Easy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Christmas mornings are filled with smiles, laughter, gifts, and of course amazing food. These Easy Cinnamon Rolls are delightful with their soft, warm, gooey texture; sweetened with cinnamon and sugar, then topped with cream cheese frosting.
Sure, sounds great right? Who wants to spend Christmas morning in the kitchen away from their family? Not me! This recipe also includes make ahead options. Make ahead then freeze, or prep the night before and bake the morning of. You choose!
Jump to Recipe
Recommended Kitchen Equipment
- electric mixer
- dough hook attachment
- 9-inch cake pan or 9×9 baking pan
- parchment paper
- serrated knife or dental floss (yes, you read that correctly, 😉
- small mixing bowl
- microwavable safe bowl
Ingredients
Ingredients for Dough
- milk (whole or 2%)
- 1/4 oz package active yeast
- granulated sugar
- egg, + egg yolk
- unsalted butter
- bread flour
- salt
Ingredients for Filling
- brown sugar (dark or light)
- ground cinnamon
- nutmeg
- toasted pecans
- unsalted butter
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting
- cream cheese
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- vanilla
- milk (whole or 2%)
How to Toast Pecans
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in small bowl, then toss with pecan halves.
- Arrange buttered pecans into one layer on baking sheet.
- Toast in oven for 7 to 10 minutes tossing frequently (about every 3 to 4 minutes).
- Remove from oven. Then chop toasted pecans.
Why Room Temperature or Softened?
In school I hated Chemistry, but baking all about chemistry. Temperatures and textures matter, they determine how a specific ingredient will react with another. In this recipe we need warm milk to activate the yeast. Cold milk will not get the job done. We also need soften butter to spread over our dough when making our Easy Cinnamon Rolls filling. If you have ever tried it, you know cold butter is much more difficult to spread.
How to Store Leftovers
On the rare occasion that you have leftovers, they can be store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. I also like to make this recipe ahead of time and freeze for later use. I do this by wrapping the cinnamon rolls in parchment paper, this prevents them from sticking together. Then I also wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in a gallon sized freezer Ziploc bag to prevent freezer burn. These can be stored in the freezer up to 3 months.
Easy Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Print RecipeIngredients
Ingredients for the Dough
- 3/4 cup warm milk whole milk or 2%
- 2 1/4 tsp active yeast 1- 1/4 oz package
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 cups bread flour plus more for floured surface
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp salt
Ingredients for the Filling
- 2/3 cup brown sugar light or dark
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup toasted pecans
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 2 tbsp milk whole or 2%
Instructions
- Pour milk into microwave safe bowl and warm for about 40 to 45 seconds. The milk should feel like bath water, about 110° F. Transfer warm milk to bowl of stand mixer and sprinkle yeast on top.
- Add in sugar, egg, egg yolk, and melted butter. Mix well, until combined.
- Stir in flour with wooden spoon until dough begins to form.
- Place dough hook on mixer and knead for about 8 minutes. Dough should form a nice ball and be slightly sticky. If dough is too sticky to handle add 2 tbsp of flour.
- Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel and allow dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in dry, warm area. This could take more of less time depending on the temperature and humidity of your home.
- Once dough has doubled in size transfer to a well-floured surface and roll into a 14×9 inch rectangle.
- Then spread softened butter over dough leaving about a 1/4 inch margin around dough edges.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Use your hands to sprinkle mixture over buttered dough. Then pat brown sugar mixture into butter so it sticks.
- Starting from the 9-inch side tightly roll up dough. Place the seam side down making sure to seal the edges of the dough as best as possible. Cut off about an inch of dough at each end and discard.
- Using serrated knife or floss cut dough into one-inch pieces, you should get about 9 cinnamon rolls.
- Place cinnamon rolls in a greased 9×9 inch baking pan or 9-inch cake pan lined with parchment paper.
- Cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel, let rise again for 30-45 minutes.
- For Overnight Cinnamon Rolls: Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. In the morning remove cinnamon rolls from the refrigerator and let sit on the counter for 30 to 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Remove plastic wrap and towel. Bake cinnamon rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat cream cheese and butter with and electric mixer at medium speed.
- Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Stir in vanilla and 1 tbsp of milk. Add remaining milk tbsp gradually until icing is smooth and creamy.
- Spread over warm cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!
Love it? Pin it!
From Our Table to Yours,
