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Cinnamon Rolls are sweet, soft, fluffy, and delicious. Loaded with cinnamon flavor and topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting.
Recently I took a trip to visit my son that is away at college in Tennessee. While there, we decided to catch a movie and the theatre was at the mall.
Sooo…You can probably already tell where this is going.
As soon as I entered the mall it hit me. The smell of sweet, delicious cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon. I was not even hungry or thinking about cinnamon rolls until the aroma had ahold of me. I believe this is exactly what this mall restaurant wants to happen.
I’m also guessing that I was not the only person thinking this because there was a long line, so there was no way that I would have enough time to scarf one down before entering the movie. So I figured that I might have enough time after the movie to enjoy one of these sweet rolls and unfortunately that didn’t happen because they were closed.
I arrived home safely from my trip to Tennessee, but there was still one problem and that was I still wanted a cinnamon roll. I figured I would make it myself which was perfect because I could enjoy a few and share a few so I would not eat too many.
Cinnamon rolls are yummy, but they are not something that I have very often because the homemade version requires yeast and yeast can be a funny little ingredient. First, you have to make sure it is good and proofs before you are able to use it and if not, then you have to throw it away. It also requires that you wait for the dough to rise prior to baking. This can all be very time consuming, but I will tell you that it is totally worth it.
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1 cup milk, warmed
- 1 packet (2 ¼ teaspoon) active dry yeast or instant yeast
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, softened
- Cream Cheese Icing
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Warm 1 cup of milk, careful not to make too hot. Dissolve the yeast and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. The yeast will proof and become foamy. If not try it again, the yeast may be bad or the milk too hot.
- Using a stand mixer with a dough hook, add the ½ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup softened butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 eggs, 4 cups flour, and mix until well combined.
- Add the milk-yeast mixture to the sugar mixture and mix well until combined and the dough has formed.
- Lightly oil a large bowl or spray with non-stick cooking spray, add the dough, and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size
- In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon until combined.
- Prepare a 9x13-inch baking dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough into an even rectangle about ¼ inch thick.
- Evenly spread ⅓ cup softened butter over the dough and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Working from the long edge of the rectangle, carefully roll the dough from the top edge to the bottom edge.
- Using a knife or floss, cut the dough into even 1 ½ inch thick slices and place into the prepared baking dish.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes or until double in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and place the baking pan in the oven to bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
- Make the cream cheese icing using a mixer by combining the 6 tablespoons butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla extract until mixed well.
- Spread the icing generously over the top of each cinnamon rolls.
- Serve while warm and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Have comments, questions, or other ideas about these Cinnamon Rolls? Share them in the comments below!
Those cinnamon rolls look so good!
Thank you 🙂
Can you substitute the all purpose flour with bread flour?
Hi Teeanna! I have never tried it but it should work with bread flour as well.
How many does the recipe make?
I can’t wait to try these!
Hi Pam! The recipe makes about 4 cinnamon rolls, but you can cut them small if you would like.