Name: Easy Cinnamon Rolls
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 180 min
Ingredients: 1 cup butter; 2 cups milk; 1 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 Tablespoons instant yeast; 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour; 2 large eggs; 1 cup salted butter (at room temperature); 1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed); 4 Tablespoons ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 2 teaspoon vanilla; 4 cups powdered sugar (sifted); 1/2 cup half and half; 1 teaspoon vanilla

Jump to Recipe

There is nothing more comforting than these Easy Cinnamon Rolls! Made from simple pantry staple ingredients, this is a pastry that any baker at any skill level can make. Who needs an expensive single cinnamon roll from the bakery when you can easily make your very own large batch and have them any time you want? Light, fluffy, sweet dough with the perfect amount of gooey cinnamon filling, topped with vanilla icing. Breakfast really can’t get better than this!

three cinnamon rolls on a stack of white plates with a jug of milk and more cinnamon rolls behind

About The Recipe

We have been making these cinnamon rolls my entire life! They are the definition of a delicious and comforting breakfast. Yeah, okay… Maybe not the healthiest thing to kick off the day, but it is the most delicious! Buttery, soft, sweet, cinnamon-y rolls with the best ever cinnamon filling AND icing on top? Seriously, count me in!

Before we actually started this blog, one of the first “recipes” we posted on our Instagram was actually THIS! Though, it was before we really knew what we were doing… It was just a photo on Instagram without the actual recipe posted below.

Hm. Yeah, I don’t know either… But here we are today! We are FINALLY sharing this.

We actually have changed the recipe over the years. Adding things, taking things out, and I can officially say that this version is seriously the absolute best that they can be! Plus, they are seriously SO easy to make.

cinnamon roll on a white plate with icing and other cinnamon rolls around it

I can remember during the months of fall and winter growing up, the house constantly smelled of cinnamon rolls. That definitely was not a bad thing. There was nothing better than waking up to the sweet smell filling the house or even coming back inside after a long day of playing outside and finding these being freshly pulled out of the oven.

Ingredients

For The Dough:

Butter
Milk
Sugar
Salt
Yeast
All-Purpose Flour
Eggs

ingredients for cinnamon rolls on a marble table

For The Cinnamon Filling:

Butter
Brown Sugar
Ground Cinnamon
Salt
All-Purpose Flour
Vanilla

For The Glaze:

Powdered Sugar
Half and Half
Vanilla

powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in glass bowls on a marble counter

Instructions

Thankfully, these cinnamon rolls are SO easy to make! First, gather and measure out all your ingredients for the dough. Now, place butter in a small pot and let melt over a low heat.

While your butter is melting, go ahead and combine sugar, salt, yeast, and two cups of flour in the mixer.

mixer bowl with flour, yeast, salt, and sugar

Once the butter is melted, add milk and heat to 120-130 degrees.

milk added to melted butter in a small pot

Pour in the butter/milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix on medium for two minutes.

dry ingredients for cinnamon rolls in a mixer

Now, add the eggs and 2 more cups flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 more minutes. Turn off the mixer and change flat beater out for the dough hook. Add remaining flour and mix on low speed until just combined. Increase speed and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

flour and eggs added to butter and flour mixture

Transfer the dough into a large greased container and cover. Set aside until the dough has doubled in bulk. This should take about an hour.

cinnamon roll dough in a dough rising bucket

cinnamon roll dough in a plastic container

While the dough rises, let’s make the filling!

Add all ingredients to a medium sized bowl and, using a hand mixer, mix until thoroughly combined.

sugar, flour, and cinnamon added to butter

Once the dough has doubled in bulk, turn out onto a floured surface and roll out to about a 1/4 inch thick.

cinnamon roll dough turned out onto a marble counter

cinnamon roll dough rolled out on a marble counter

Spread all the filling evenly across the dough.

cinnamon filling being spread onto dough

Using a rolling pizza cutter, cut the dough lengthwise in one inch strips. Then, cut halfway across. Roll each strip and place in a greased pan.

cinnamon roll dough cut into length wise strips

Cover the cinnamon rolls with a towel and set aside for about 45 minutes, or until they have doubled in bulk.

cinnamon rolls in a pan on a marble counter

cinnamon rolls in a pan after doubled in bulk

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

As the cinnamon rolls cool, make the icing! Combine everything into a bowl and mix until smooth. You can use the mixer or a hand mixer to do this.

powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk in a glass bowl

After the cinnamon rolls have cooled, either spread the icing onto the cinnamon rolls or add to a piping bag and drizzle across.

cinnamon rolls glazed in a pan on a marble counter

Serve immediately!

Storing/Reheating

You can actually freeze them separately for individual servings or all together if you’re expecting a lot of company. You can also freeze these with or without icing. I recommend freezing without icing that way it doesn’t melt back into the cinnamon roll when you reheat them!

Just leave them out on the counter or, if you saved them individually, you can pop them into the microwave.

Troubleshooting

If your cinnamon rolls didn’t rise: Check your yeast! It may be out of date.

Cinnamon rolls shrink after baking: This is totally normal! With yeast breads, as steam escapes, it’s natural for the bread to shrink a little.

Cinnamon rolls pop up in the middle: This has to do with placement in the pan. The closer the cinnamon rolls are, the more they will pop. It’s because the dough didn’t have room to expand and, therefore, the only way they could go is up!

Dry cinnamon rolls: This could be caused by two things. Over baking or too much flour was added to the dough.

a cinnamon roll on a stack of white plates with a jug of milk, two other cinnamon rolls, and a pan of cinnamon rolls behind

Expert Tips

Make sure you use SAF gold instant yeast.
If you prefer, you can roll the dough up jelly roll style and cut it. But be careful because this can compress the dough!
If you don’t have half and half, use 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup whole milk.
If the icing is too thick for your taste, you can always add a little more milk.
This recipe freezes really well!

When you make these Easy Cinnamon Rolls, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.