The Best From Scratch Homemade Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Is there anything more delicious than a Homemade Cinnamon Roll? This is probably my favorite recipe of all time. I am so proud not only of how delicious these rolls are, but also how simple they are to make. Our bakery, The Flour Barn, was started by simply selling Cinnamon Rolls. Several years ago we created this recipe by using our favorite brioche dough recipe, combining it with our favorite cinnamon twist recipe and topping it off with Ellen’s favorite cream cheese butter cream. We have made these every Saturday for the past four years and we feel like we have finally perfected each step in making these delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. 

Labor of Love

Anytime you are making bread there is a certain amount of patience that has to go into it. Waiting patiently on each rise, putting your back into rolling out the dough and cleaning up when it’s all said and done. This Homemade Cinnamon Roll recipe is one that does take time and a little elbow grease, but it is one that has both won over our family and community. I hope you all love it as much as we do:)

The Dough For Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls

Brioche is an enriched dough full of butter, eggs,milk, and sugar. It is the perfect dough for perfect cinnamon rolls because it has so much flavor on its own and also provides the perfect structure to create big, fluffy rolls. 

This Homemade Cinnamon Roll recipe uses a very simple brioche recipe. You start by throwing the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and kneading with the dough hook attachment for 15-20 minutes. You then prepare a lightly greased bowl for your dough. Your dough will then proof in a large bowl for about an hour or until your dough doubles in size. You will be amazed how quickly you will see the soft dough rise. Using warm milk or placing in a warm place or warm spot will make this process even faster. While your dough rises, it is the perfect time to prepare your cinnamon sugar and cream cheese icing. 

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture for the Best Cinnamon Rolls

The cinnamon mixture for these easy cinnamon rolls is something that is often overlooked. It is more than just mixing any amount of cinnamon with sugar. Cinnamon is a very potent taste and can be overwhelming. At the same time, too much sugar can result in too much liquid pouring out of your rolls, causing burning in your oven and loss of flavor in your rolls. We have found that by using the correct proportions of cinnamon, brown sugar and cornstarch you get a great taste, texture and very little spillage. We add each of the dry ingredients to a small bowl and thoroughly mix with a whisk. Make sure you mix well, as you don’t want any clumps of cinnamon or cornstarch mixed in your gooey homemade cinnamon rolls.  

Cream Cheese Frosting for your Gooey Rolls

This is probably my favorite thing about this recipe. Our original recipe includes maple extract, which I personally love. But as the years have gone by, we have found that most people prefer the vanilla version. 

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and cream cheese until it starts to lighten in color and look fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. Then add in your powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Slowly pulse the mixer until the powdered sugar is mixed in and then continue to beat until fluffy, about another 5 minutes. Set aside. 

Side note: if you are not using until the next day, be sure to get out about 30 minutes before you plan to use it or it will be very difficult to spread over your rolls. 

Cream Cheese icing alternative

If you are not a fan of cream cheese icing, we have laso used a delicious vanilla glaze on our Homemade Cinnamon Rolls. This glaze takes a stick of melted butter, a half a cup of warm whole milk, a tsp vanilla extract and about 2 cups of powdered sugar. You can control the consistancy of your glaze by adding more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze, or more milk for a thinner glaze.

Shaping your the Best Homemade Cinnamon rolls

Once your dough has doubled in size from the first rise, deflate the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Then roll your dough out with a rolling pin into a large rectangle about 18 inches by 10 inches. Spread one stick of soften butter over the entire surface of the dough. Next, spread your cinnamon sugar filling onto the butter. Use your hands to press the filling into the butter. Then, starting from the top, roll the dough toward you. Once completely rolled, seal the roll by pinching the seem of the roll. Using a knife or a bench scraper, cut the rolls into 1.5 inch rolls.

Place the cinnamon rolls one inch apart on a baking dish. Make sure they are all evenly spaced from each other on all sides, as this will ensure that when they rise, they will be the same size. 

What baking dish should I bake my Cinnamon Rolls in?

You really can bake your rolls in many different dishes. You can use a cast iron skillet, a cake pan or a glass baking dish. A cast iron may result in a shorter bake time, whereas a glass dish may take longer to bake. Here are some great options..

Here is a great option from amazon!

King Arthur Brand is also a great option if you are looking for high quality sheet pans or cast irons for baking.

Proofing your Cinnamon Roll dough

If you are making your cinnamon rolls the same day, they will start the second rise right after they are placed on the pan. This will take about 30 minutes or until they look puffy and have grown in size, not quite doubling. Once proofed, they are ready for the oven! If you are making your ahead and getting the out of the fridge, I would give them about one hour to be slighty puffy and ready to bake.

Bake Your Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

When we bake our rolls in the bakery we go slow and steady. You want your rolls to be able to fully bake on the inside without burning on the outside. In your home oven we suggest baking at 325 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The easiest way to know you have baked your rolls perfectly is to check their internal temperature. It should be at 186 degree F. We use the Thermapen in the bakery to make sure we get the perfect bake every time.  If you do not have an instant read thermometer, look for the center rolls to be golden brown. 

Making Your Homemade Roll Recipe ahead

This is a great Homemade Cinnamon Roll recipe to do ahead. First make your dough and let it complete its first rise. The go ahead and shaped your cinnamon rolls. Once shaped, place the cinnamon rolls in the refridgerator before the start there second rise. The next morning you can get them out of the fridge about an hour before you are planning to bake them and once they get a little puffy, you can go ahead and bake them. This is a very flexible recipe and is not easy to mess up!

Cream Cheese Icing

Once the cinnamon rolls are baked perfectly you remove them from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack. Wait until they have cooled down a bit to ice them or the icing will completely melt. But I’m sure you’ll want to eat your warm rolls, so go ahead and slather them in the cream cheese icing and dig in!