I have to confess something. It’s big. I hope we can still be friends.
I’ve been cheating on my favorite cinnamon roll recipe with these bad boys. I’ve made these rolls no less than eight times in the last couple of months and although I didn’t believe cinnamon rolls could get any better, these definitely are in the running for the best cinnamon roll.
In my defense, I’ve only been partially cheating, using the tasty brown sugar filling from the “old” recipe and pairing it with the velvety soft and tender dough from this newer recipe. The result of the merge is near perfection, especially with the simple cream cheese glaze swirling over the tops of the warm rolls.
The buttermilk dough is so soft and supple that a rolling pin isn’t even necessary when rolling them out (similar to the other vanilla pudding recipe) – I can easily press it into a rectangle with my hands without it being overly sticky. The difference lies mainly in the flavor of the dough. The buttermilk adds a special depth of flavor to the dough and must aid in tenderness because the baked rolls are fabulously soft and light in texture.
I have a feeling I’ll alternate between the two recipes, since I still absolutely adore the vanilla pudding recipe, but if you twisted my arm and pinned me down for a confession, I’d have to admit that these are definitely my new cinnamon roll flame.
One Year Ago: Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
Two Years Ago: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
*Make-Ahead: to make these rolls ahead of time, once the rolls are formed and placed on the baking sheet, immediately cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap and refrigerate them; do not let them rise. Refrigerate overnight, up to 16 hours. Let the rolls sit at room temperature, covered, until they have doubled in size about 3-4 hours and then uncover and bake as directed. The rolls can also be frozen at the same point as mentioned above (cover with a layer of greased plastic wrap and a top layer of tin foil). They will need to sit at room temperature for 9-11 hours to defrost and rise before baking.
*Note: as with all yeast doughs, I never use the flour amount called for in the recipe as a hard fast rule (unless a weight measure is given and then I pull out my kitchen scale). Because humidity, temperature, altitude and a multitude of other factors can impact how much flour you need in your yeast doughs, I always judge when to quit adding flour by the texture and look and feel of the dough rather than how much flour I’ve added compared to the recipe. This tutorial on yeast may help identify how a perfectly floured dough should be.
Makes 12 rolls
INGREDIENTS:
Rolls:
¾ cup buttermilk, warm (I pour the buttermilk in a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power)
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
4 ¼ cups (21 ¼ ounces) flour
¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
Filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze (or use the delicious cream cheese frosting from this recipe):
1 ½ cups (6 ounces) confectioners sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
For the dough, whisk the warmed buttermilk and butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (or you can use a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or electric handheld mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and eggs and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (knead for 15-18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes of kneading, the dough is still overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but has a slight tacky feel when pressed between your fingertips. (See this tutorial for a visual.)
Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Meanwhile, lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking dish (if doubling the recipe, I’ve found using a large rimmed baking sheet, 11X17-inches, works great). In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter (I use my trusty roul’pat for this step) and press it into a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (if you have doubled the recipe, split the dough in half and roll out one half at a time). Gently brush the softened butter over the rectangle, using an offset spatula or rubber spatula. Sprinkle on the brown sugar mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the top and bottom edges. Lightly use the palms of your hands to press the brown sugar mixture into the butter, adhering it to the dough.
Lift the longest edge closest to you and begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log so it is seam side down. Gently stretch the log to be 18 inches in length with an even diameter all the way throughout and pat the ends to even them up.
Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls (or more if you like your rolls thinner). Arrange the rolls cut side down on the prepared baking pan and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden on top and cooked through but not overly browned.
While the rolls are baking, mix the softened cream cheese and buttermilk together until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix. Whisk in the confectioner’s sugar. Add additional milk or buttermilk one teaspoon at a time until desired glaze consistency is reached. It should be thick yet pourable. Drizzle the warm rolls with the glaze.
Recipe Source: adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Handbook
{ 82 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh how I wish I had one of these for breakfast…
mmmm… anything with cream cheese on it must be good!
Wow…these look incredible! I love that they can be made ahead. Thanks for sharing!
I love that you included make ahead directions on these. I want to make them and freeze them for when we have company. These would be dangerous with just the two of us in the house
Im afraid to make these because I actually just made your vanilla pudding ones yesterday and they are so delicious that I don’t see how they can be topped. =]
I just bought some buttermilk at the store and needed a recipe to use it up. I am making these this weekend! Thanks!!
I’ve been boycotting your blog in my attempt to shed the last of my pregnancy pounds (can I even call it that now that my baby is 19 months?). I tried to not exclude you there for awhile, but you are too much of an enabler! I’m reading all the recipes I’ve missed and I think I might be in trouble.
The cinnamon roll recipe I use has buttermilk in it. It is perfect in sweet roll dough, I’ve decided. I’m going to have to give your recipe a try. I need to take a treat in to a friend and this will be perfect!
I love baking with buttermilk, also agree on the brown sugar filling. Toasted pecans thrown in there would be my taste bud choice!
One problem I have with cinnamon roll recipes is that there is so little cinnamon! I like to know its there. I’m going to give these a try and will let you know my “expert” opinion. I also am a firm believer that the law requires raisins. I’ll let you know if I get to agree with you about the best part.
Darnit, I’m going to have to make these now. I have buttermilk that is going to expire soon and nothing else to do on this rainy day. Really, my hands are tied . . .
I am a big fan of cream cheese icing…those look divine!
Wow, these look sooo good! I am in need of new baking sheets. Just curious, what do you use?
Angie – I use the classic 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheets – you can find them anywhere from Walmart to Sam’s Club to who knows where else. I use them for just about everything – all of my rolls, cookies.
Is the instant yeast different than the active dry yeast? Can I use the Active Dry Yeast instead?
I’ve been wanting to find a better cinnamon roll recipe, and I am going to give these a try… just as soon as I can find people to eat the other 11.
Can’t wait to try these. I’m excited! Thanks so much for this recipe and for all the ones you post. I can ALWAYS count on Mel’s recipes to be winners! Thanks again!
Ooo I bet the buttermilk really does give these cinnamon rolls a nice flavor and texture!
these are rising in my oven right now
oh sweet heavens how will i wait 2 more hours to try one?????
i’ll letcha know how awesome they are once i finish eating them all and wipe the glaze from my chin
My family used to eat cinnamon rolls as a special breakfast treat all the time, and we would bake them in a round baking dish. That meant there would be rolls all around the outside of the dish, and only one cinnamon roll that was right in the center and had the most glaze and was the softest. We used to take turns deciding who would get the honor of having that one! These look delish and remind me of my childhood.
It’s a cruel world!! I want to make these and about a trillion other things are your website that require buttermilk, but I can’t find that here. Is there anyway to make your own buttermilk?
Kensi – yes, you can actually make your own buttermilk. Place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. Let the mixture stand for five minutes then use as directed in the recipe. I hope that helps!
Jenny, yes, the instant yeast is different than active dry yeast. You can look at my tutorial on yeast for some more information, but in a nutshell, active dry yeast needs to be proofed in water and a bit of sugar, usually, before being added to the other ingredients. Instant yeast, on the other hand, doesn’t need to be proofed first and can be thrown in with all the other ingredients without bubbling/foaming in warm water first. If you want to use active dry yeast in this recipe, increase the amount of yeast to 1 tablespoon and whisk in the yeast with the warmed buttermilk. Let it sit for 5-7 minutes or so until it bubbles and foams. Then mix in the butter and proceed with the rest of the recipe (omitting adding the yeast with the other dry ingredients). I hope this helps!
Oh man, really? It really beats the other one? Thanks for posting this now too, we’ve made your cinnamon rolls for the last 2? 3? Conferences and it’s now the tradition! I’m glad I don’t have to wait too long to try them!
My mouth is practically watering all over my keyboard looking at these photos! Combining the best aspects of different recipes is one of my favorite types of kitchen experiments.
Hi Melanie! This is your faithful military wife who wroteto you from Germany. We are back in the states now and this recipe looks delicious. Would you consider posting a pecan roll version? I tried a topping with honey vs corn syrup and felt the honey was overpowering on the taste. Wondered what your thoughts were. Many thanks for your wonderful website
Cassie – I’ll have to experiment with a pecan roll version. My husband doesn’t love nuts so I usually don’t use them a lot but if I come across a great recipe, I’ll let you know! Welcome back to the States!
Oh man!!! You have no idea what confusion you have caused me!!!! A year or so ago I made up my mind to try your cinnamon roll recipe… Knowing mine was probably superior
lo and behold they were identical!!!! Great minds! Now you go and throw this curveball! I’ll have to give this a whirl now…,
I love, love, love this cinnamon roll recipe and it is so easy to make. I am a big fan of your vanilla pudding cinnamon roll recipe but I think this one is my new go to cinnamon roll recipe. Between my daughter, son, husband, and myself we had all of these rolls gone within a day and a half. Yummy!
Julie – you and me, both! I’ve converted over to this new recipe for now – love it! And I’m glad you do, too. Thanks for letting me know!
these sound SO good! i have to give these a try sometime soon!!
these are soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good. i can’t even find enough adjectives in my vocab to describe them so i’m not gonna try. just awesome.
Love that you love them, Mia!
Mel, these were delicious. The proportions on the filling reminded me of the recipe for Cinnabon where I worked in high school. I especially liked how easy the buttermilk dough came together. Have you tried using the dough recipe for your yummy orange rolls? I’d be curious to see how it worked. Thanks for sharing.
Beth – funny you ask, I actually made orange rolls a few days ago with this recipe and oh my, they were absolutely divine. I’m going to be posting about them soon!
Okey doke! I’m adding this to the flour frosting recipe. It’s been a while since I made the kiddos cinnamon rolls.
~ingrid
i feel like supple is a dirty word, but i do love a supple dough. and yay–a new cinnamon roll recipe to try!!
Melanie….these were AMAZING! Made them this past weekend for our family and some friends at a lake house, and they were gone the next day. They were the fluffliest lightest rolls ever! Would you ever use that new perfect frosting on them? Or is that recipe mainly for cakes? What about on sugar cookies? I am dying to try that frosting! I am thinking since I still have buttermilk left, I better make those rolls again for conference! Thanks once again for something AMAZING!
I don’t need to wait to taste these before I leave a comment…right now they are almost ready to put in the oven and I can already tell they will be FAB! The dough looks incredible. Thanks for the great recipe! We love so many of your recipes. Can’t wait to eat them during Conference tomorrow.
Marne – hope these rolls were great out of the oven, too! Thanks for your comment.
This dough is amazing. I got up this morning at five so we could have these fresh for Conference, and I can tell it will be worth it. (I realize I could have made them ahead of time but figured I would still have to get up to take them out to rise, and once I’m up -I’m up so…) I think we have just started a new tradition! Thanks. And my son thanks you too, for letting him have “treats” for breakfast. I can just hear him now
Thanks for helping my feel like mom of the world, if only for a moment!
I just made them for conference too! This was my first attempt at cinnamon rolls ever–I think I’ve shared with you my fear of yeast. But they were perfect. I mean, really. I looked like such a super star when I served these to our guests this morning. You always make me look so good Mel! I twisted the glaze around to make an orange glaze by adding orange zest and orange juice in place of the buttermilk. It was the perfect combo. I am no longer scared of yeast (well, mostly) and this has been declared a new conference tradition.
Reyna – I think you need to consider yourself a yeast aficionado after this. If you can make cinnamon rolls, you can make just about anything! Love the orange glaze…
Kira – the dedication of a mother who wants to provide cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning! Seriously. Five a.m. for anything is a labor of love in my home. I’m glad they worked out to make it worth your effort! You deserve mother of the year award for this.
YUM! Also Conference brunch at my house (I am not as good as Kira who got up at 5AM!!), and they were amazing! I have tried a lot of cinnamon roll recipes and this dough wins, hands down! I used filling from another recipe that uses 1 1/2 Tbs cinnamon (I love that extra cinnamon flavor) and your cream cheese frosting recipe and the flavor of the dough still shone through. I loved how soft and tender the dough was from the buttermilk and the tangy flavor it lent as well! Thanks for the amazing recipes, keep ‘em coming!
Something about Conference brings about baking apparently! Add me to the list that made these this morning and snarfed down two. The dough was a dream to work with. Perfection!
I finally made these and wow! Perfection! We loved them and my husband rated them an A plus! The dough was really easy to roll up and cut into rolls. I’ve never made cinnamon rolls that looked or tasted this good! Thank you SO much Mel!
Kensi – perfection is a good thing! Glad you loved them.
Heather – I was thinking the same thing! Cinnamon rolls were popular this weekend. Glad you loved these, too!
Jen – glad this cinnamon roll is your new favorite! Thanks so much for checking in and letting me know.
I can’t imagine EVER converting over to another recipe! These were perfection!
Thank you, Carlee!
I’m scared, and I might just babble and not make sense. But I will try these. I just love the vanilla pudding ones sooo much. But for some reason I’m mostly scared to make the glaze instead of the cream cheese frosting. I haven’t baked too much and so when I see less ingredients my mind feels like it’s “downgrading” in disguise. So since you confessed secretly liking these more, what would you say about the glaze vs the frosting??? Is it a must for THIS version? Does it just “match” better? I’m sure they are both fine, but I feel scared to try the glaze!
Melissa – I can honestly say I like the glaze and frosting equally. If you are nervous to try the glaze then by all means use the cream cheese frosting from the other recipe. You’ll love it either way!
I made these over conference weekend and they were fabulous! I think this is going to be my go to cinnamon roll recipe. You are just always improving my life, Mel!
perfect!!! I have leftover buttermilk I wanted to use up and I bought cream cheese that I ended up not needing and wanted to make something special for breakfast for my family!! <3
Hey Mel! Made these AGAIN this weekend! They are just soooo good! I was wondering, do you put them all in one pan or spread them out? I have been speading them out about two inches apart, so I end up using 2 pans. I don’t know if that effects cooking time or not, but mine are always done in 10-12 minutes. What am I doing wrong? Are they better if you cook them all next to each other? Thanks again for this fabulous recipe!
Allie – I bake them either way, depending on my mood. But yes, they will bake a little bit faster if they are spread out since the surface area for baking is more exposed, versus being smooshed together in the pan, so I don’t think you are doing anything wrong! I like them both ways – when baked closer together the middles and edges are gooey and soft but they make for a nicer presentation if they are baked with some distance inbetween since they can be served individually without having to saw them apart.
Yet another amazing recipe! At the request of my son, I added raisins to my THIRD batch and more cinnamon…so good with cups and cups of tea and a good book:)
bdubz – THREE batches? You are amazing!
These are amazing! I made them with the cream cheese icing
As you recommended and they were so good. The perfect way to celebrate the new year!
Thanks, Christina!
Looking forward to making these for my family this morning, thank you for an amazing recipe!!!
I love baking but had never tried cinnamon rolls until I came across your recipe! They were the biggest hit! This is definitely going to become a staple in our house!
Oh, for the love of all that is tender and yeasty! I bit into these this morning and fell in LOVE! It literally melted in my mouth! I must confess to using a cup less flour than the recipe called for, since I was making it in my bread maker and I can do that (since I don’t have to handle the dough until after the first rise.) The dough was BEAUTIFUL…soft, supple, silky…I knew right then that these were going to be awesome. I will probably add a little more flour next time (maybe another 1/4-1/2 cup,) since it was a little hard to cut and put into the pan, being so soft, but other than that, I am in love
Also, I LOVE the glaze. I sometimes think that frosting is too much..kindof too sweet, or thick, or something. And glaze is usually too thin and runny for me. This cream cheese glaze is brilliant! Thicker than glaze, thinner than frosting…perfect
I am definitely going to use buttermilk in the glaze next time (I didn’t have any leftover from the rolls this time.) I can only imagine the tang that will add to the glaze. Yum! (I admit to putting buttermilk in my texas sheet cake frosting already.)
Anyway, as you can tell from all my waxing poetic, I will definitely be making these again, but probably not till Easter…my waistline is in enough trouble as it is!
Since I don’t have a stand mixer, I was wondering if this dough could properly be made in my bread machine.
Hi Brenda – yes, as long as your bread machine is large enough to accommodate the ingredients, it should work just fine.
I think I like these more than the vanilla ones. I have made both and prefer these! This will be my go-to-recipe from now on!
Thanks for sharing
Mel, I just know when I want to make something and it’s on your site it’s going to be awesome. I had this fear of yeast, but wanted to try cinnamon buns. I bought the active dry yeast thinking that of course that’s what you’d use, and then ended up in panic mode when I discovered you don’t! However, your tutorial on yeast was so reassuring, especially as your pictures matched exactly what was happening to me in real life, so I carried on and was pleasantly surprised with the ease with which this recipe came together. I can’t say enough how much your teaching with photos works and is so quietly encouraging. I let go of being so stringent with my usual mindset of “the recipe says knead for 18 minutes”, when at 12 minutes my dough looked like your photo of being just right. I followed instinct that it would be right, and they turned out better than I could have imagined. Thank you, thank you thank you!
These are great! I just finished a batch. I was able to reduce the amount of butter and sugar and they were still delicious and moist.
Thanks for the recipe!
I made these this weekend and it was probably the best dough I have ever worked with and the final product was amazing. Huge hit with my house guests. Thanks for sharing!
Made these today with my 13 year old niece. Best cinnamon rolls EVER!! THANK YOU!!!
Can’t wait to make these, but am having trouble with all of my bread dough lately. I use active dry yeast, and am unsure of how “warm” the liquid should be to proof my yeast. It calls for warm buttermilk in this recipe- do you have a general temperature that I cam shoot for.
And maybe I should just use instant yeast- is that what you would recommend? Thanks Mel!
Angie – I never use a thermometer to judge the temperature of my liquid but in this recipe, when I warm the buttermilk, I swirl it around with my finger and make sure it feels fairly warm to the touch but not hot enough that I have to pull my finger out. I always use instant yeast. I think it is a little more foolproof than active dry yeast but you should be able to use both in this recipe. If you are still troubleshooting yeast recipes, even with instant yeast it would be a good idea to let the yeast proof (even though you technically don’t have to with instant) just to make sure your liquid is the right temp to activate the yeast. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Not that you need any more validation, but I’m working on these buttermilk rolls for the third time (I make them every Conference, starting with your vanilla pudding ones originally). Every time I make these I’m reminded how much I love the dough this recipe makes. Seriously, every 6 months the phrase “this dough is such a joy to work with!” runs through my head. Maybe next time I should remember to knead by hand, just to enjoy it even more.
And of course, the final product is delicious!
Hi Mel!! I made a double batch of these for a family brunch! Everyone loved them! I followed your recipe and didn’t make any changes but I think next time I’m going to add pecans!! I had to knead the dough by hand because a double batch is to big for my kitchen aid to handle. Oh well! They still tasted great!! Thanks for sharing!
Mel I have been craving some good cinnamon rolls and whenever i have a craving i come to your site. These look great, but i have tried them twice and they just aren’t rising. I can’t find instant yeast anywhere, do i have to go to a special store? So i tried it with active yeast. Do you have any suggestions on how to get it to work?
Amanda – when you make them with active dry yeast are you proofing the yeast first? If not, that is the main reason why they are not rising. You can usually find instant yeast under the title “Rapid Rise Yeast” – it is the same thing as instant yeast and I’ve seen it at all of my major grocery stores. If you don’t have it and don’t plan on buying it, simply let the active dry yeast proof in the warmed buttermilk before adding it to the recipe (by proofing, I mean, whisk it into the buttermilk in that first step and let it foam and bubble which could take 5-10 minute before proceeding). Good luck!
I have these rising right now…was looking for a new recipe for cinnamon rolls and your site was the first place I checked! The dough looks and feels gorgeous, can’t wait to have these in the morning!
How far in advance can you freeze them?
Christina – I’ve frozen them for 1-2 months with no problems.
Mel…I am happy to say that I have found two new “go-to” recipes on your website this WEEK! Your sugar cookies and these! These were soooo good. And, I have to say, I cheated a little. I was in a hurry and needed them done quick. So, I added 3 tsp of instant yeast and skipped the first rise completely. I then shaped them, put them in a pan, and let them sit for about 1.5 hrs. We baked them and ate them warm and my husband was mmmmmming with every bite. I’m not gonna lie…I was too
Thanks for another great recipe!
These cinnamon rolls were excellent. I followed the recipe to a T. I was in a hurry so to speed up the second rising I turned my oven on warm (a little over 100F) and just kept them in there for about half an hour.
Thank you for posting it!
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