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Close up overhead view of cream cheese icing being spread onto homemade cinnamon rolls.
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4.57 from 16 votes

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

These incredibly delicious homemade cinnamon rolls have soft, buttery layers of cinnamon and sugar topped with a rich cream cheese frosting. 
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Rise Time1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time2 hours 10 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Total Cost: ($4.96 recipe / $0.55 serving)
Servings: 9 rolls
Calories: 403kcal
Author: Beth Moncel

Ingredients

Dough

  • ½ cup hot water 100-110ºF, $0.00
  • 2 tsp dry yeast instant yeast or bread machine yeast both work $0.38
  • 2 Tbsp granulated sugar $0.12
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter melted, $0.25
  • ⅓ cup whole milk $0.06
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour more or less as needed, $0.36
  • ½ tsp salt $0.02

Cinnamon Filling

  • 6 Tbsp salted butter room temperature, $0.75
  • ½ cup brown sugar $0.24
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon $0.30
  • ⅛ tsp salt $0.01

Cream Cheese Icing

  • 4 oz. cream cheese room temperature, $1.39
  • 2 Tbsp salted butter room temperature, $0.25
  • 1 Tbsp whole milk $0.03
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract $0.32
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar $0.48

Instructions

  • Stir together the hot water, yeast, and sugar until the yeast is mostly dissolved. Let the mixture stand for about 5 minutes, or until a thick layer of foam develops on the surface.
  • Once the yeast is activated (as indicated by the foam on top), whisk in the milk and melted butter.
  • In a separate large bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour and the salt. Pour the liquid ingredients into the bowl with the flour and stir until smooth.
  • Begin adding more flour, ½ cup at a time, until a sticky ball of dough forms and it becomes difficult to stir with a spoon. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
  • Knead the dough for 3 minutes, adding a small amount of flour as you go to prevent the dough from sticking. After kneading for a couple of minutes, the dough should be very soft, fairly smooth, and just slightly tacky. Do not over-knead the dough or add too much flour, as this will make the dough stiff. You'll use about 2 cups of flour total from the beginning in the bowl to the end of kneading.
  • Place the kneaded dough back into the mixing bowl and cover loosely with plastic. Let the dough rise for one hour, or until it's double in size.
  • Punch the dough down to deflate, then scrape it out onto a floured surface. Roll the dough out into an 8x13-inch rectangle, sprinkling with flour as you go to prevent sticking.
  • To make the filling, stir together the room-temperature butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until it forms a smooth paste. Spread the paste over the dough from edge to edge.
  • Roll the dough up (long side toward long side) to create a 13" log. Do not roll tightly, or this will make the center of your cinnamon rolls pop up while baking. Slice the roll into 9 pieces, about 1.5" wide each.
  • Place the slices into a greased 9x9-inch baking dish (or a round pie dish). Let rise for 10-15 minutes as you preheat the oven to 350ºF. The rolls will rise quite a bit in the oven, so don't worry if they're still quite small after 10 minutes of rising.
  • Once the oven is preheated, bake the cinnamon rolls for 30 minutes, or until they are golden brown on top.
  • To make the icing, beat together the room-temperature cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Begin stirring in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, until it is all incorporated.
  • After the cinnamon rolls have baked, let them cool for 5-10 minutes before spreading the cream cheese icing on top. Enjoy warm or wait until cooled, then dig in!

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cinnamon roll | Calories: 403kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Sodium: 310mg | Fiber: 1g