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American-inspired recipes from an Aussie kitchen

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

You’ll love these copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls made from scratch. Soft and fluffy, filled with cinnamon sugar and covered in buttery cream cheese frosting, they taste just like the real thing,

Homemade cinnamon roll on a white plate

Big, fluffy Cinnamon Rolls made from scratch 🙌🏻

Just like Cinnabon’s famous Cinnamon Rolls, these gorgeous cinnamon buns are filled with buttery brown sugar cinnamon and covered in gooey cream cheese frosting.

A truly sumptuous way to start the day.

Homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

Whenever we travel to America, we always make sure to stop by Cinnabon for one of their big, buttery cinnamon rolls. One mouthful and I’m in cinnamon-covered heaven. It’s almost worth travelling halfway around the world for one.

Since there’s no Cinnabon here in Australia, I have to make my own when I need to get my Cinnamon Roll fix.

And now you can too 👇🏻

A tray of Cinnamon Rolls waiting to rise

This recipe gives you soft and fluffy Cinnamon Rolls that are filled with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. But let’s be real. It’s all about that drippy cream cheese frosting.

Poured over hot cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven, the cream cheese frosting melts into every nook and cranny – making these Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls extra creamy-licious.

A tray of homemade cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven

I know making bread, including Cinnamon Rolls, can be a bit daunting, but trust me, it’s worth the effort. There is nothing quite like fresh homemade bread straight from the oven.

Especially when it’s filled with buttery cinnamon and topped with creamy frosting 😍

Before you make these gorgeous rolls, take a quick read of my tips to make sure your Cinnamon Rolls turn out perfect 👌🏻

Top view of a Cinnamon Roll covered in cream cheese frosting

Secrets for amazing cinnamon rolls

Softened butter not melted
Use softened butter for the filling not melted butter. I’ve tried both. When baked, butter that has already been melted just seems to disappear, where as softened butter melts as it bakes which give you that lovely wet filling that Cinnabon is famous for.

Use brown sugar in the filling
I tried both caster (or granulated) sugar and brown sugar. Brown is better by far because it slightly caramelises and makes a much more flavourful filling.

Don’t roll the dough too wide
It can be tempting to roll the dough too wide which will give you smaller buns. For these big and beautiful copycat Cinnabons, you want to roll a large rectangle and roll from the smaller end to the longer end so you have more layers in each roll.

Frost the rolls while they’re still hot
This cream cheese frosting is best when poured over the cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. It goes delightfully drippy ❤️

And enjoy them while they’re warm!

Homemade cinnamon roll on a white plate

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.

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Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

★★★★★ 5 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Jessica Holmes
  • Prep Time: 180 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 12 rolls
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

Deliciously soft and tender Cinnamon Rolls covered in cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients

Cinnamon rolls

  • 120 ml (1/2 cup) warm water
  • 2 and 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
  • 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 490 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) plain flour, plus extra for dusting
  • 2 large eggs, beaten

Cinnamon sugar filling

  • 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Cream cheese frosting

  • 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 125 grams (1/2 cup) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 190 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) icing or powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

  1. Set aside a 9 x 13 inch quarter sheet pan. Add warm water to a small bowl and sprinkle yeast over the top and set aside. Add sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook.
  2.  Add your milk and butter to a small saucepan and pop on a low heat, to warm the milk and melt the butter. Once the butter is melted, remove the milk from the heat.
  3. If the milk is hot to the touch, leave to cool for a minute or two. You want the milk to be warm but you should be able to stick your finger in there without it burning. Also check that your yeast has reacted and started to bubble a little on the edges.
  4. To make the dough, add eggs and milk mixture to your sugar and salt. Slowly start to mix together using a dough hook. Add flour.
  5. Then add yeast mixture, water and all, and continue to mix. Continue to mix for another few minutes until a nice soft dough forms. Once the dough comes together, remove it from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured bench.
  6. Knead the dough by hand for 2 minutes or so until it is soft and smooth. Add a little flour to the bench if it’s a little sticky but not too much as we want the dough to be nice and light.
  7. Then bring your dough into a ball and place in a large mixing bowl that has been greased well with butter or a little vegetable oil. Cover with cling wrap and leave to rise for at least 1 hour – it should double in size.
  8. Next, gently push the air out of your dough using your fist. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead gently for a minute before rolling the dough out into a large rectangle, roughly 10 x 16 inches.
  9. Smear softened butter all over the dough using a butter knife going right to the edges. Combine sugar and cinnamon and generously sprinkle all over the butter.
  10. Roll up your dough, from the short end, then cut into rolls using a serrated knife. Place 12 rolls in sheet pan leaving space between each roll for them to rise. Cover with cling wrap and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
  11. Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting.
  12. Add butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth. When cinnamon rolls are ready, pour over cream cheese frosting while they’re still warm.

Notes

The rolls are best served on the day they are made.

If you don’t have a quarter sheet pan, you can use two 9 inch pie plates and just place 6 rolls in each.

Keywords: Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Buns, Cinnabon

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A homemade Cinnamon Roll with a bite taken out of it

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Comments

  1. So good! We live in a small town, every time we go to the city I make at least one stop at Cinnzeo. I have never ever been able to make anything successful that requires yeast. Gave this one a go, and I gotta say, it was super easy. Directions are great (I did grease my pan with butter- didn’t see that in directions) and it turned out perfect!!! This recipe rivals cinnzeo. Will definitely make again, thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. Hello , these buns are amazing and honestly taste so good . I didn’t do the frosting as I’m not a big fan of frosting but I was wondering if you know the nutrition per 1/12 buns have . Thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Mary, so glad you enjoyed them! I don’t have the nutrition but you can find many free calculators online that will be able to help you.

      Reply

  4. Can i prepare them a day before, leave them rise for 30mins then put them in the fridge and bake them the next day?

    Reply

  6. I have to admit I had given up on baking with yeast after several inedible results in the past, but the illusion of tasting Cinnabon’s cinnamon buns once again was stronger, so I decided to give it a try without much expectation. And the result was amazing! The recipe is precise and clear, with all the necessary information and tips, and nothing else. The buns taste delicious and the texture is oh-so-fluffy. And they actually taste like Cinnabon’s! (Don’t worry Cinnabon; unless you’re planning to open a branch in Argentina -unlikely- you’re not losing any customers). I’ll definitely bake them again. Thank you Jess for helping me overcome my yeast-phobia.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Wow Elena! What a lovely review! I’m so happy that these worked so well for you and helped you get back to baking with yeast again ☺️

      Reply

  7. Hi jess can we change caster sugar to granulated sugar? It is hard to find caster sugar in my country. Thank you

    Reply

  8. Jess do you have a recipe for oatmeal cream pies? I visit my son in the US and love their oatmeal cream pies, but can’t find a good recipe for them.
    Thank you.

    Reply

    • Hi Angela! Ooh I don’t but I’m going to work add this to my recipe list! Thanks for the inspiration!

      Reply

  9. I am addicted!!!! My family and I can’t get enough of these delicious cinnamon rolls. I add my own special touches to them but even without that, these are by far the best rolls I have ever made. Thank you so much Jess for sharing your recipe with us 😁😁😁

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  13. Jess, thank you so much for this amazing recipe! I baked them tonight and they are outstanding, I honestly haven’t tried such a great cinnamon bun recipe! They are a bit hot and will definitely be baked frequently 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

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