Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

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Anam

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Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

cinnamon roll

Cinnamon rolls are up there in my top 3 favourite desserts, that’s how much I love them. I’ve had a lot of cinnamon rolls over the past few years and after multiple tries of baking and testing, I present to you PERFECT CINNAMON ROLLS (and they are exactly that). Don’t just take it from me, take it from the many that have tried the recipe and my family (who not biased at all) can confirm they are the best ones they’ve ever had. They’re actually life changing because once you’ve tried these you simply cannot go back to Cinnabon (trust me when I say I tried, others tried and the consensus is mine are just so much better)!

When developing this recipe, I wanted cinnamon rolls that were *not* doughy at all – like you know when the roll itself is a little stretchy takes some work to get your fork through? Yeah, these are the exact opposite of that. I wanted mine to be “melt in your mouth” soft, pillowy cinnamon rolls (and that was definitely achieved). And let’s talk about frosting because one; it has to have cream cheese, and two; I prefer an icing/glaze type consistency over a thick overly sweet pile of frosting. This cream cheese icing melts into every crevice of the roll and gives it a stunning sheen, with a cream cheese forward flavor profile rather than powdered sugar. 

This is a simple recipe that’s easy to follow. It does have some key components, but like all cinnamon rolls it is a labour of love that’s so incredibly rewarding. With a few mandatory tips that help make these rolls what they are titled to be, you too can experience the perfect cinnamon roll!!

Jump To Recipe

The softest, fluffiest, perfectly sweetened cinnamon rolls i’ve ever made [NOTE: there is a clip that’s out of sequence in the video, mix the dough in the stand mixer before letting it rise, not after it rises]

INGREDIENTS

  • Milk
  • Instant Yeast
  • White Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Salt
  • Butter
  • All Purpose Flour
  • Demerara Style Brown Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Cream Cheese
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Icing Sugar (aka confectioner’s/powdered)
  • Heavy Cream 
a cinnamon roll

TIPS

  • Use ceramic dishes to bake your rolls
  • Don’t bake more than 8 rolls in a 9 x13 inch ceramic dish (make sure you give your rolls space to expand and rise in the dishes they are baking in)
  • Letting the dough rise in a warm oven is best (especially if you’re baking these during the winter time)
  • You can get more rolls the thinner you cut the strips (I get about 11 servings but you can definitely get more I’ve gotten up to 16 before)
  • Enjoy cinnamon rolls slightly warm (reheat the rolls for 8-10 seconds in the microwave)
  • Use all purpose flour (not bread flour), and make sure to fluff the flour out before measuring (don’t pack flour into your measuring cup it should be loose)
  • Knead your dough at the *lowest and slowest* setting on your stand mixer, if you don’t have one you can achieve the same results by kneading by hand for the same amount of time
  • Use a food processor to get the smoothest glaze, but if you don’t have one you can also use a hand mixer or stand mixer (mix the room temp cream cheese and butter together until smooth, then add the icing sugar on a low setting until combined before adding in your liquids; vanilla and milk)
  • Make sure your oven is warmed up properly at 350F before baking the rolls, I like to give it another 10 minutes to warm up (even after my oven timer goes off saying that the oven is ready and preheated) I also lower the oven rack to the bottom before adding in the cinnamon rolls to bake

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you refrigerate overnight and then bake the next day?

No, to achieve the softest rolls you do need to make the entire recipe at once.

What if I want to make these ahead to serve the next day?

After baking let them cool, cover in foil and refrigerate (make the icing as and refrigerate that separately as well). Before serving, microwave each roll for 8-10 seconds then cover in cream cheese icing, the icing will melt into the warm rolls.

How can I make them less sweet?

Substitute the demerara sugar for regular dark brown sugar or light brown sugar + leave out the caramel from the recipe (you can also half the icing recipe and put less on the rolls).

What if I don’t have a standmixer?

You can achieve the same results by kneading the dough by hand for the same amount of time (8 minutes).

Can I use bread flour?

No, use all purpose flour for the best results.

Does the type of yeast matter?

  • I’ve only used instant yeast, but if you only have active yeast you could use that as well (I do recommend using instant if you can).
  • The amount 2 ½ tsp does equal to one packet

Can I freeze the rolls and bake them after?

I tested this out and I will say they do still turn out delicious, but not as good as making the entire recipe at once. If you do decide to freeze them just make sure to leave it in your baking dish to defrost and rise (this took a few hours for me) and then bake the rolls – I did find they don’t spread as much as they can if they were already at room temp and not frozen

How should I store them?

In the fridge! If you leave them on the counter overnight they will dry out. They taste just as good reheated the next day (out of the fridge microwave it for 20-30 seconds)

Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are incredibly soft, fluffy and are made with a melt in your mouth type of dough. They’re perfectly sweetened with a rich cinnamon filling, gooey caramel bottoms, and topped with a smooth cream cheese icing that melts into every crevice. Simple to make, absolutely worth the time it takes, and best enjoyed slightly warm!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Total Time 3 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

Dough
  • 3/4 cup warm milk
  • 2 1/2 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp sugar to add to yeast
  • 1/3 cup sugar to add with the rest of the dough ingredients
  • 2 eggs whisked
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
Filling
  • 1/2 cup butter room temperature
  • 1 cup (demerara) brown sugar packed
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • eyeball some nutmeg
Caramel For Baking Dish
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter room temperature
Cream Cheese Icing
  • 1 block cream cheese room temperature
  • 1/3 cup butter room temperature
  • 2 splashes vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
For Baking
  • 1 tbsp heavy cream for each roll

Method
 

  1. Add yeast + 1 tbsp sugar to warm milk, stir and let that stand for 10 minutes to activate the yeast
  2. Add the rest of the dough ingredients to a bowl, add the yeast mixture and mix with a spatula until a dough forms. Then mix it in a stand mixer on the lowest setting with a dough hook for 8 minutes (dough will be slightly sticky)
  3. Place the dough in a lightly floured large bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Heat your oven to 175F until it warms up (about 3-5 minutes), turn it off and let your dough rest in there for 2 hours
  4. Combine your filling ingredients in a separate bowl. Then knead out the dough to get a uniform dough ball, roll it out, spread out the filling in a thin layer to the ends of the dough, and use a pizza cutter to cut rolls (you do want thinner strips since they’re going to rise and expand). Make your caramel by whisking the ingredients until lighter in colour, then spread it on the bottom of a 9×13 ceramic dish. Place 8 rolls and cover again with a damp cloth for another 30 minutes on your counter (for any extra rolls make sure to bake it in a smaller ceramic dish where the rolls will touch and bake together + add more caramel to each baking dish)
  5. Add 1 tbsp heavy cream to each cinnamon roll, then bake at 350F for 25 minutes
  6. For the cream cheese icing, blend all the ingredients in a food processor. I like to blend in two parts, first the cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla until I get a smooth consistency. Then I add the icing sugar, from here you can add more milk if you want the glaze thinner. Let the cinnamon rolls cool for about 5-10 minutes before spreading on the perfectly sweetened cream cheese icing

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Anam

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