Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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Your whole house will smell amazing when you bake these homemade cinnamon rolls and that smell is like a dinner bell summoning the whole family to the kitchen. 

Light and fluffy, filled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with a yummy powdered sugar butter icing. These homemade cinnamon rolls will remind you of your grandmother! Perfect for Saturday mornings and ladies brunch and Christmas morning and pretty much anytime that you need a sweet breakfast treat. 

Can cinnamon rolls be frozen?

Yes, they sure can! There are two ways you can do this. 1. You can prepare them and then right before baking wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag and freeze. Pull them out of the freezer and let them thaw completely and then bake. 
2. My favorite way is to bake them, let them cool off, and then immediately wrap them in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag and freeze. I pull them out the night before and let them thaw. For example, I pull them out on Christmas Eve and let them thaw overnight and then Christmas Morning, I place them in a preheated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes and then pull them out, let them cool, and ice them. They taste freshly baked and ready to make all the best Christmas memories for your family. 

Ok, let’s make some homemade cinnamon rolls:

First you make the dough and let it rise until doubled, about an hour. Oil your hands and punch it down. Let it rise again until doubled. I’ve tried skipping this second rise and the rolls just don’t get as nice and fluffy. It’s not worth it. 

Then you plop the beautifully risen dough onto a floured surface and with a rolling pin, roll it into a rectangle. Smear one stick of softened butter evenly over it. 

Next sprinkle the dough evenly with a generous sprinkle of ground cinnamon. I have never measured it. Just sprinkle and even layer on it. You can’t do it wrong! It’ll taste amazing with a little less or a little more. Don’t stress, just sprinkle with the heart and it’ll be perfect.

Then you spread the brown sugar on top of the cinnamon. One cup does the trick. 

Time to roll up the dough evenly into a tight log. Once rolled up, take a long piece of heavy duty thread and cut the dough into 1” slices. Place the rolls in an oiled (I use olive oil) baking pan. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and let the rolls rise for about 15 minutes or until the oven is preheated. 

Bake in 400 degree preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. 

While the rolls are cooling, make the icing. Mix it up in the mixer, making sure to cream the butter until nice and smooth before adding the rest of the ingredients. Once the rolls are cooled, ice them and enjoy! I actually like to ice them while they’re still a little warm because it makes the icing all melty and drippy and delicious.
This is probably too much icing for this amount of cinnamon rolls but save the leftovers in the fridge for another project. 

I hope you make these cinnamon rolls and enjoy them as much as we do. Make some core food memories! 
Lots of Love,

~Rachel Ballinger ☕️💕

“A lot of living happens in the kitchen.”    ~Rachel 

 

Rachel Ballinger

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Light and fluffy, filled with cinnamon and brown sugar, and topped with a yummy powdered sugar and butter icing. Your whole house will smell amazing when you bake these homemade cinnamon rolls.

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Prep Time 3 hours hrs

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 20 Cinnamon Rolls

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Dough:

• 2 cups lukewarm milk
• 4 tbsp butter softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp dry instant yeast 2 - 1/4 oz packets
• 2 eggs
• 5-6 cups flour

Filling:

• 1 stick softened butter
• an even sprinkle of ground cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar

Icing:

• 1 stick butter or 4 tbsp butter and 4 oz cream cheese
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 tbsp milk and more if needed
• 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar

Method

 

Cinnamon Rolls:

1. In a small pot on the stove, warm the milk to lukewarm (about 105 degrees). Pour in a large mixing bowl and add the butter, sugar, salt, and sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the eggs and gradually add the flour as you stir it altogether. Keep adding flour until too thick to stir and then start kneading. Add flour and knead for about 5 minutes to make a smooth elastic dough.
2. Cover and let rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.
3. Oil your hands with olive oil and punch down the dough. Oil the bowl, flip the dough over in the bowl so the smooth side is on top, and let the dough rise again for about an hour or until doubled in size.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
5. Place risen dough on a floured surface and use a rolling pin to roll it into a large rectangle. Spread the stick of softened butter evenly over it. Evenly sprinkle a generous layer of cinnamon on top of the butter. Spread the brown sugar evenly on top. Roll the dough rectangle evenly into a long log. Take a piece of thread and cut the log into 1” slices. Place the slices in an oiled pan, cover with a cloth, and let rise for about 15 minutes.
6. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove from oven and let cool.

Icing:

1. In a mixing bowl beat butter with mixer and then add the rest of the ingredients and beat till smooth. Add powdered sugar slowly to avoid making a mess. Use as much milk as needed to get to the right consistency.
2. Ice the cooled rolls and enjoy!