I know it’s not quite Christmas yet, but the Holiday spirit is with me. It’s been snowing in Seattle and you must understand, it’s rare to have a white Christmas and even more rare to have a white Thanksgiving. Our Thanksgiving day included Christmas music playing on the radio, driving through snow covered streets, and eating warm fluffy cinnamon rolls. Watching my nieces, nephews, Abbi, Mimi, and Eli light up as they bit into a cinnamon roll just made me so happy I was reminded why I love baking for my family so much. It’s moments like seeing my daughter lick the frosting off of her roll with her finger and laughing with delight that brings me joy. A joy which comes not from being a food blogger, but being a mom, wife, sister, and aunt.
I make no apologies for liking my dough to be pillowy and sweet. The cream cheese icing I top them off with completes the cinnamon rolls in the most perfect way.
I know many of you will be hosting friends and family throughout the holiday season. Homemade cinnamon rolls are the perfect beginning or ending for any get together.
- 1 cup warm milk (115 degrees F)
- 1 egg (room temperature), slightly beaten
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3½ cups flour plus more for dusting
- 1 (.25 ounce) package (2¼ tsp) instant dry yeast
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter melted
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- Frosting:
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- In a KitchenAid mixing bowl, add milk, egg, melted butter, oil, sugar, and salt. Add flour on top of all the liquid mixture sprinkling yeast on top. Using the dough hook, knead bread mixture on speed 3 until dough is smooth and elastic adding additional flour as needed (approx. 5-7 min.). Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour in a warm area. *Hint: I typically preheat my oven to 200 degrees while dough is kneading and turn the oven off when kneading is complete. From there, I stick my covered bowl into the oven and leave the oven door cracked open to allow the dough to rise.
- In a small bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon - set aside. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle slightly larger than a 9×13 pan (rectangle). Spread surface evenly with melted butter. and sprinkle sugar mixture on top. Use your hands to make the entire surface is evenly coated. Beginning with the long side, roll dough pinching the seam to seal.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cut (I like using dental floss) into 12 equal slices and place them in a greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- To make the frosting, beat butter, cream cheese, and sugar on medium-high speed for three minutes. Set aside.
- Bake cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Frost with icing.
I just have to say as a 14 year old baking with her two sisters this was great I think the directions are very easy and understanding. I really enjoyed them they were delicious Thank you very much. 🙂
I am so bummed. I just made these and they looked marvelous as I took them out of the oven. Unfortunately, when I tried to take them out of the pan, the filling was burned and stuck on the bottom of the pan and I massacred them trying to remove them. The pieces I’ve eaten are delicious but there’s no use in trying to frost them. I will definitely make them again but I will use parchment paper on the bottom of my pan next time.
This was my first recipe off of this site and it was absolutely delicious!! Best cinnamon roll recipe I’ve tried! Thanks so much!!
This is my go to recipe for cinnamon rolls! I’ve made these 5-6 times and they are always perfect. I only use half the filling because the full amount is way too much. And I never have cream cheese so I just use a powdered sugar frosting. Also, this time I tried using the Rhoades frozen bread loaves for my dough. That was a huge failure! Just take the time and make the dough. It’s worth it.
Hi Alice,
I love your blog! I just have one question. Is it possible to make any part of this recipe in advance?
Thank you!
hi alice,
thankyou for posting this recipe. i have made it 3 or 4 times, and they all came out delicious!
my family enjoyed it. Thanks!
Hi I am 14 years old and have a passion for baking. Because of my age it’s sometimes hard for me to procure all the ingredients I need, however your recipe uses simple ingredients and not to complicated terms like rue( which bye the way if you happen to know what that is that would be great.) Thanks for making it easier for me to do something I love continue all the great work.
Hi, I’m not sure if I understand the problems correctly. You baked these on a grill? Or the grill rack in the oven? Sometimes oven temperatures will vary from oven to oven. It could be that your oven runs more hot than the displayed temperature. Also, you can always cover your pan with aluminum foil to keep the top of the dough from browning too quickly.
Hi Alice,
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. I tried it and they tasted delicious. However, the texture was an issue which I think is because of not kneading it properly. So the next time I should be able to resolve that. There is one more problem I faced and I don’t know how to solve it. The bottom half was uncooked. I tried putting it back into the oven but that made the top half burn. I baked it in a glass dish since I don’t have a baking pan (this is the 2nd dish I have ever baked). Could that have been the problem? Is it ok if I baked it on a wire grill?
Alice – thanks for this delicious recipe. My husband is a Shriner and our lady Shriner group have a bake sale each month during a pancake breakfast. Been making your recipe for some time now and grown men call and beg for me to make these rolls for them to purchase! My husband would be happy if I made them every weekend but Gotta draw the line somewhere. My only addition is a few drops of vanilla in the icing, and I only make a half recipe of icing. Peace and love to you – thanks for sharing your life with us. namaste
Hi Alice, as so many other people have said, this recipe is amazing. I live in Turkey and sometimes you just need a taste of home! These are perfect and your photography is just gorgeous. Keep up the great work. I really appreciate it. xxx
I can see where Heather is coming from – it may be helpful to clearly separate the ingredients for each stage. However, a simple request for clarification rather than a nasty rant would have been much more classy.
Your website is lovely Alice, my dough is rising as I type and I am sure the rolls will be delicious. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s the first one I made with my Kitchen Aid and they are so good and professional! I made these a day ahead and kept them in the fridge, and they still are amazing when baked the next day.
These truly are the best cinnamon rolls! What a fantastic recipe. I have made them several times now and never had a batch turn out wrong. LOVE! I also want to mention that I use my 5lb bread machine to make the dough and it still works to follow the recipe exactly as stated. The only difference is the machine does the rise cycle for you. SO EASY, we’ll never buy store bought again.