Extra Fluffy & Gooey Giant Cinnamon Roll with Vanilla Icing
Extra Fluffy and Gooey Giant Cinnamon Roll with sweet Vanilla Icing is everyone’s favorite Christmas breakfast. This is just like the classic breakfast treat, but made extra large and extra DELICIOUS! Imagine a buttery, soft, and oh-so fluffy sweet dough swirled with cinnamon sugar. Then, after baking, while it’s still oh-so warm and gooey, the roll is generously frosted with a thick and sweet vanilla icing that melts into every nook and cranny. There’s just SO much to love about this cinnamon roll. Every bite is melt-in-your-mouth delicious!! You honestly just can’t beat a giant cinnamon roll on Christmas morning.
It’s the first of December, which means it’s time to share a new cinnamon roll recipe! From our Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls to our Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls, we have been baking fun-twists and classics for years.
This year is no different! We are sharing what might be our best cinnamon roll recipe to-date. Every bite is fluffy, perfectly sweet, cinnamon-y, and just all around delicious. Whether you’re looking to bake something sweet for Christmas or just craving an extra delicious cinnamon roll, this recipe is for YOU!
Why You Will LOVE This Giant Cinnamon Roll
- Extra gooey. This giant cinnamon roll is everything you love about cinnamon rolls. No crispy edges here! Every bite is soft, fluffy, and seriously gooey.
- Size. Come on! A cinnamon roll that’s the size of your head…what could be better?!
- Simplicity. This is actually SO simple to make. Mix up the dough, fill it, and place into a pan. It’s that easy!
- Fun to eat. Once again, it’s a cinnamon roll that’s bigger than your head. What could be better?!
- Smothered in icing. One of my favorite things about a cinnamon roll is the icing. So, this cinnamon roll has extra icing for all my fellow icing lovers out there.
- A recipe you can trust. We have been baking cinnamon rolls for combined 40+ years! So, whether you’re just starting out baking with yeast or are already a pro, this recipe has something for everyone.
Ingredients To Make The Most Delicious Giant Cinnamon Roll
Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
For The Dough:
- Unsalted Butter – With a bright, fresh flavor, unsalted butter adds richness and flavor.
- Whole Milk – To ensure that you have a super soft, fluffy, melt in your mouth delicious dough, it’s best to use whole milk.
- All-Purpose Flour – No need for anything fancy here! Just regular unbleached all-purpose has just the right amount of protein to give the dough the structure it needs.
- Granulated Sugar – One of the hardest workers in this recipe, granulated sugar promotes browning, adds sweetness, and helps to make these pastries tender. It also acts as food for the yeast.
- Instant Yeast – Creating lift and giving these rolls their beautiful structure is the purpose of yeast in this recipe.
- Salt – Just a bit of salt enhances the flavor and helps the dough hold its shape.
- Large Egg – A binder that also adds moisture and structure, egg is an essential component of enriched dough.
For The Filling:
- Unsalted Butter – With a bright, fresh flavor, unsalted butter adds a buttery richness to the filling. It also allows us to control the amount of salt.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is that caramel-y, gooey, goodness that’s found in the center of every cinnamon roll.
- Ground Cinnamon – Obviously!! For the ultimate flavor, we use Vietnamese cinnamon because it has a strong, sweet, cinnamon-y flavor, but you can use whatever you have on hand!
- Salt – A must-have addition for the filling, salt enhances the flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour – In this filling, all purpose flour acts as a thickener and stabilizer to make the filling lush and gooey.
- Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla makes everything better! It helps round out the flavors and make this filling standout from the rest.
For The Icing:
- Powdered Sugar – Because it melts easily, powdered sugar ensures a smooth icing.
- Half and Half – Our secret to thick, luscious icing for cinnamon rolls. If you don’t have half and half, you can either make your own by combing equal parts whole milk and heavy whipping cream. If you don’t have heavy cream to make half and half, you can just use whole milk, but keep in mind the icing will be much thinner.
- Vanilla Extract – The main flavor for the icing, vanilla extract perfectly complements the flavor of the cinnamon roll.
How To Make A GIANT Cinnamon Roll (In A Few Simple Steps!)
Step 1: Make the dough
Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter, stirring occasionally, until butter melts. Remove from heat and cool to 120℉-130℉.
With the mixer running on low speed, pour over the dry ingredients.
Once the dough starts to get tacky, about 1 minute, add the egg. Keep mixing on low until the egg is incorporated, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high/high and knead for 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and is no longer sticking to the bowl.
Step 2: Prove
Scrape dough into prepared container. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.
Step 3: Prepare filling
Combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, flour, and vanilla in a small bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until blended, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Step 4: Assemble
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into a square that is ⅜ inch thick.
Spread filling over top of dough, going all the way to the edges.
Using a pastry cutter, a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, cut dough into 1¼ inch strips. Cut each strip in half.
Beginning with one strip, roll up jellyroll-style and place in center of prepared pan.
Take a second strip and, starting where the first one stopped, keep wrapping. Repeat until all dough is used.
Step 5: Prove & bake
Cover pan with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place until dough is noticeably swollen, about 1 hour. When dough is proofed, bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and set.
Step 6: Make icing
Combine powdered sugar, half and half, and vanilla in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Drizzle or spread over cinnamon roll.
FAQ’s and Troubleshooting
A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and shiny. The bowl of the mixer should also be clean and the dough should lift out of the mixer in one piece, rather than ripping into two pieces.
Is your yeast in-date? If not, then you need to get new yeast and try again. If it is, did you check the temperature of the butter/milk mixture? When the mixture is over 120-130 degrees, it’ll kill your yeast! Be sure to have a thermometer on hand.
Definitely! That’s one of our favorite things about this recipe. You can bake these rolls ahead of time and store in the freezer. It’s always best to make the icing fresh, but it can be made the day before you need it. Just store in an airtight container and keep in the fridge.
You should really let the baked cinnamon roll cool before icing. If you don’t, the icing will melt into the rolls.
Definitely! Don’t cut the strips in half, and just roll each one into a cinnamon roll, rather than wrapping it. Keep in mind, you may need a bigger pan or more than one pan. You can also make our Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls, if you’re prefer individual rolls.
Looking for more cookies? Here are a few recipes you may like:
Extra Fluffy & Gooey Giant Cinnamon Roll with Vanilla Icing
Ingredients
Sweet Dough
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour*
- 5 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons instant yeast*
- ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅝ cup whole milk
- 1 large egg, room temperature
Filling
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ⅜ teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ¼ cup half and half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Sweet Dough
- Spray a covered container or glass bowl with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter, stirring occasionally, until butter melts.
- Remove from heat and cool to 120℉-130℉.
- With the mixer running on low speed, pour over the dry ingredients.
- Once the dough starts to get tacky, about 1 minute, add the egg.
- Keep mixing on low until the egg is incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Increase speed to medium-high/high and knead for 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth and is no longer sticking to the bowl.
- Scrape dough into prepared container.
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours. If using a proofing box, add water tray, and proof uncovered at 78℉.
Filling
- While dough is proofing, combine butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, flour, and vanilla in a small bowl.
- Beat with an electric mixer until blended, about 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Assembly
- Spray a 12 inch cast iron skillet with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Roll into a square that is ⅜ inch thick.
- Spread filling over top of dough, going all the way to the edges.
- Using a pastry cutter, a pizza cutter, or a sharp knife, cut dough into 1¼ inch strips.
- Cut each strip in half.
- Beginning with one strip, roll up jellyroll-style and place in center of prepared pan.
- Take a second strip and, starting where the first one stopped, keep wrapping.
- Repeat until all dough is used.
- Cover pan with plastic wrap.
- Allow to rise in a warm place until dough is noticeably swollen, about 1 hour.
- While dough is proofing, heat oven to 350℉.
- When dough is proofed, bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown and set.
Icing
- Combine powdered sugar, half and half, and vanilla in a small bowl.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Drizzle or spread over cinnamon roll.
Notes + Tips!
- *For this recipe, we use SAF Gold Yeast. If another type of yeast is used, we cannot guarantee it will work.
- Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date.
- If milk mixture does accidentally boil, don’t worry! You haven’t ruined it. It just takes longer to cool down this way. Just give it time to cool to 120-130 degrees before pouring it into the dry ingredients.
- Don’t have a big enough lidded container to allow the dough to rise? You can put the dough in a glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap!
- The butter for the filling needs to be room temperature.
- If you want the dough/rolls to proof faster, place them near something warm like the oven! Just don’t put the dough in the oven.
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Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
– Still Hungry? –
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So, I’m trying to “print” the recipe and it just keeps opening up a new window to the Extra Fluffy & Gooey Giant Cinnamon Roll with Vanilla Icing page but not the print version.
Hi Linda! It does open the recipe in another tab, but there should be a print button at the top. What are you seeing instead?
Can you put a link to the pan you used in this recipe please. I’d prefer that one instead of the one you listed. Thank you!
Hi Evelyn! I fixed the link in the recipe card. It should link to the one we used in the images. Hope this helps! Happy holidays! x, Caylie
Normally there is BUT it opens up yet another browser window that looks like the originial. I just tried it in another browser (FireFox) and it works as it should. Maybe it’s a Brave/Chrome issue? I dunno. But FireFox is working. Computers…….
I’m glad you figured it out! Thanks for letting me know!