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
Hi, I’ve never baked with yeast before and I am fairly new at baking. I think these came out great, my only issue was that for some reason they were a bit sour at the bottom, the top half was not sour at all and was sweet after I put the cream cheese icing on top. But, especially on the first day after baking it, the bottom half of the cinnamon roll was sour, I am not sure why. I did accidentally leave the yeast to rise in the milk in a separate jug because I read elsewhere that you have to check if the yeast reacts to the milk to know that the yeast is good, so I put the yeast into my dough mixture after it rose a lot.
Also, would it be possible for me to make only half this batch? If I half this recipe and make this, do I use 7g or 14g of yeast? Since this is a 2 rise dough recipe, does this mean that I have to use two sachets of yeast even if I am only making half the batch? I am not sure as this is the first time I’ve worked with yeast.
Hi Taz, we suspect the sour fermented flavor could have been from the method you used to add the yeast to the dough. We recommend following these instructions for best results. This recipe could be halved. Though for best results and ease, we would recommend making the full batch and freezing the leftovers. See recipe notes for details. Or try our Easy Cinnamon Rolls recipe that makes a smaller batch. Happy baking!
Would this same dough recipe work but instead filled with savoury toppings?? Like pizza sauce and cheese to make a pizza scroll? Theoretically it’s fine right
Hi Sarah, that would definitely work but I recommend reducing the sugar. You may want to use my pizza dough recipe instead. I actually used it for these pepperoni pizza rolls if you want to check them out.
Inexperienced baker here, I tried this overnight recipe it was easy to follow and turned out good! I do find the bread a little sweeter than I would have liked but I followed a different cream cheese recipe (I’m not a fan of the taste powder sugar and cream cheese taste) and the sourness balanced it out. The filling after baking is more sparse looking than I’m used to seeing but still tastes good, but it is not googey. As many others have said on here it takes a lot longer to bake than 28mins. I tented at 15 mins, and when it was finished baking it was still slightly raw looking and very white. I baked for another 10 minutes with the tent on, removed the tent and baked for another 7 minutes until it was slightly golden brown and removed. I think maybe I didn’t tent properly and maybe that caused all the extra time I needed to bake?
Tried the overnight version and unfortunately did not turn out for me. It was in a glass pan and the edge ones turned very dark before the centre ones were cooked. The flavour was pretty good, not very gooey which is my preference. I usually love all recipes from your site but this one just didn’t turn out for me. I tried tenting with tinfoil to prevent the browning but it didn’t quite save them.
Hi from Maryland! I’d like to serve these to a bunch of teenagers at about 6:30 a.m. (!), and am unwilling to get up at 3 a.m. to finish the process. So my plan is to bake them the day before (doing everything but icing) and wrapping tightly for the overnight. The next morning, I’d like to warm them up, ice, and serve. Does this sound like a good plan? If so, any suggestions on how to warm them? Thanks!
Hi erinmalia, absolutely! Follow the directions as written (not using the overnight method in the notes). You can reheat the entire pan in the oven at 350 degrees F to your liking and then ice. Hope they’re a hit!
As a beginner baker, I found this recipe incredibly easy to follow and very approachable! The helpful tips throughout were both reassuring and useful, making the process much smoother. The cinnamon rolls turned out wonderfully soft and fluffy, and I was thrilled that the cream cheese frosting stayed perfectly intact without melting off!
The flavor was amazing, though I noticed they were just a touch dry and could have used a bit more cinnamon-sugar filling. However, this being my first attempt, I suspect it might have been an error on my part.
Overall, these overnight cinnamon rolls were a big hit, and I’m already looking forward to making them again soon!
I must say these rolls turned out really nice! I made a few mistakes along the way, but no one would be the wiser. The directions were a little confusing. But I was using my phone to read the directions and I was also trying to hurry . I accidentally added 1 cup of flour to the milk, eggs, butter and yeast mixture and after 3 minutes with the dough hook I beat it for 5 minutes. Oops!! Then followed the remaining instructions until I started cutting them. The dough rose and rolled out beautifully. I started cutting them into 2” segments instead of 1 1/2” segments and panicked. I cut the remainder into 1 1/2” segments and I baked them into separate pans to allow for different baking times. 2” would’ve made 9. They all turned out beautifully in spite of myself. I did a 10 hour overnight rise and 1 hour in my warm oven and 30 minutes on my cold kitchen counter while the oven preheated. The 2” ones are really show stoppers and required 33 minutes. My only issue is it seems like they could use more salt. I used Morton kosher salt. Maybe I didn’t use enough, or I’ll use salted butter in the dough next time. In any case, they’re just delicious!
Sent from my iPhone
Hey it says 1/2 cup of sugar but it doesn’t say that in the recipe?
Hi Taylor, you whisk 2 Tbsp sugar with the yeast in step 1 and add the rest in step 2.
Hi there, I’ve made these cinnamon rolls twice now but unfortunately, everytime they end up needing waaaay more time in the oven and still tasting a little like yeast. I’m not sure if the solution to this is to leave them even longer as they already get crispy at the top. I also use the right measurements, I’m from Europe but I have cup measurers, since the converting is sometimes inaccurate. I baked with dry yeast.
Does anyone maybe have an idea of what I’m doing wrong here?
Hi Mia, every oven can be a bit different, so it’s okay if yours takes a bit longer to bake through. If the tops are getting browned, cover the pan with aluminum foil to prevent burning, while allowing the middles of the rolls to continue baking through. Was your kitchen particularly warm, causing the dough to rise quickly? That’s often the culprit for overly yeasty breads/doughs, when the dough rises too quickly before the yeast finishes acting. Our Baking with Yeast Guide will be a helpful resource to review. Hope this helps for next time!
I am wondering if you can give your best guess, why my cinnamon rolls “cone” or “unravel from the centre” while baking? I have found this to be the case with your recipe as well as other recipes that I have used. Any suggestions?
Hi Lorrie, it’s normal for the cinnamon rolls to rise a bit unevenly while baking. We always check on them with the oven light, and if some are popping up extra high we use the back of a spoon to push them back down. I call this very scientific baking technique “whack-a-mole”! 🙂
Hi. I was wondering how long/what temp to reheat? Made them this morning and didn’t get a chance to have any
Hi Suzanne, reheat at 350 degrees F to your liking.
First time making this recipe and it was deliciously mouthwatering. I made it for Sunday breakfast for the family, and I got the best compliment from my Mother. She said it was better than her Grandmas family famous cinnamon rolls!
These turned out beautiful. My toddler actually ate the entire thing, whereas she normally just eats the icing from the store bought ones. My husband said the icing could be sweeter and I agree. I used 2% milk that I had on hand with the overnight method and they just seemed like they were missing something. I’ll try the whole milk next time.
Can this dough go into the refrigerator after assembly, or must it be risen immediately after the dough comes together? Trying this with a group of students and we have 60 minute long classes…
Hi Beginning baker, we recommend following the above overnight directions for this cinnamon roll recipe. These easy cinnamon rolls only require one rise, that can be done overnight (see recipe notes). Let us know if you give them a try!
So good! I browned the butter and cooled it for the filling. I also used my homemade BOURBON vanilla for the icing and holy smokes these are amazing. It’s my second time making them and they do not disappoint.
These turned out so great, so fluffy and yummy! Some notes that might help others: My rolls took 36 mins to bake – I kept checking with a toothpick and the dough was coming out raw up till that point. I still tented with foil at 15 mins as directed, and that prevented them from browning too much. I made a mistake and rolled them the wrong way so my dough ended up making only 9 larger rolls, so perhaps that’s why they ended up needing a longer bake time. I still used the 9×13 baking dish, they spread out to fill it while baking. I used salted butter because that’s what I had, just omitted the salt in the recipe. I used a Kitchenaid stand mixer w/ the dough hook for kneading for the specified time. I ended up needing to add probably about 1/4 cup more flour into my dough during the kneading because it was way too sticky. I did the overnight rise option. They were a big hit at a Galentine’s brunch! Sally’s the best!
Hi Sally! Is it possible to make the cream cheese frosting the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight? Looking forward to making these!
Hi Marina, absolutely! You may want to beat the frosting for a few seconds so it’s creamy again.
2. 1/4 tsp of yeast I packet. Does the recipe take two packets of yeast. OR just one for 2.1/4 tsp
Hi John, the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (14g) active dry or instant yeast which is 2 standard size packets.
Can you halve this recipe for 6 rolls?
Hi Giuliana, This recipe could be halved. Though for best results and ease, we would recommend making the full batch and freezing the leftovers. See recipe notes for details. Or try our Easy Cinnamon Rolls recipe that makes a smaller batch. Happy baking!
Can you make these as mini cinnamon rolls that could be easily picked up and eaten at a brunch? Any hints to do so? Thanks, Linda
Hi Linda, we haven’t tried making these into mini rolls but might start by shaping the dough into two 6×18-inch rectangles and try rolling them that way. You won’t get as much of the filling in each roll, though. You’ll need a larger (or multiple) baking dishes to accommodate the smaller but higher amount of rolls.
I followed this recipe exactly. These rolls turned out amazing!! They are so tasty and everyone loves them. I’ve never made cinnamon rolls and I found it relatively easy.
I’ve made your one rise cinnamon rolls in the past and they rose beautifully. I made this over night and I didn’t get much of a second rise. They are still delicious and my grandkids don’t care they aren’t super puffy. Just wondering what might have happened or if that is normal?
Hi HB, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Is it possible that the dough was over proofed in the first rise? When that happens, it can cause the dough to collapse when baking and come out a bit more dense and less light/fluffy. An easy fix for next time!
Hello! Curious if I could separate this into two 9″ cake pans so I can freeze a half batch for later. Has anyone tried? Thank you!
These rolls freeze very well – see recipe Notes for details.
The cake pans worked great and I am happy to have a half batch in the freezer for a rainy day (though we would have happily eaten them all, they were excellent even with 2% milk)
Hey! I’m making them now and wondering the same. Did you pre bake the freezer half for the 10 minutes first? Hope you reply
These are fantastically soft and delicious rolls! Made for Easter morning and my family loved them. I loved the convenience of starting the night before
I love this recipe sooo much.. Can I use buttermilk and in room temperature instead?
Hi Bruna, you can certainly use buttermilk in place of the whole milk here.
great, thanks for answering me 🙂
can I use it at room temperature instead of warm?
Hi Bruna, using warmed liquid is necessary to help activate the yeast.
Just made this for my crew at work. Everyone loves it. Added some Raspberry filling to it. They ate it up. Put it in the oven this morning and they were still warm when I came in. Will be adding to my collection.
I am so excited to try your recipe and fantastic instructions
I made another recipe that had buttermilk, and it was delicious. I’m so sad to see it’s not here anymore. Hoping you’ll repost soon! I don’t want my dough any other way.
Hi Alana, you can certainly use buttermilk in place of the whole milk here.
I’m so upset I put 1/4 cup of butter in the dough not a 1/2 cup and it’s been proofing for an hour do you think it will still come out ok? Btw I’ve tried a lot of your bread recipes and they are amazing!!
If I make these for a brunch event, could I roll the dough out longer to make them turn into mini cinnamon rolls? That way they are smaller and a larger quantity is made. I just don’t want to compromise the flavor /final product.
Hi Haley, we haven’t tried making these into mini rolls but might start by shaping the dough into two 6×18-inch rectangles and try rolling them that way. You won’t get as much of the filling in each roll, though. You’ll need a larger (or multiple) baking dishes to accommodate the smaller but higher amount of rolls.
I have done exactly this and they turn out fine.
I cut them into 9×12″ rectangles instead and make 1 inch wide rolls.
These are fantastically soft and delicious rolls! Made for Christmas morning and my family loved them. I loved the convenience of starting the night before. My family loves lots of frosting so I made 1 1/2 times the recipe. Definitely one I will keep to make again!