This recipe yields a pan of buttery soft, gooey cinnamon sweet, and extra fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls topped with tangy cream cheese icing. It’s been a reader favorite recipe for years and I love it so much that I turned this rich dough into apple cinnamon rolls, maple pecan sticky buns, maple cinnamon rolls, and even a cinnamon roll wreath. You can make the cinnamon rolls within a few hours or get started the night before using the overnight preparation option.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and a video tutorial, as well as more detailed instructions and success tips. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
After making countless batches of these cinnamon rolls since I published the recipe many years ago, plus answering readers’ comments and questions, I thought it would be beneficial to update the post with more helpful information and success tips. Homemade cinnamon rolls are a popular breakfast choice, so I want to make sure you have all the resources you need for this classic recipe.
By the way, if you love this dough, be sure to try it as raspberry sweet rolls or strawberry sweet rolls with lemon glaze next. Or for a sprinkle loaded treat, my birthday cake cinnamon rolls use the same dough, too!
Tell Me About These Homemade Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Texture: This is one of my richest homemade doughs, so you’re already promised a soft, springy, and fluffy texture. I usually use all-purpose flour, but if you use the optional bread flour, your rolls will be a little chewier. I find that these homemade cinnamon rolls are even fluffier than my easy 1 rise cinnamon rolls (and that’s because there’s the additional rise here!).
- Flavor: The smell of warm cinnamon rolls is oh-so-irresistible and inviting. Once you take that first bite, you’ll enjoy a fresh homemade dough that’s swirled with endless pockets of (Cinnabon style!) sweet and gooey cinnamon.
- Ease: Homemade dough and shaped breads require more precision and effort than making say, a coffee cake. But the dough is pretty straightforward and simple to shape, as long as you have enough flour nearby for your hands, work surface, and rolling pin.
- Time: This dough requires 2 rises. Once you understand the assembly process, the prep moves pretty quickly. Set aside at least 4-5 hours from start to finish or divide between 2 days with the overnight option. Whichever method you choose, keep in mind most of that time is hands off as the dough rises.
If you are craving cinnamon rolls right now, and just can’t wait for dough to rise, try these no yeast cinnamon rolls!
What Readers are Saying:
“I HAD to come and leave this rave review. I just baked and iced these cinnamon rolls ay 9:05 am. It’s now 10:55 am in a household of only 3 people only two are left. This recipe is the best I’ve ever tried. ★★★★★” – Chelsea
“Delicious and easy to follow! This was my first time cooking with yeast and my first time making homemade cinnamon rolls and this was a great recipe to start with. Everyone at brunch was blown away. ★★★★★” – Hannah
“Delicious! I have tried many cinnamon roll recipes, and this is my new favorite. I prefer a roll that is large, more fluffy than dense/gooey, and buttery without being overly sweet. This fit the bill! ★★★★★” – Brice
Are You A Yeast Beginner?
This Baking with Yeast Guide is a wonderful starting point for beginners. I answer many common yeast FAQs in easy-to-understand explanations, so you can learn the basics before beginning.
7 Crucial Ingredients in These Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Feel free to skip straight to the recipe. But if you’re new to making bread, the following explanations are points that I’ve learned over the years and will be massively helpful.
- Whole milk: Whole milk is ideal for the richest tasting cinnamon rolls. Buttermilk works just as well without any changes to the recipe. Many readers have successfully substituted nondairy milks. In a pinch, you can use 2% or 1% milk, but do not use nonfat milk.
- Sugar: You need 2/3 cup of white granulated sugar in the dough. Use 2 Tablespoons in step 1 below (the proofing step), then add the rest in step 2.
- Yeast: You can use active dry or instant yeast. Follow the directions exactly as written regardless of which you choose. You’ll still proof the yeast in warm milk with some sugar even if you use instant yeast. This step ensures that the yeast is active and not expired. Most yeast these days is already active, but it’s a quick 5-10 minute step that prevents you from wasting your time just in case the yeast has expired. If using active dry yeast, the rise times will be a little longer. For the past 10+ years, my go-to brand has been Red Star Yeast. I always recommend Platinum Yeast from Red Star.
- Butter: This is a rich dough, meaning it has fat to help guarantee softness. Use 1/2 cup of softened butter and to help it blend easier, cut it into 4 pieces before adding.
- Eggs: Like butter, eggs promise a softer, richer dough.
- Salt: Dough is bland without salt.
- Flour: Flour is the structure of the dough. You can use either all-purpose flour or bread flour. You’ll notice the rolls are a little chewier if you use bread flour, which is exactly why we use it in recipes like these blueberry bagels. It’s not a huge difference, so don’t worry if you only have all-purpose flour. (That’s what I usually use!)
Note: You’ll notice that I use more yeast in this recipe compared to my easy cinnamon rolls. Why? These are much fluffier and larger—about twice the size.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here’s what you’re looking for after you let the warm milk, some of the sugar, and yeast sit for about 5-10 minutes. The top will be a little foamy:
After the dough comes together, it will be a little soft and sticky—that’s normal. As explained in step 3 below, knead the dough on a floured counter or keep it in the mixer for kneading. If you’d like a visual of how to knead the dough by hand, you can watch the full video tutorial in my post on how to knead dough.
What If I Don’t Have a Stand Mixer? If you do not own a mixer, you can mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.
Let the dough rise until doubled in size:
Punch the risen dough down and roll it out.
Baker’s Tip: If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll it out, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly, and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. When you return to the dough, it should stretch out much easier.
Spread softened butter on top, then sprinkle on a mixture of cinnamon and sugar (I use brown sugar, but you could use white granulated sugar if you prefer).
Roll it up:
Use a very sharp knife to cut the roll into 12 rolls, each about 1.5 inches. Arrange in your greased baking pan, cover, then let the rolls rise until doubled in size and puffy, usually about 1 hour. The left photo is before rising and the right photo is after rising:
Bake the rolls and then make the tangy cream cheese icing to smother on top. If cream cheese isn’t your favorite, you could top the rolls with vanilla icing, the brown sugar icing from these pumpkin donuts, cinnamon cream cheese frosting from these gingerbread cinnamon rolls, maple icing from maple cinnamon rolls, or even the caramel icing from apple cinnamon rolls. Lots of options!
5 Success Tips
- Use brown sugar or granulated sugar in the filling: I used to use granulated sugar in the cinnamon sugar filling, but recently switched to brown sugar for extra flavor. Brown sugar doesn’t necessarily make the filling more moist—there’s also butter, so it’s moist and gooey either way. (I love the brown sugar filling so much I used it to create this cinnamon swirl cheesecake!) Use whichever sugar you prefer.
- Best pan to use: I recommend a 9×13-inch glass pan or metal pan. Avoid ceramic pans. If you must use ceramic, keep in mind that the rolls will likely take longer to bake through.
- Evenly baked cinnamon rolls: These are extra big and fluffy cinnamon rolls, so to help guarantee the centers AND tops cook evenly, tent a piece of aluminum foil over the rolls after about 15 minutes in the oven. This will protect the tops from browning too quickly before the centers can cook.
- Don’t have all morning to spend on this dough? Feel free to prep the dough the night before. This is a wonderful way to save time in the morning so you can wake up and eat sooner. See my make-ahead/overnight instructions in the written recipe below.
How to Freeze Homemade Cinnamon Rolls So They Still Taste Fresh
Let me share a tip I’ve learned after working with this dough for several years. You can prep the rolls and freeze them ahead of time so they still taste fresh.
- Here’s how: Bake the rolls in step 9 for only about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then cover and freeze. To serve, take the rolls out of the freezer and place in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Once thawed, finish baking them for about 15-20 minutes.
I often use this method when I gift cinnamon rolls to others—just copy/paste or write these freezing instructions down. This method is also helpful if you have company over, want to cut down on time, or are entertaining. I like to make these cinnamon rolls ahead when I’m hosting holidays. For more inspiration to complete your menu, see my Easter brunch recipes, make-ahead Thanksgiving breakfast ideas, and Christmas breakfast ideas.
Print
Homemade Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (includes rises)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours (or overnight)
- Yield: 12 rolls
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe yields a pan of buttery soft, gooey cinnamon sweet, and extra fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls topped with tangy cream cheese icing. You can make the cinnamon rolls within a few hours or get started the night before using the overnight preparation option. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 2/3 cup (133g) granulated sugar, divided
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (14g) active dry or instant yeast (2 standard packets)*
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
- 4 and 1/2 cups (563g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons oil or butter for the bowl (or use nonstick spray)
Filling
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2/3 cup (133g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces (113g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) heavy cream or milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm milk, 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and the yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow mixture to sit for 5–10 minutes or until foamy on the surface. *If you do not own a mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the remaining sugar (1/2 cup or 100g) and the butter and beat on medium speed until the butter is slightly broken up. Add about 1 cup (125g) of the flour, the eggs, and salt and beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the remaining flour. Beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. Dough will be soft. If it seems too sticky and clings to the sides of the bowl instead of forming a rough mass around the dough hook or spoon, add more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and continue to mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl but is still moist and tacky. If it feels dry and crumbly, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if you used the paddle) and beat on low speed for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should feel smooth, supple, and elastic. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or butter (or use nonstick spray). Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size. (I always let it rise on the counter and it takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking dish (glass or metal) or line it with parchment paper.
- Roll out the dough: Punch down the dough to release the air. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll dough into a 12×18-inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick. If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll it out, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly, and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. When you return to the dough, it should stretch out much easier.
- For the filling: Spread the softened butter all over the dough. The softer the butter is, the easier it is to spread in this step. (Microwave it for a few seconds to soften if needed.) In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle evenly over the butter. Tightly roll up the dough to form an 18-inch-long log. If some filling spills out, sprinkle it on top of the roll. With an extra-sharp knife, cut into 12 even rolls, about 1.5 inches thick. Arrange in the prepared baking pan.
- 2nd Rise: Cover the pan and allow the rolls to rise until puffy, about 1 hour. (Or use the overnight option in the Notes below.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Bake for about 25–28 minutes or until they are lightly browned on top, rotating the pan halfway through. If the tops are browning too quickly, loosely tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the pan. Remove pan from the oven and place pan on a cooling rack for about 10 minutes while you make the icing.
- Make the icing: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, cream/milk, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 1 minute. Spread the icing over the warm rolls and serve immediately.
- Cover leftover frosted or unfrosted rolls tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions – Overnight: To prepare the night before serving, prepare the rolls through step 7. Cover the rolls and refrigerate for 8–12 hours. (16 hours max. 8–12 hours is best, but 16 hours is OK if absolutely needed. Do not exceed 16 hours.) The next morning, remove from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise for 1–2 hours at room temperature before continuing with step 9.
- Make Ahead Instructions – Freezing: You can freeze cinnamon rolls for up to 3 months, and I recommend a few different methods for freezing cinnamon rolls. The first method is to freeze them after shaping, before they’ve had their 2nd rise (step 7). Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then let rise for 1.5–2 hours at room temperature before baking. The second method is to par-bake the risen rolls for 10 minutes, let cool completely, then cover and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking. Finish baking for 15–20 minutes. You can also freeze fully baked cinnamon rolls. See How to Freeze Cinnamon Rolls for more details about all of these methods.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl with Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Rolling Pin | 9×13-inch Glass Baking Pan or Metal Baking Pan | Cooling Rack
- Milk: I recommend using whole milk for the best, richest-tasting dough. You could also use buttermilk. Reduced-fat, low-fat, or nondairy milk works in a pinch. Do not use nonfat milk.
- Yeast: You can use active dry or instant yeast in this recipe. Follow all of the same instructions. If using active dry yeast, the rise times are usually slightly longer. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Other Icing Options: Instead of cream cheese icing, you can top the warm rolls with vanilla icing, the brown sugar icing from these pumpkin donuts, maple icing from maple cinnamon rolls, or even the caramel icing from apple cinnamon rolls.
- Gluten Free: We have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, so we are unsure of the results.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Help! I pre-baked them for 10 minutes and am going to freeze them but they’ve sunk in the middle. Will they be OK?
Hi Jeannine, they will deflate since they are partially baked. When baking again, they should rise back up. (That’s always been the experience for us.)
Can this recipe be used for overnight caramel rolls (sticky buns)?
Hi Polly, We haven’t tested that, but you may love our maple pecan sticky buns recipe
For some reason my dough is really tough before rising, not as soft as it usually is for cinnamon rolls…any tips?
Hi Sophie, If the dough was tough to bring together, there may be a bit too much flour.
Hi Sally and team!
I am struggling hard with these! No clue if anyone will see this on time! So I made two batches, these and the apple ones. I prepped and cooked 10 mins, and the cooled and froze. I have often made similar buns but froze completely uncooked. These were perfect until I took them out of the oven 10 mins in. After thawing overnight and baking the apple ones this morning, they didn’t rise more than the initial 10 mins did. What am I doing wrong? I have the next batch all set for Christmas morning tomorrow and don’t want to serve half raw/half overcooked mostly unrisen buns 🙁 they rose twice beautifully, I simply cannot figure out how to get them to rise again after freezing! Thank you!
Hi Melanie! Did they seem under-baked? Perhaps they just needed longer to bake – an easy fix if you decide to give these another try!
These are amazing! I used half bread flour and half all purpose. I did also double the filling based on comments, because the gooey insides is my favorite. Baked in 2 tins so we could eat one and give one as a gift. I had never made overnight cinnamon rolls before. These turned out perfect– the best cinnamon roll I have ever eaten!
Can you make those to step 7, then freeze before baking.
Hi Joanne, for best results, follow the make ahead freezing instructions.
Would it be okay to use salted butter for the filling?
Hi Elizabeth, that should be fine here. You can read more about the difference between unsalted and salted butter in baking if you’re interested.
Thanks! I’ve made this recipe a few times, and I did go ahead and use salted butter for everything— dough, filling, and icing. Instead of adding the full amount of salt to the dough recipe, I just did a couple of pinches instead. I do believe this was my best batch yet, so I think I’ll stick with salted butter for this recipe! I also make a browned butter cream cheese icing, which is absolutely phenomenal on these
Hey Sally! I make these every year and they are absolutely incredible. My family loves them. This year I only have about 4 hours to keep them in the fridge. Is that enough? I can take them out to rise before baking! Thanks!
Hi Gabrielle, 4 hours is just fine!
I consider myself an experienced baker but until this week I had never made homemade cinnamon rolls. This recipe was amazing. I followed Sally’s directions and notes and this recipe is amazing! And honestly not as hard as expected.
For the second rise, I wasn’t sure if they were rising so I did her trick I saw on other recipes where you preheat oven to 150, then turn it off and place dough inside.
Needless to say every si gle cinnamon roll has now been eaten.
Hi Sally! We love your recipes and you’re awesome! Can you use Heavy Cream or Half and Half instead of Whole Milk in the dough? Thank you!
Hi Daniel, half and half should work just fine.
Is it possible to let these rise too much? I plan to make these Saturday night, take out of the fridge Sunday morning for the 2nd rise, but then need to transport to brunch at my sister’s. I’m wondering if I should bring them baked and heat just a bit before frosting/serving or if they’re ok to rise and continue rising while I transport them and then for a bit before time to bake/eat?
Hi Ali, yes, it is possible to let dough rise too much which can greatly alter how the rolls bake up. If your travel time will exceed the rising time, it would be best to transport the baked rolls and then reheat upon arrival. Hope they’re a hit!
Thoughts on halving this recipe and baking in a 9in round cake dish? Would that work??
Hi! You can divide the rolls between 2 9-inch round cake pans.
Hoping to make these for Christmas and wondering what’s the best ratio of AP to Bread flour? I have both and want them to be perfect!
Hi Sara, for extra chewy cinnamon rolls with great structure, use all bread flour. You could also use half AP and half bread flour.
Thank you! I decided to try half and half for the first time, since I haven’t worked with bread flour much, and I’m so happy with how they turned out. I did have to leave off the foil for longer than what the recipe stated, and extended the total bake time by 5 minutes, but that could have been due to the oven. I decided to try the “cinnamud” method that another reviewer mentioned. I found that was difficult to spread, but I was really happy with the taste of the end result. I added some extra brown sugar to fill in the gaps where it didn’t spread well, but doubling the filling (or maybe half again more instead of double) would have worked great too. Thanks so much for this recipe!! Made it so much easier to do the overnight method for Christmas morning.
I decided to make these again for New Year’s as a test to compare using all bread flour, since I had the bag leftover from the 1st batch. The dough was much sticker, as the other reviewers have said, and did not pull away from the bowl while kneading in the stand mixer, like the other batch did. I added a few more tablespoons of AP flour, but stopped adding more so it wouldn’t get too floury. I also didn’t want to over-knead it but it ended up fine. Cooked great and was definitely a little more “bread-y” than the 1/2 AP 1/2 Bread flour that I did last time.
Beautiful dough, I’m at 30 min and still not golden or browned on top? Did overnight recipe so maybe still too chilled when I put in oven and need more time
Mine ended up taking 34 minutes. I have no idea what kind of oven people have if their rolls are ready in 25.
Lovely recipe! Everyone loved them so much I’m considering making them as gifts for a few friends this Christmas. Sally, what is the best way to make the icing in advance? Can I make it and freeze it separate from the par baked rolls to be dethawed and frosted when they are ready to pull them out of the freezer to eat? If not, what would you suggest?
This is the first time I’ve tried one of your recipes. I can’t wait to try more!
Thanks in advance!
Anna
Hi Anna, yes, you can absolutely freeze the frosting on the side to gift with the cinnamon rolls. Hope they’re a hit!
Thanks for the info! I’ve read in several places that you can bake the cinnamon rolls all the way, let them cool completely, ice them then freeze them. Then let them dethaw and warm them at a low temp (200 degrees F or so). Would this work for your recipe? Trying to cut out any work for my friends i am gifting these too but do not want to jeopardize the great taste!
Hi Anna, Fully baked rolls can be frozen up to 2-3 months. See the recipe notes for details. If you plan to have your friends warm them up in the oven, you may wish to not ice them (you can freeze the icing separately for gifting purposes). Hope this helps!
I absolutely love these cinnamon rolls. This year I made a savory version for Thanksgiving. I cut the sugar in half and made a filling from softened butter, fresh rosemary, fresh chives, garlic, and Parmesan. They were a hit…glad I made to two batches.
This recipe is amazing! I’m not a fan of cinnamon rolls, but my household is. Give me a sticky roll over a cinnamon roll always. I conceded this time and served these for Thanksgiving brunch. Big hit is an understatement. High, high praise from everyone. If someone hadn’t tried them yet, they were being pushed by those who had. This dough, wow. It’s so soft and pliable without being breakable. It’s so easy to work. I love this dough!
These are delicious! I made them for Christmas morning breakfast and now my brothers can’t get enough! They want me to make them fro every holiday.
I’ve also used your recipes for muffins and soft pretzels, absolutely amazing and delicious!
Question: what is the longest amount of time I can keep the cinnamon rolls in the fridge for?
Hi Emily, tightly covered leftover rolls should keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
I’ve made these twice and both times they didn’t rise as much as I’d hoped. I finally figured out why — for the 1/2 tablespoon of yeast I am misreading this and using 1/2 TEAspoon. There is no 1/2 tablespoon spoon that I’ve ever seen in a set. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m wondering if it would be helpful to others who are using a jar of yeast to write this as 1 tablespoon + 1.5 teaspoons?
Keep looking for that 1/2 Tablespoon measure…I have one! It’s from a blue Kitchenaid set which looks like it’s still available on Amazon. Good luck!
Check amazon, keeper of all things! I have a lovely metal yeast spoon that measures out 1 packet of yeast (3/4ths of a tbsp) because i buy in bulk and so many recipes are written for packets or have the equiv like this one does. Makes it easy! Alternatively, just eyeball half a tbsp measure, i do it all the time. Close should be good enough.
Hi! My set has a half Tablespoon, so they do exist. But since you dont have one you can just do the conversion. 1 Tablespoon is 3 Teaspoons so a half would be 1.5 Teaspoons. Hope this helps!
Hi Sally! If I am making these cinnamon rolls one day ahead, can I pop them in the oven the next day to serve warm without issue? Thanks so much!
Hi there! I work weekends in a private home with intellectually disabled individuals and cinnamon rolls are my go-to special occasion breakfast for the people I consider my second family. Birthdays, holiday mornings, in celebration of accomplishments, once in a while just because… That said, getting up hours before I otherwise needed to to make them was very tedious, especially on the mornings I knew I’d be there all day! I was so excited when I stumbled upon this recipe because that meant I could do the bulk of the work the night before, then pop them in the oven at my normal wake up time and my clients would wake to that marvelous cinnamon smell.
I gave it a shot and ended up loving this recipe even more than the one I’d used all my life! These rolls are so soft and fluffy. At the suggestion of one of my clients, we added walnuts to the filling and discovered they’re mind blowing either way. So we dabbled in all kinds of other things. Apple slivers, a bit of orange juice and zest, other spices or nuts – basically whatever they wanted to try, we tried. We have never gone wrong with this base recipe and our rolls have never been less than perfect.
I’m reviewing tonight because our house is closing tomorrow and each of the three people I have come to love so much over the last four years are off to their new homes, while I’m settling in at my new job. Tomorrow will be my last morning with them.
My cinnamon rolls are on the rise as I type. Thank you so much for this!
Hi K, Thank you so much for sharing that with us! We’re so glad this recipe has played a special part in each of your lives.
Hello! Looking forward to making these for an upcoming women’s brunch at church. Wondering if it’s ok to double the recipe or if I should make separate batches? Thanks so much for the time and effort you and your team put in to developing, testing, and sharing recipes.
Hi Kelly, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches. Hope they’re a hit at your brunch!
I made these this weekend and they were delicious! Could you provide some guidance on how sticky the dough is supposed to be? On a scale of tacky – where the dough kind of pricks up when touched, to sticky – where clumps cling to your hands.
I weighed everything exactly and followed the directions and the dough was decently sticky. When I touched it, a smallish clump clung to my hands, and I had dough residue on my hands after trying to get it off. Even though I had followed the directions it seemed too sticky so I added a couple of tablespoons of flour and mixed that in for about 5 minutes. It was still just as sticky. I decided to just let it rise because I didn’t want to make the rolls dense. When transferring to the oiled boil the dough had to be transferred in 2 sections because it didn’t form one stiff ball of dough. After rising it was just fine to work with and the rolls turned out great. I’m just trying to get a grasp for next time of how sticky to expect the dough to be. Pictures of that would be helpful, too! Recipes usually say “not too sticky” which I have a hard time interpreting.
Hi Holly! I’m just seeing this question/comment now. I must have missed it during those busy Thanksgiving weeks in November! The dough is supposed to be a bit tacky, but not as sticky as you are describing. We are working on publishing a video for these rolls ASAP! In the mean time, just so you don’t need to add too much flour, if you try the recipe again, I would reduce the milk by 2 Tablespoons (so, leave out 30ml). This way you don’t need to just continually add more flour. But, I’m glad you enjoyed how they tasted! A little less milk should help make the dough easier to handle.
Hello! How long and at what temp do you reheat the cinnamon rolls if frozen after baking? Thank you!
Hi Christina, you can reheat them at the same temperature for just a few minutes — exact bake time will vary by oven.
Based on this question/response could I bake these completely and then freeze. And heat from frozen?
Hi Rebecca, Fully baked rolls can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ WOW MISS SALLY YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN! I HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING YOU SINCE 2016. EVERY SINGLE RECIPE IS AMAZING!!! YOU ARE TRULY A BADASS IN THE KITCHEN! THESE ROLLS HAVE A VERY UNIQUE FLAVOR AND I LOVE IT! THIS RECIPE WILL BE MY GO TO RECIPE FOR CINNAMON ROLLS FROM NOW ON!❤️
I love Sally’s recipes for all my baked goods. Especially muffins! These are a lot of work but get super big and fluffy. I would double the inside filling though. There was a pretty thin layer that could’ve used a lot more.
Unfortunately, these taste way too yeasty to be enjoyable. The recipe does call for more yeast than I usually use, but I didn’t realize that until it was too late.
How much yeast should be used?
I made this recipe, or tried to, but the rolls developed a crust after letting it rise despite covering it. It happens with every yeast recipe I try. Any ideas on why this is happening?
Thank you so much!
Hi Meg, Thanks for trying this recipe. How did the baked rolls turn out? You may simply need to cover the pan tighter (we find plastic wrap works well).
Hi Meg:
In addition to Stephanie’s suggestion, you might like to try this old trick I learned as a teen making my first bread: use a tea towel; thoroughly wet it with the hottest water you can stand. Use this to cover your dough.
Good luck to you!
Oh! Wring out the towel as much as you can, sorry I forgot that detail!
I live in the desert and its pretty dry here so I spray mine lightly with Pam before each rise to prevent any dried out edges. This is great recipe thank you!
I made the Cinny minis, and they worked out really well. I cut the dough in half lengthwise so that I had two 6” x 18” pieces to roll. I baked them for about 25 minutes.
I followed the recipe exactly, and the dough was soft. The rolls were tender and delicious!
A great tip that I learned is to make “cinnamud’ filling, mixing the soft butter, brown sugar and cinnamon into a thick paste. Then spread it on the rolled-out dough. The result is an even covering over the dough, and nothing squeezing out of the roll. The result is a nice swirl!
I have a photo, but can’t figure out how to add it.
I really liked this recipe. I have made a few from your site and this was my first time making these rolls. I used half (UK) ‘plain’ flour (all purpose) and half bread flour. I wonder then if thag is the reason that the consistency of the rolls is more like cake than bread. So soft with no resistance at all. Definitely don’t mind this, just an interesting characteristic compared to ones I have made in the past. I found that I was able to get 15 rolls from the recipe and am so pleased I have so many as I can freeze and enjoy in the future. One questions: could I freeze after icing them?
Hi Holly, Thank you so much for trying this recipe. Bread flour has a higher protein content and is best for chewier baked goods like breads and bagels, so that would actually results in your rolls being more tough and dense – the opposite of what you are describing! The rolls should be nice and soft! If you try them again try using all all purpose flour and you may need to add a bit more – you want a nice soft but workable dough. If you freeze them with icing, you’ll want to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
It’s worth noting that all purpose flour differs between the US and UK: “UK plain flour is typically 10% or lower protein
US all-purpose flour is generally low 12% and often around 12.9% which would be most definitely be considered ‘Strong Flour’ in the UK. 9-10% protein flour makes good cakes (small crumbs).” – so we’d be better off using bread flour here in the UK I think