sales. i sell them buy the tray;] i do have a question tho… i left my 9×13 baking dish at my sisters house, so could these be made in a 10′ inch spring form pan?
You can make them in any pan or combo of pans, just make sure they have room to rise!
I came home after work with to this yummy cinnamon smell……my daughter had made this recipe and I couldn’t believe how soft and fluffy the dough was!!! Absolutely the BEST cinnamon buns ever!!!! Hope she makes them again…..:D Loved them!
First successful cinnamon rolls- yum!
i have made these numerous times! huge hit every time. fast and easy. these are my biggest seller at church bake sales
I follow the recipe precisely but the dough was super soft that I had to add a lot of flour. Since it was late and I need them for the next morning for a friend’s breakfast I had to run to the store and buy 2 cans of cinnamon rolls 🙁
My aunt made these from your recipe and we loved them! I’m dying to make them
Already making for a second time–family has been begging me to make them again since the first time!!!
Made these this morning and they were amazing and super easy!! Thanks for posting!!
Any tips on how to keep the filling from running out while baking? I keep having this problem!
I *love* these rolls. Have made them about 6 times now, and about to make a batch this afternoon. This is now my go to recipe for cinnamon rolls, because it is so easy and delicious.
Ok…I made these last night and decided to wait to eat one for breakfast in the morning. Bad idea-I couldn’t fall asleep because I wanted to just go eat them. My self control saved me, but these are the best things I have tasted in a long time. Seriously soooo good!
I just found your blog last week and made these rolls 2 times! I’ll be spending more time on the treadmill if I keep this up!
I made these on Christmas Eve (since I knew I’d be up by 5:30am with my boys and wouldn’t be able to read a recipe!), let them rise and then popped them in the fridge. I took them out first thing in the morning, let them warm up a bit and put them in the oven…THE BEST CINNAMON ROLLS EVER!!! I’m sure that’s what the Overnight Cinnamon Roll recipe if for, but this one is sooo easy!!! Thanks (yet) again!
These are dangerously easy! I made them on Christmas Eve and put them in the fridge before the 30 minute rise. On Christmas morning I took them out of the fridge to raise and then bake. They were super gooey and I think they could have baked a few minutes more, so I’ll have to experiment next time. But these were SO good and SO easy! I might have just found our family’s new Christmas morning breakfast tradition!
These are so yummy! I made them just yesterday! They have the right amount of sugar filling too. Merry Christmas!
I made these last night. It is my first attempt at ANY dough with yeast….OMG they were SOOOOO good. I think I rolled mine out a lil thinner, I also doubled the filling recipe and added in a generous amount of pumpkin pie spice. They were amazing! I like icing on my cinnamon rolls but these are good enough without! I will definitely be making these again. My DH did NOT think they were going to good since they didn’t have to proof.. and rise and punch down and rise again.. yadda yadda yadda… LOL I showed him! Thank you TONS
You were right Sara! It must have been something with my browser (Chrome) or my AV (Kaspersky). Anyways, saw the pics and am making them tonight for the midnight release of The Sim 3 Pets. Thankfully, I had all of the ingredients and am so excited to make them. 🙂
This is the first time I have ever attempted cinnamon rolls! They are currently rising. My husband will be so happy! Thanks!
Yay! I LOVE cinnamon rolls, they are my favorite dessert and I have been looking for a new cinnamon roll recipe to try that didn’t take me forever to make… looks like my search is over! Thanks!! 🙂
These look sooo good. You would honestly laugh if you could see the number of cookbooks, binders with recipes printed off the internet and now recipe sites saved in my favorites that I have…..and I can honestly say this is my favorite Website , thank you gals for your recipes, tips and humour… 🙂 xo
Introduced Buenos Aires to the world of cinnamon rolls… they were a hit! By far my favorite easy ooey gooey recipe. Have made it countless times already and I will use countless times in the future!
De-LICIOUS! I absolutely love these and will be making them again!!! 🙂 I have tried several recipes of Our Best Bites and they have all been sooo good! Thanks so much for putting out this blog too!
Just made these, super easy and super tasty!!