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.
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.
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 👇🏻
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.
This is also a very similar dough to what we use in my favourite Hot Cross Bun recipe.
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 👌🏻
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 short 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!
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.
Let’s Bake
Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls
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
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat or whole milk
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 490 grams (3 and 1/2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
Cinnamon sugar filling
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, softened
- 90 grams (1/2 cup) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cream cheese frosting
- 60 grams (1/4 cup) butter, room temperature
- 125 grams (1/2 cup) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 190 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) icing or powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon whole or full fat milk
Instructions
- 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 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.
- 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.
- Add sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add eggs and milk mixture. Slowly start to mix together using a dough hook. Add flour.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Roll up your dough, from the short end, then cut into 12 rolls using a serrated knife. Place rolls in sheet pan leaving space between each roll to rise. Cover with cling wrap and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.
- 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.
- 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, smear over cream cheese frosting while they’re still warm.
Notes
Recipe notes: The rolls are best served on the day they are made.
Pan size: If you don’t have a quarter sheet pan, you can use two 9 inch pie plates and just place 6 rolls in each.
Marina Bacha says
Made this recipe yesterday and I’m already doing another batch today. I followed the recipe but the letter and it worked perfectly. I also added walnuts to a few of them, but they are delicious as it is. Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so happy to hear that Marina! Thank you for the kind feedback.
Lenny says
Hi again, Jessica! This is my second recipe after the ultimate yum brownies! What a soft roll and beautiful layer rolls. The dough is a bit sticky, but ends with yummy result! Thank you for sharing the true-recipe, Jess! Can’t wait to try another recipe 🙂 Am a fans!
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so pleased you enjoyed them Lenny! Yes the dough can be a bit sticky, but that’s how we ensure such a light, fluffy result. Thank you for the kind feedback.
Kim says
Hi Jessica,
Can I knead the dough in the stand mixer instead of by hand?
Thank you!
Kim says
Additionally – you note instant yeast – is this instant dry yeast? or active dry yeast? thank you! 🙂
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Kim, yes you can definitely knead the dough by hand if you prefer! And it’s instant dried yeast – sorry for the confusion!
Lana says
Hi! These look delicious! Cant wait to try them! What can i sub for the milk to make these dairy free?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lana, I haven’t tested the recipe with a milk substitute I’m sorry!
Torinna popo says
I made these last week and let me tell you I finally found the best cinnamon rolls recipe ever but for some reason I tried it again but this time I placed them in the refrigerator after rolling and shaping ,I placed them in a warm place the next morning then bake but they didnt come out like they did the first time …….have you ever tried refrigerating them over night ?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Torinna, I’m so glad you loved them! I actually haven’t tried refrigerating the dough, but this article has some tips that might be helpful.
Shannon Hornsey says
Yum Yum Yum!!!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you liked them!
Erin Roberts says
Just made these and they are simply fantastic! I followed the recipe to the letter and they have turned out perfectly. Just wondering what’s the best way to store the leftovers? Hubby thinks they need to be refrigerated due to the cream cheese frosting but I feel the sugar content means they can be left on the bench in an airtight container?
Jessica Holmes says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Erin! It’s up to you but I prefer to keep them at room temperature so they stay lovely and soft.
Bhabna Bhagat says
Hi! I followed the recipe exactly as you mentioned but after adding milk my cream cheese frosting mixture got curdled. So I was wondering what went wrong. As all the ingredients were room temperature.
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, if all your ingredients for the frosting were at room temperature and it curdled, it’s likely that you may have overbeaten it unfortunately.
Archana says
Hi. I don’t have a stand mixer.Can I make the by hand? If yes, how long will it take for the dough to come together?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, yes you can! The timing will vary but look for visual cues like when the dough comes together in a ball and is soft and pliable. You can watch the video above to help visually.
Hadijah says
Thank you sooooo much…it’s works!!so delicious…soft and fluffy…my family love it 🥰
Thanks Jessica…
Jessica Holmes says
Yay! So happy to hear that!
Lotte says
Wow! Soooo delicious! Made these for the family, always go to Cinnabon when travelling to South Africa, unfortunatly not possible now but these are just as good as the original 🙂 Thank you Jessica!
Jessica Holmes says
How good is that! So glad you enjoyed them Lotte!
Dawn says
Hi, quick question for you—in the ingredients list you say to use “plain flour”—is that all purpose flour? I want to make sure I’m using the correct flour as I’ve tried to make cinnamon rolls from scratch before and they didn’t come out good at all.
Jessica Holmes says
Yes that’s right Dawn! Plain flour is the same as all purpose flour. Hope you enjoy them!
Érica says
I made this delicious cinnamon rolls and now I’m in trouble because my nephews became obsessed with those. Thank you sooooo much for sharing. Much love from Brazil.
Jessica Holmes says
Love hearing that Erica!
Lisa says
How do you roll from the smaller end, to the larger end?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Lisa, you roll these from the shorter end to the shorter end. Hope that helps!
Lisa says
Thank you, for clarifying
I read your ”Secrets to Making Cinnamon Rolls”, and you said to roll from smaller end to larger end”. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure it out. Lol
Anyways, I made these today, rolling small end to small end..
Perfect!
Now, I’ve made cinnamon rolls before, but, your recipe is over the top..incredible!
I cannot thank you enough!
Jessica Holmes says
Oh dear! I must have had too many cinnamon rolls when I wrote that 🤣 I’m so pleased to hear you loved these rolls Lisa – thank you for your lovely review.
Linda says
Made these today. Perfect. Followed everything… except the mixer broke right after all the flour was put in…. so poured in the yeast and water mixture and had to … so had to jab it with a hand spoon.. well get my husband too help for a bit too.. then hand need it then continue on with the recipe. They needed about double the time to rise after they were in the pan, but our house is a little cooler than warm so i expected that. Thank you so much!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad to hear that Linda! You did very well to finish despite the mixer breaking!
Josh says
These are amazing – and they really do taste like the real thing!
Jessica Holmes says
So glad you enjoyed them Josh!