Cinnamon Rolls are popular on both sides of the Atlantic and it's no surprise why. Soft enriched bread filled with cinnamon sugar and drenched in a cream cheese frosting... I'm drooling just thinking about them! My Cinnamon Rolls are so easy to make and come out of the oven soft, fluffy and golden. Then I've drizzled a cream cheese frosting all over them for extra sweet and sticky yummyness! Sometimes people call them cinnamon buns, so I'm not sure which is the correct term, but Cinnamon Rolls seemed to be more popular when I Googled it so that's what I've gone with!
For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.
How to make Cinnamon Rolls
Start by putting the flour, fast action yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl, then stir them together. In a pan, warm up the milk and butter until the butter melts, then add the vanilla extract. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes, then whisk the egg into it. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and bring everything together into a sticky dough.
To knead the dough, put it in an electric stand mixer with the dough hook attachment for 10 minutes. Then place it in a covered oiled bowl and leave to rise for 1 hour.
When it has risen, roll it out to a size of about 40 x 30cm (16 x 12"). Brush melted butter over it, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over.
Roll the dough into a sausage shape and use a sharp knife to cut it into equal pieces, marking out the pieces before you cut with a ruler. After removing the end pieces, I get 12 rolls out of my dough. Covere them again and leave them to rise for an hour.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. (I'm slightly annoyed I didn't arrange all the rolls the same way round!)
After they are cooled, mix together the cream cheese, icing sugar and milk, and drizzle it over the buns.
The Cinnamon Rolls were so light and fluffy! They tasted brilliant too and were so sweet and sticky, just how I remember them being when I visited Sweden. My boyfriend is a huge Cinnamon Roll fan so these went down an absolute treat!
Recommended equipment & ingredients*
- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Fast action yeast
- Rolling pin
- Silicone mat
- Traybake tin
- Kitchen scales
- Mixing bowls
- Metal dough scraper
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More breakfast recipes...
Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough
- 550 g Strong white bread flour or you can use plain flour
- 1 Sachet Fast Action yeast (7g)
- 285 ml Semi skimmed milk
- 4 tbsp Caster sugar
- 1 Egg large
- 75 g Butter
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
For the cinnamon sugar filling
- 30 g Butter melted
- 150 g Light brown sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
For the cream cheese frosting
- 75 g Full fat cream cheese
- 150 g Icing sugar
- 2 tbsp Semi skimmed milk
Instructions
- Put the flour, fast action yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make sure that the salt and the yeast do not directly touch each other. Stir together
- In a pan on a low heat, warm up the milk and butter until the butter melts, then add the vanilla extract. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes or until lukewarm, then whisk the egg into it
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and bring everything together into a sticky dough
- Knead the dough for 10 minutes either by hand on a floured surface or in a mixer with the dough hook attachment
- Place the kneaded dough in a oiled bowl covered with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size
- Make the cinnamon sugar filling by mixing the light brown sugar with the cinnamon
- Roll out the risen dough into a rectangle measuring roughly 40 x 30cm (16 x 12").
- Brush the melted butter all over it, then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over
- Roll the dough into a sausage shape from the longest side, use a sharp knife to trim the ends then cut it into equal pieces. You can mark out the pieces before you cut with a ruler, you want them about 1 inch thick
- Place the cut rolls into a lined traybake tin (I used a 12" x 9" one), cover them loosely with cling film and a tea towel and leave them to rise for 1 hour
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C Fan/200C/350F/Gas Mark 4
- Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
- After they have cool, mix together the cream cheese, icing sugar and milk, and drizzle it over the buns
- Serve immediately, store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. The buns can be frozen without the cream cheese frosting
Miss C Flash
I love sweet dough, i hope making this has made you more inspired by sweet dough. Your should also try iced fingers - nothing quite beats it! x
Laura
Had never made anything involving yeast before so I was worried but the recipe was so easy to follow and the rolls worked a treat!
Everyone who tasted them loved them. Will definitely be making them again soon.
Laura Jones
Had seen a few different recipes for cinnamon buns but this was by far the easiest to follow and I’ve made a few things from this blog that have been great so was an easy choice! Fab recipe and turned out perfectly 😊
Sabrina
In the instructions, it says to make sure that the salt and yeast don't touch each other but then right after it says mix together? what am I missing?
thebakingexplorer
You don't want them to be poured on top of each other directly as it can cause the yeast not to rise as much. Once they are all mixed into the flour they are well dispersed enough not to cause that issue. I hope that helps!
sabrina
Yes, thank you! The rolls came out really good. Will be making them again!
Bakes
Hi!
This is a lovely recipe! Can I make the pastry and bake it the next day?
If I can, how can I store the pastry overnight?
thebakingexplorer
Hi, there is no pastry in this recipe, do you mean the bread dough? You can prove bread dough overnight in the fridge, but I haven't tried it myself with this recipe.
Bakes
Sorry yes I mean the bread dough! Do you recommend to prove it with the cinnamon mix in? Or before ?
Paige
A no fail recipe every time! As are the lemon rolls!!
thebakingexplorer
Thank you so much Paige!