Try this Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 packages active dry yeast
- 1 cup butter melted
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup lukewarm water
- 2 cups whole milk slightly warmed
- 2 egg yolks room temperature
- 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 pinches of salt
- 2 sticks butter melted for brushing on dough
- 2 8 oz. packages cream cheese softened
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 6 cups confectioner's sugar sifted
- Carbohydrate 45.6782082865458 g
- Cholesterol 40.0402777936569 mg
- Fat 15.3512202642653 g
- Fiber 0.683876997060147 g
- Protein 2.8662753999521 g
- Saturated Fat 9.55457812886037 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -54 roll (81g)
- Sodium 459.126921085619 mg
- Sugar 44.9943312894856 g
- Trans Fat 1.17760950449298 g
- Calories 330 calories
Step-by-step
- Add yeast to ½ cup of hot water (100-110 degrees) and sprinkle 1 teaspoon sugar on top. Don't stir and allow to stand undisturbed for about 10 minutes. If you don't see foam on top and the mixture has not multiplied then stop and get new yeast.
- Pour yeast and water into bowl of stand mixture.
- Add butter, milk, egg yolks, and vanilla.
- Mix until blended and then stop mixer.
- Add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Mix until dough is well blended and smooth. You may have to scrape off the beater a couple of times to get all the flour incorporated.
- Once dough is well mixed, switch to dough hook and knead for 5-8 minutes on medium-high speed until dough is smooth and supple and begins to pull away from the bowl. If you don't have a mixer then knead it by hand for about 10 minutes.
- Remove dough from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times, just to make sure it feels right.
- Turn dough into lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled and puffy, about 2 hours.
- Mix brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together.
- Remove half of dough from bowl and place on lightly floured surface.
- Knead a couple of times to get into a workable dough.
- Pat and roll dough into a rectangle about 18 x 24 inches.
- Brush with 1 stick of melted butter, leaving ½ inch bare of the edge nearest you.
- Sprinkle half the filling generously over dough, leaving the same ½ inch bare.
- Starting with the long edge furthest away from you, roll dough into a log, finishing with the bare edge.
- Brush this edge with water and seal to the outside of the log.
- Measure 1½ inch intervals and cut with a sharp serrated knife or paring knife.
- Transfer rolls to greased pans, leaving about 1 inch between each roll.
- Brush the sides and tops of each roll with melted butter.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise for 1½-2 hours.
- At this point you can place the pans in the freezer and freeze. Once frozen, cover the pans tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil.
- If freezing, I usually mix up the icing and portion into small baggies and freeze along with the rolls. Use ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon per pan.
- Remove rolls from freezer the night before and allow to thaw in the refrigerator, then allow to come to room temperature before baking. Or you can remove a couple of hours before baking and thaw on the counter.
- Bake rolls in preheated 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes until light golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare the icing.
- Mix softened cream cheese, melted butter, milk, vanilla and confectioner's sugar until well blended.
- Using ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon per pan, spread icing generously over tops and sides of each cinnamon roll.
Yeast activation requires strict temperature parameters; water must measure precisely between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit so the thermal energy awakens the fungi without denaturing the living cells. Active dry yeast needs this warm environment alongside a small amount of simple sugar to begin fermentation, producing carbon dioxide bubbles that will eventually aerate eight and a half cups of all-purpose flour. Although the process demands patience while the dough doubles in a warm zone for roughly two hours, understanding the underlying fermentation mechanics transforms baking from guesswork into predictable chemistry. Bakers managing dietary restrictions can substitute plant-based milks and vegan butter block fats directly into the base without altering structural hydration ratios, though high-fat European-style plant alternatives yield the most authentic laminated flakiness. When you roll the dough into an eighteen-by-twenty-four-inch rectangle, brushing melted butter across the surface creates a hydrophobic barrier that keeps the heavy brown sugar and cinnamon filling from dissolving directly into the raw crumb prematurely.
Managing Yeast Activity and Environmental Variables
Room temperature fluctuations dictate proofing times far more than any clock. When ambient kitchens drop below standard thresholds, dough requires an enclosed microclimate, such as an unheated oven with the light turned on, to reach its target volume. Precision matters when cutting the log into individual portions, and a sharp serrated knife prevents the delicate spirals from compressing into dense cylinders. Once transferred to pans, a second proofing phase of one and a half to two hours allows the gluten network to relax completely before baking at 350 degrees.
- If the yeast mixture shows no foam after ten minutes, discard it immediately because dead cultures will yield flat, heavy rolls.
- Thaw frozen unbaked pans overnight in the refrigerator to prevent sudden thermal shock to the dormant yeast cells.
- Sift the confectioner's sugar before mixing the cream cheese icing to eliminate stubborn lumps and ensure a silky spread.
