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These are the BEST fluffy cinnamon rolls – perfectly filled, slightly gooey and NEVER doughy. But don’t just take my word for it, trust the 3.9 MILLION people (and counting) who have made and loved them.
What Makes This the Best Cinnamon Roll Recipe?
I have been the designated cinnamon roll baker in my family for decades. And in those years, I’ve worked out all of the potential problems a cinnamon roll can run into and figured out a way around them.
This homemade cinnamon roll recipe includes my ultimate troubleshooting guide that will help you confidently bake the best cinnamon rolls you have ever had in your life! Light, fluffy, perfectly filled, and evenly baked – these cinnamon rolls from scratch will absolutely change the way you think about dessert for breakfast.
My Cinnamon Roll Troubleshooting Guide
How to Prep Cinnamon Rolls in Advance
Here are step-by-step instructions for making cinnamon rolls in advance so you can have your sleep and eat well, too.
Here’s what you need to know if you’re making your cinnamon rolls up to 24 hours in advance:
1. Mix and assemble your cinnamon rolls like normal. Once you have rolled out the individual rolls, place them in your baking dish, cover and place in the fridge overnight.
2. Pull the pan out of the fridge 30-40 minutes before you’re ready to bake, allowing them to come up to room temperature while the oven preheats.
3. Bake like normal. Frost & enjoy!
If you’re making them more than 1 day in advance, follow these steps:
1. Mix and assemble your cinnamon rolls like normal. Once you have rolled out the individual rolls, place them on a cookie sheet and cover. Place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer.
2. The night before you’re ready to bake, pull the rolls out of the freezer.
3. Place your still-frozen rolls in your desired baking dish, cover, and leave out at room temperature all night long.
4. When you wake in the morning, preheat your oven and bake as normal!
How to Cook the Center of Your Cinnamon Rolls (without burning the tops!).
While we LOVE a slightly gooey center, you never want the middles to be doughy. Here’s the secret to getting fluffy cinnamon rolls without burning the tops: when your rolls look golden brown, test the temperature in the center of the roll. If it is 200°F, the rolls are ready! If the centers aren’t quite at 200°F yet, cover the tops with tin foil and pop them back in the oven for a few more minutes.
Homemade Cinnamon Roll Ingredients
I typically have all of these ingredients on-hand, and it’s likely you do, too!
Dough
- Milk – You can use whatever type of milk you’d like, I typically use 2% because that is what I have on hand.
- Salted butter, cold – Yes! Keep the butter cold. And while you technically can use unsalted butter, I always use salted!
- Dry, active yeast – I keep this yeast in my freezer and just pull it out when I’m ready to bake!
- Warm water – For optimal yeast growth, you want your water to be between 105° F- 113° F. If your water is too hot or too cold, your yeast (and your cinnamon rolls!) will not rise properly.
- Granulated sugar, divided
- Salt
- Eggs
- Flour – I use regular all-purpose flour here!
Filling
- Salted butter, melted – Again, salted butter! You could use unsalted and add a pinch of salt to the mixture, if needed.
- Brown sugar, packed – I like to use light brown sugar but dark would work as well!
- Cinnamon
Icing
- Salted butter, room temperature
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla – I like to use clear vanilla because it will make your frosting bright white instead of being kind of murky.
- Heavy cream – You can substitute regular milk here, if desired. You will just need significantly less.
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls
- Microwave the milk until it’s nearly boiling, which typically takes about 1-2 minutes.
- Place a cold stick of butter into the hot milk, allowing it to melt. Stir the mixture and let it cool until it reaches an almost room temperature.
- In a separate bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Allow the yeast to activate while the milk is cooling. Look for a bubbly appearance, indicating that the yeast is alive.
- Pour the now room temperature milk and the activated yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add 3 cups of flour and briefly mix the ingredients together.
- Incorporate the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix until the ingredients are well combined.
- Add an additional 3 cups of flour and mix slowly until combined. Gradually introduce the last cup of flour; the resulting dough will be quite tacky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll it into a large rectangle, approximately 12 inches by 24 inches.
- Brush the dough with melted butter, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Ensure there’s an inch strip at the top left bare; this will be used to seal the roll and prevent unwinding during baking.
- Use a rolling pin to press the filling into the dough.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips. For large rolls, cut into 12 two-inch strips and arrange in a greased 9×13 pan. For thinner rolls, cut into 24 one-inch strips and arrange in a greased cookie sheet (half sheet, 18”x13”).
- After shaping the cinnamon rolls, cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) during the last stages of the rolls’ second rise.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls at 375°F for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls reach 200°F. If the rolls are golden on top and still underbaked inside, place a piece of tin foil over the rolls to prevent further browning.
- For the Vanilla Buttercream Icing, start by creaming the butter until it’s smooth.
- Alternate the addition of the remaining frosting ingredients, incorporating one cup of powdered sugar at a time and then adding liquid (vanilla and heavy cream) until all ingredients are used. Add the liquid gradually until you reach your desired consistency.
- Mix the icing on low speed until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Frost the still warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
How long to bake Cinnamon Rolls from Scratch
You’ll bake these scratch-made cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls reach 200°.
What is the Best Icing for Cinnamon Rolls?
I LOVE topping these cinnamon rolls with vanilla buttercream icing (outlined in this recipe). But if you’d like to further enhance these, you could try making my brown butter frosting (yum)!
Storing Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Store your frosted cinnamon rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Note: the longer they are in the fridge, the more they will lose moisture and dry out!
Can you freeze Cinnamon Rolls?
Yes! You can. I recommend placing your completed cinnamon rolls on a sheet pan and freezing for about an hour until they are hard. Then, place your rolls in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe FAQs
Why are my cinnamon rolls not light and fluffy?
Your cinnamon rolls may have a dense texture if you overmixed / overshaped the dough or you did not let them rise long enough.
Why do my cinnamon rolls taste doughy?
Make sure your cinnamon rolls have an internal temperature of 200°. If the rolls are golden on top and still underbaked inside, place a piece of tin foil over the rolls to prevent further browning. This will make sure your cinnamon rolls are completely cooked and not doughy inside!
More Recipes to Love:
BEST Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 cups (472g) milk
- 1/2 cup (111g) salted butter, cold
- 2 tbsp dry, active yeast
- 1/2 cup (118g) warm water
- 1/4 cup (58g) + 1/2 tsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3 eggs
- 6-7 cups (912g – 1064g) all-purpose flour
Filling
- 4 tbsp salted butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups (369g) brown sugar, packed
- 4 tsp cinnamon
Vanilla Buttercream Icing
- 1/2 cup (111g) salted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (321g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla, I like to use clear vanilla
- 1/4-1/2 cup (60mL – 120mL) heavy cream
Instructions
- Microwave the milk until it's nearly boiling, which typically takes about 1-2 minutes.
- Place a cold stick of butter into the hot milk, allowing it to melt. Stir the mixture and let it cool until it reaches an almost room temperature.
- In a separate bowl, combine warm water, yeast, and 1/2 tsp of sugar. Allow the yeast to activate while the milk is cooling. Look for a bubbly appearance, indicating that the yeast is alive.
- Pour the now room temperature milk and the activated yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add 3 cups of flour and briefly mix the ingredients together. Incorporate the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix until the ingredients are well combined.
- Add an additional 3 cups of flour and mix slowly until combined. Gradually introduce the last cup of flour; the resulting dough will be quite tacky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll it into a large rectangle, approximately 12 inches by 24 inches.
- Brush the dough with melted butter, then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Ensure there's an inch strip at the top left bare; this will be used to seal the roll and prevent unwinding during baking.
- Use a rolling pin to press the filling into the dough.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into strips. For large rolls, cut into 12 two inch strips and arrange in a greased 9×13 pan. For thinner rolls, cut into 24 one inch strips and arrange in a greased cookie sheet (half sheet, 18”x13”).
- After shaping the cinnamon rolls, cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) during the last stages of the rolls' second rise.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls at 375°F (190°C) for 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls reach 200°F (93°C). If the rolls are golden on top and still underbaked inside, place a piece of tin foil over the rolls to prevent further browning.
Vanilla Buttercream Icing
- For the Vanilla Buttercream Icing, start by creaming the butter until it's smooth.
- Alternate the addition of the remaining frosting ingredients, incorporating one cup of powdered sugar at a time and then adding liquid until all ingredients are used. Add the liquid gradually until you reach your desired consistency.
- Mix the icing on low speed until it becomes smooth and creamy.
- Frost the still warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!
Does this really require 2 tablespoons of yeast? Most recipes require 1-2 packages of yeast. This would require at least 4 packages.
Yes, this recipe uses 2 tbsp. It makes a large batch, you are welcome to half the recipe if you’d like.
I had some issues with this recipe, maybe because it’s my first time making cinnamon rolls and I am not experienced with bread. The milk gets so hot and then you are supposed to bloom the yeast but then it’s a long wait until the milk is cooled to room temp. What size pan do you use? Should you not grease the pan? Do you roll to a rectangle or a square? Which side do you roll from? Shouldn’t you brush with butter before baking? Hoping they turn out, doing the last rise now. I had to add more sugar/cinnamon to cover what I rolled out. Doubled it actually. That also seems like a lot of salt, I have not tasted the dough yet, I like salt but I hope it’s not too much.
Hi Lisa- I hope they turned out well. The cold butter should help the milk come back down to temp fairly quickly. You just don’t want it above 115°. I usually use a cookie sheet. I roll into a rectangle, and I roll from the long side towards the other long side. I don’t ever brush the tops of the rolls with butter before backing. And to answer your other question, I generally drizzle the icing on while the rolls are still warm so it soaks into the roll. 🙂
why the long stories and not just the recipe?
Because this is my blog and that is how I chose to write this particular post. 😉 There is a handy ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top that you are welcome to click that will skip all of the step by step instructions, helpful info and photos and take you right to the recipe if you’d like.
Getting ready to try this. Very excited. Question, do you use the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer, and how long do you let the mixer knead the dough? I enjoyed your blog.
Thank you, yes I use the dough hook. Happy baking!
I grew up with cinnamon rolls similar to this, but they had raisins. Would it affect the final outcome if o added them?
Thanks
That wouldn’t adversely affect the outcome- feel free to add in the raisins!
When you say to turn the oven to 375 and let the rolls rise, are the rolls inside the oven rising as it heats up or just rising on the counter until the oven reaches 375?
Rising on the counter as the oven gets to temperature.
Can you make the rolls and then put them in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning, or would they rise all night? Wanting to make these for Christmas morning but don’t want to miss out on the unwrapping with my kids because I’m baking!
Yes, I’ve done that before and that’s what I plan on doing this year, too. They may rise a little overnight but not too much. I usually pull them out of the fridge and let them sit at room temp/rise while we open presents and then bake them right before eating. You can also make the icing the night before, too! You can store at room temp in an air tight container or in the fridge. If you store in the fridge, just pull it out at the same time you take the cinnamon rolls out in the morning and you should be golden!
So excited to try this recipe but had one question – I wanted to use my instant pot to speed up the rising time but don’t have a glass lid. Is the important or can a regular lid work as well? Thanks for sharing!
A regular lid or even a glass plate on top will work well!
This was SUPER sticky. I’m not sure what I did wrongly, but it was a goopy mess. I added more flour after rising and barely was able to roll and cut. I’ll again, hopefully, it’ll work out
I made these today and I have to say that these are the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. Thanks for the great recipe!