Forget Cinnabon—these are the best cinnamon rolls in the world! We’re talking big, fluffy, pillowy-soft dough swirled with gooey brown sugar cinnamon filling and drenched in melt-in-your-mouth cream cheese frosting—once you try them, you’ll never go back!
After years working in bakeries and testing this recipe dozens of times, I’ve created a foolproof bakery-style cinnamon roll recipe that’s the secret behind all of my gourmet roll flavors—from coffee-flavored rolls to gooey cookie butter rolls—and trust me, it delivers every time.
With a few bakery-learned tricks and ingredients, these easy homemade cinnamon rolls stay soft and moist for days—if they last that long!
—5 Star Review—
“I’ll admit I spent way too much time researching which cinnamon roll recipe to try for my first time making them, but I’m so glad I waited until I found this recipe. It is absolutely perfect! I followed the instructions that were well written and easy to follow and they completely exceeded my high expectations.” -Kris
Table of Contents
How To Make Them
1
Make the tangzhong. This is my secret technique for perfect cinnamon buns! It makes the dough so soft and gooey.
2
Combine the wet and dry ingredients in a stand mixing bowl. You should have a rough, shaggy dough—this is normal!
3
Knead the dough. Add the butter a little bit at a time, then continue kneading until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl and looks smooth and elastic.
4
Let the dough rest. This step is important as it allows the gluten to relax which will make it easier to roll it out in the next step!
5
Make the cinnamon sugar filling. Make sure to use cool room temperature butter—butter that is melted or too warm tends to leak out of the rolls when they bake!
6
Roll out the cinnamon roll dough. You should need little to no flour, that’s the best part of this dough!
7
Spread the filling across the dough. Spread the cinnamon mixture evenly over the top, leaving a 1″ border at the top clean.
8
Cut out the rolls. From my experience in bakeries, using a pizza wheel to cut strips instead of cutting the log with floss gives you perfectly round rolls every single time!
9
Let the rolls rise until doubled in size. Place the cinnamon rolls into the prepared 9×13 baking pan, cover the top with plastic wrap, and let them rise in a warm place until doubled in size.
10
Bake the rolls. Baking them at a lower temperature ensures the dough stays super soft and gooey!
Once you’re hooked on these classic rolls, why stop there? Try one of my most popular flavors (all made from scratch!)—heavenly red velvet rolls, ultra-decadent chocolate cinnamon rolls, or my viral chocolate chip cookie dough rolls. You’ve been warned—they’re addictive!
11
Make the cream cheese buttercream frosting.
12
Top the baked rolls with the icing. Spread the icing over the tops of the warm rolls and allow it to melt into the centers.
Ingredient Substitutions
Bread flour is my top recommendation for a chewier texture, however, all-purpose flour can be used in substitution.
Vanilla bean paste: While vanilla extract can be substituted equally, the paste provides way more flavor!
If you tried this or any other recipe on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments; I love hearing from you! Also, please leave a star rating while you’re there! You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook so I can check it out!
The Best Homemade Cinnamon Roll (Cinnabon Copycat!)
Equipment
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 1/4 cup bread flour
- 3/4 cup water
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 3 2/3 cups bread flour, *See notes below for measuring*
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/3 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large whole egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Tangzhong from above
- 8 tablespoons salted European butter, cool room temperature
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- 1/2 cup salted European butter, cool room temperature
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla powder, optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 5 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Before you start, line a metal 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper.
- First, make the tangzhong: In a small saucepan, whisk together the water and all-purpose flour. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is a paste-like slurry. Scrape it into a bowl and set it aside.1/4 cup (32 g) bread flour, 3/4 cup (155 g) water
- In a stand mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt until combined. Add the cream, milk, egg, vanilla, and tangzhong to the bowl. Knead on low speed with the dough hook for 2 minutes until it forms a rough dough ball.3 2/3 cups (485 g) bread flour, 1/3 cup (66 g) granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons instant yeast, 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, 1/3 cup (78 g) heavy cream, 1/3 cup (78 g) whole milk, 1 large (50 g) whole egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, Tangzhong from above
- On low speed, knead in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, letting it fully incorporate before adding more. Continue kneading for another 10-12 minutes until the dough looks smooth and elastic.8 tablespoons (113 g) salted European butter
- Remove the dough from the bowl and pull the sides down into the bottom center to create a smooth round ball. Place it seam-side down into the mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.
- While the dough rests, combine the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla powder for the filling. Set aside.1/2 cup (113 g) salted European butter, 2/3 cup (133 g) light brown sugar, 2 tbsp ground cinnamon, 2 tsp vanilla powder
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 15×21-inch rectangle. Dollop the cinnamon sugar mixture across the surface, then spread it to the edges with an offset spatula, leaving a 1-inch border at the top clean.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut twelve, 1 3/4-inch strips. Roll each strip away from you, then carefully transfer them to the baking pan. Cover the top with plastic wrap and set it in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 F/162 C.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 30-35 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
- While the rolls are baking, make the cream cheese frosting. In a stand mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter until combined. Then mix in the powdered sugar. Keep beating on low speed until the frosting is light and fluffy, then mix in the vanilla bean paste and heavy cream.6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter, 5 ounces (5 oz) cream cheese, 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- Let the pan cool on a wire cooling rack for 15 minutes, then spread the cream cheese frosting on top. Let sit another 15 minutes for the frosting to seep into the rolls. Serve warm and enjoy!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days. Reheat them in the oven or microwave until warm before serving!
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @cambreabakes on social!
These are amazing!! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe with others. My boyfriend loves cinnamon buns so I surprised him with these one day. He said they are the best he has ever had and since then I have made them 3x in 3 weeks (waistlines are expanding lol). I also shared these with my nephew and step mom and they also loved them and want more. My nephew is planning on making them himself because they were so good and he can’t stop thinking about them. So appreciate the recipe and how you laid it all out to make it very easy to follow.
Aww that makes my heart so happy! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with so many people!
Tried you recipe and it turned out great! I had only one problem with the incorporation of the butter. I added it one tablespoon at a time as suggested, but after the first 3 or 4 the butter started to stick on the bottom of the bowl between the bowl and the dough, so I had to stop many times kneading with the stand mixer, and help to knead by hand and then restart with the mixer. Even increasing the speed of the mixer didn’t help.
Do you have any suggestion? Im using a Kitchenaid stand mixer, thanks
Hi Kevin, was the butter sticking to the bottom in chunks/whole? Sometimes that will happen to me but it’s more smeared on the bottom. I just keep kneading it and it eventually incorporates into the dough. If it’s chunks, it might be that the butter is too cold! I hope that’s helpful!
The butter was smeared on the bottom of the bowl and making filaments between the bottom and the dough, continue kneading didn’t help that much for me unfortunately.. if you have any suggestion I’ll try this out this weekend when I’m remaking the rolls;)
I would try using butter that is a little bit warmer, the only thing I can think of that would cause that problem is that the butter was too cold. Try it out and let me know how it goes!
These are incredible! What directions do you suggest to try and make them the night before so then you can toss them in the oven when you wake up? I struggle to make these to have them done before it’s lunchtime.
Hi Lacey! I think your best bet would actually be to bake them the night before and then warm them in the oven the next morning. This recipe is always just as soft and fluffy the second day!
Hello, thank you very much for sharing this recipe. I have fresh yeast, in this case how many grams of fresh yeast should I use? and how long should I leave them in the first leavening?
Hi Jacqueline! It’s tricky to say as I have personally only worked with fresh yeast once. I would double the yeast (4 teaspoons instead of 2) and make sure to activate it in warm milk before using it. The rise times may be longer than the recipe indicates!