The Perfect Cinnamon Rolls {Gloria’s Famous Recipe}
These perfect cinnamon rolls are incredible! Soft, fluffy, with the perfect amount of sweet cinnamon filling. The search is finally over!
A huge fan favorite for ten years, these cinnamon rolls are perfection.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Dough
This recipe makes a huge batch of cinnamon rolls – 24 to be exact. And the cinnamon rolls are substantial in size.
If you want a more moderate approach to cinnamon rolls, here’s a small batch recipe cut down from this perfect cinnamon roll recipe.
The dough for these cinnamon rolls includes:
- scalded milk
- butter
- yeast
- eggs
- sugar
- flour (I use unbleached all-purpose flour)
I add the flour as quickly as possible, because I’ve learned over the years of making these cinnamon rolls, that they turn out softer and fluffier if the dough is not over kneaded.
Once the flour has been fully incorporated, the dough only needs to be kneaded for 2-3 minutes.
The flour amount in the recipe is a guideline, because several factors will impact the exact amount of flour needed, including how we each measure flour.
The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and be soft and slightly sticky, but if it leaves a lot of doughy residue on your fingers, continue adding flour a little at a time until it is less sticky and more supple.
It should not be stiff and stodgy. Err on the side of under flouring if you aren’t sure.
Let the dough rise until doubled.
These food-safe buckets {aff. link} are my go-to for rising the dough for these perfect cinnamon rolls.
Rolling and Cutting Cinnamon Rolls
Divide the dough in half and pat or roll each half into a rectangle, about 1/4-inch thick.
Spread softened butter across the top, followed by the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Very lightly pat the cinnamon and sugar mixture into the dough.
Cut the cinnamon rolls into 1 1/2-inch pieces (or thereabouts), depending on how big you want the cinnamon rolls.
How to Tuck the Ends of Cinnamon Rolls
To avoid the loose edge of the cinnamon rolls unraveling while baking, I always tuck that edge under the cinnamon roll.
It’s about as simple as it sounds. Before placing on the sheet pan, take the loose edge and bring it underneath the cinnamon roll.
Place the cinnamon roll on the prepared pan so that edge stays tucked underneath.
I use two half sheet pans lined with parchment paper for baking these cinnamon rolls.
Let them rise on the pan until noticeably puffy – the sides of the cinnamon rolls should be touching each other.
Bake until golden and no longer doughy in the center. In my oven that’s about 22 minutes.
I prefer letting the rolls cool until just warm before spreading on the frosting instead of spreading the frosting on right out of the oven.
The frosting recipe includes maple extract. It is a delicious flavor pairing for these cinnamon rolls! However, you can easily leave it out if you want a more classic cinnamon roll frosting.
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead of Time
I have an entire post dedicated to this topic: How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead of Time.
But in short, it’s easy to make these cinnamon rolls in advance.
- Make the cinnamon rolls and place them on the sheet pan.
- Immediately cover them with greased plastic wrap and pop them in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.
- Take them out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature (it’s likely they rose in the refrigerator, but if they need more rising time, let them rise fully before baking).
- Bake as directed in the recipe.
The baked and frosted cinnamon rolls can also be frozen (it’s a game changer) – I’ve included details for doing so down in the notes of the recipe.
Perfect Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls are perfection. I have probably a dozen other recipes for cinnamon rolls on my site, but when I need a never-fail, go-to recipe, I always turn to this recipe!
Thousands of you have fallen in love with this recipe, too. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Shannon: I had to comment because this is the first cinnamon roll recipe that has worked out for me! Honestly, I think I have made at least 10 recipes and none of them tasted just right.
Katie: I very seldom comment on recipes because I usually have to tweak them to my liking but this was spot on. I actually hate baking because it never turns out well for me, I’m a perfectionist. I cannot believe how good these are and everyone who tried them agreed! They are so awesome and I’ve made cinnamon rolls in the past that were just meh, so I wasn’t too hopeful. What reeled me in was that it was a tried and true recipe, I love it when the older generations decide to share their incredible recipes with us! Thanks Gloria and Mel! They were truly delicious.
Andrea: I’ve been making these for 3 years now, and seriously life changing. I wasn’t a newbie to cinnamon roll making, but your tips make these even more amazing. One of my most favorite recipes of all time!!!
A Little About Gloria
Years ago, my Aunt Marilyn introduced me to these cinnamon rolls AND to Gloria, the amazing woman behind the cinnamon roll recipe!
When I finally met her, it felt like I was meeting a celebrity, which is not far from the truth. Her cinnamon rolls are legendary! She was so gracious and kind. And so excited to have her recipe posted here!
For decades, every year on Father’s Day, Gloria and her daughter made cinnamon rolls for all the men at Gloria’s church congregation. In order to serve the cinnamon rolls at the peak of their awesomeness, they would stay up all night so that the rolls would be warm from the oven and super fresh for church (in the picture above she’s holding a collage of one of her epic all nighters).
I want to be like Gloria when I grow up (except I don’t think I’m selfless enough to stay up all night like that!).
Gloria has since passed away, but her amazing legacy (even beyond cinnamon rolls!) lives on. 💗
One Year Ago: Loaded Broccoli Cheese and Bacon Soup
Two Years Ago: Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones {And Halloween Recap}
Three Years Ago: Hearty Turkey and Bean Chili
Perfect Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 4 cups milk (preferably not skim)
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter
- 1 cup (212 g) sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ¾ tablespoons instant yeast (see note)
- 4 large eggs
- 11-13 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter
- 2 cups (424 g) lightly packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons maple extract/flavoring (optional)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 pounds powdered sugar
- Cream or milk for consistency
Instructions
- For the dough, heat the milk in a medium saucepan until the milk is scalded (which is basically heating it until right before it simmers – it will start steaming and little bubbles will form around the edge of the pan). Pour the milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix until the butter is melted and let the mixture cool until warm but not hot (110 degrees F on instant-read thermometer).
- Add the yeast and eggs and mix until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. The exact amount will depend on several factors (including how you measure the flour). I usually end up adding right around 13 cups of flour. The goal is for the dough to soft and just slightly sticky without leaving a lot of residue on your fingers. Let it knead for 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until doubled.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll or pat each portion of dough into an 18-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Spread 1/2 cup softened butter over each rectangle.
- Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle half of it over each rectangle. Pat it in slightly with the palms of your hands. Starting with one long end, roll up the cinnamon rolls. Don't stretch and pull the dough while rolling or it can cause gaps when the cinnamon rolls are baking.
- Cut each cinnamon roll log in half with a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss. Then cut each half in half again (forming four equal portions). Cut each of the four portions into three rolls – twelve cinnamon rolls total. Repeat this with the other roll – you'll have 24 cinnamon rolls total.
- Place the rolls on a parchment-lined half sheet pan. I space the rolls 3 across, 4 down. If the ends have come free, carefully tuck them under the cinnamon roll.
- Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until double. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the rolls for about 18-22 minutes until lightly golden on top. Let the rolls cool almost completely in the pan before frosting.
- For the frosting, in a large bowl, whip together the cream cheese and butter. Add the vanilla, maple (if using) and salt, and mix until combined.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until thick and creamy. Add cream or milk a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is smooth and spreadable to your liking.
- Spread the cinnamon rolls with frosting.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Gloria C. (after my Aunt Marilyn told me all about them)
I made these a few weeks ago and they were perfect and delicious! Today, they have big gaps between the layers after baking and cooling. Do you know what causes this so I can avoid it in the future? Thanks, Mel! BTW- I LOVE your recipes!
Hi Emily – so the first time you made them, you got away with no gaps, right? The gaps came up with this most recent batch? Interesting you ask, my aunt and I were just dissecting this issue. This morning I made a side-by-side batch of these to test out a few issues and I noticed that the batch where I used melted butter, the rolls were VERY gappy. But the rolls where I used soft butter and a sprinkling of brown sugar (without patting it in – I literally just sprinkled it across even if there were a few spots it was uneven) were picture perfect. The other thing that helps, I think, is after slicing the rolls, when I pick them up to put them on the tray, because I’m grabbing that end and tucking it under like the recipe says, I usually kind of tighten up the roll a little as I tuck it under if that makes sense. I think I’ll edit the recipe to omit “patting in the brown sugar” – I think just sprinkling it on helps create a paste with the butter that holds it all together. I might just be crazy but those tips may help. 🙂 Good luck!
Thanks, Mel! That is actually consistent with my experience. The second time around I accidentally melted the butter a little too much. I didn’t realize it made that much of a difference. I’ll try again using your new tips!
I cannot thank you enough for posting this recipe with such fabulous directions!! These cinnamon rolls are the BEST I have ever made! They freeze perfectly! I love your recipies and how excellent your directions are! Thank you so much for sharing your love for cooking/baking.
Hi, Mel! I was thinking about gifting these rolls. Do you have any ideas about how to package them?
I gifted some the other day – after baking, I gently scooped four of them into a disposable 8X8-inch pan (I didn’t bake them in that because they don’t bake as evenly or as prettily) and covered with cellophane and a ribbon. If you want to do it one by one, you could place one on a small disposable dessert plate and cover with plastic wrap or cellophane and a ribbon, maybe?
Thank you!
Sorry, but in step 2: Add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix until the butter is melted and let the mixture cool until warm but not hot — all these add in to the milk that you put in the mixer, right? then when it cool down to room temperature, just add in yeast and egg? Please let me know if I understand it right, thank you.
Yep, add the butter, sugar and salt to the hot milk and let it cool until it is slightly warm to the touch before adding the yeast and eggs.
Thank you for your reply!
HOLY COW!!!!! I just made these and they are the best cinnamon roll I have ever had. The dough is perfection! Thank you for posting this awesomeness.
Oh man, I’ve made many a cinnamon roll in my life. I think all of yours and a bunch of others. These are the biz! My sisters first bite and it was the best cinnamon roll she had ever eaten. Everyone who had one raved and raved and there were lots of “those are the best cinnamon rolls” coming out. Thank you for sharing, Mel and Gloria. Gloria is one one impressive lady and those men don’t know how lucky they are! Oh, my one desire is that after they bake, they don’t open up and form gaps. Any tips, Mel? I tried to roll it as tightly as possible. I didn’t tuck the ends under, would that help? The frosting covered it up so they still looked pretty but it annoys me. Thanks!
Hi Megan – I think it will help to tuck the ends under (tightly) – it doesn’t allow the rolls to gap as much during baking. Hope that helps!
I just served these “sinful” rolls to my family for our traditional cinnamon roll Thanksgiving breakfast. Everyone LOVED them! A HUGE hit! Thank you Mel!!!
Mel,
I am planning on making these the night before, let them do 1st rise, assemble them on the baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight. take them out in the morning and let them 2nd rise and then bake. Does that sound like it will work to keep in the fridge before the 2nd rise?
Yes! I think that will work great. I’ve done that with other cinnamon rolls and it works great. Just plan in the time needed for the dough to rise the 2nd time before baking (it will take a bit longer since the dough will be chilled)
worked perfect. formed the rolls on the baking sheet the night before, then refrigerated tightly covered overnight. take these rolls out of the fridge 3.25 hours before you want to eat them in the morning. they rose in an old oven with a pilot light at about 80 deg F over about 2 hours, removed from the oven and let the oven preheat for 15-20min, baked the rolls for 20min, cooled for 15-20min, frosted and eat. amazing.
Hi Mel:
Thank you so much for posting. I’ve never made a yeasted dough prior to these cinnamon rolls. I had so much fun making them and have 24 beautiful cinnamon rolls sitting in my freezer – I made them in advance of Thanksgiving where we are hosting 10 adults for a few days. My Dad asked if I could make a batch of maple pecan rolls. I was sure if I could make them with this recipe? Any ideas on how to alter the recipe to accommodate? Any guidance would be most appreciated!!
Lisa
Hi Lisa – I’ve never made maple pecan rolls but I’m guessing this dough would be a great base for them. Good luck experimenting!
How long would u say it takes for c.rolls to double in size?
Laura – it depends on the warmth of your kitchen, but probably around 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Mel! You are a hero! My husband loves homemade cinnamon rolls, they’re his favorite. However making yeast doughs has always been a challenge for me. I followed your recipe exactly and they turned out amazing! My husband proclaimed them to be the best cinnamon rolls he’s ever had! Thank you so so much!
So glad to hear it! Thanks, Kim!
Mel, I prefer cinnamon rolls with at least some whole wheat flour in them. I don’t want to deviate from Gloria’s genius though. So would it be ok, or skip it?
I think if you prefer them that way, you could definitely add some whole wheat flour to this recipe. The key will be to not over flour the dough so they are still soft and tender.
I made these this week, with the help of a very helpful four year old:)… They turned out amazing!
These are phenomenal!! And so much easier than my normal cinnamon roll recipe. I have to say… I’ve always been more of an orange roll gal, but these have just changed my mindset entirely. So delicious!! I halved the recipe and still got 18 huge rolls. I also put pecans in 6 of the rolls and loved those ones even more! Thanks, Mel!!
Hi! I’m so excited about this recipe! Hoping to make these today to surprise my husband and sons. My mother-in-law is known for her cinnamon rolls…secretly hoping to beat her!
One question…is “instant yeast” the same as “rapid rise yeast”?
Thanks!
Katy
I’ve read some places that it is the same (Fleischmann’s website says it is) but others say it’s not (an article on the Kitchn says it can’t be interchanged). Bread machine yeast is the same as instant but because of the confusion about rapid-rise, I usually don’t use it in place of instant yeast.
And just to really confuse me, my packet says instant yeast, quick rise!? Using it and hoping it’s fine 🙂
That should work fine. 🙂
I made these tonight…. absolutely fabulous! I read the notes wrong and used 2 1/4 teaspoons of active dry yeast (dissolved in water) instead of the 2 1/4 tablespoons you recommend and it may have turned out to be a good thing. I was worried they wouldn’t rise but I checked on the King Arthur Flour site and it says active dry yeast and instant yeast can be used interchangeably at a 1:1 ratio. They really were perfect. Thanks for being awesome!
I notice that using your bosh you knead for 2-3 minutes. Do you know if it would be the same amount of time using a kitchen aid mixer? Do you use the window pane test for this dough? Is that how you tell when it is ready for the first rise? Please forgive me if already asked and answered. I am a newbee and dying to try these rolls. Also Mel, just wanted to say you have wonderful recipes on your site. Made your enchilada soup with the butternut squash tonight for the second time and love it!
Hi Gina! I don’t do anything super technical like the window pane test – in fact, this dough does best if it’s kneaded for a shorter amount of time (in other words, don’t knead too long). Kneading it for the same amount of time in your Kitchenaid should be just fine. Good luck!
I just wanted to let folks know that I made these “ahead”. In the evening, I mixed the dough, let it rise, shaped and cut the rolls, placed them on the pan …. THEN I stuck them (covered with plastic wrap) in the refrigerator over night. In the morning, I took them out for about an hour and a half (while we went to church) and when I came home, they were ready for the oven. Turned out perfect!!!!
Thank you! I was just wading through all these comments hoping to find out this very thing 🙂 Christmas morning here we come!
This is exactly what I was reading through the comments for! Thank you!!
These are fantastic!! We had them for breakfast this morning and couldn’t believe how delicious they are. After cutting the rolls, I refrigerated them overnight and baked them this morning, and they turned out perfectly. Thank you for sharing!!
I had trouble tonight with the outside getting brown but the middle being raw. I ended up covering them with foil and cooking them longer. Do you know what went wrong?
It sounds like your oven might cook hot (do you have this happen with other recipes?) – if so, try turning the oven down to 325 degrees and see if that helps them cook through before getting too brown on top.
You are probably right. I have that a lot. I will try it again, and maybe I will get myself an oven thermometer.
These are the best cinnamon rolls, I don’t think I will ever go back to my old recipe. Even a couple days later sitting on the counter they were still soft.
Have you tried substituting any of the flour with white whole wheat? Worth it or not?
Hi Mel,
Thanks for this great recipe and your great instructions! Love your blog. Do you have a receipe you would recommend for making these rolls into caramel rolls instead of frosting?
Hmm, good question, Patti! I really don’t have a tried-and-true caramel roll recipe but perhaps if you found one online with good reviews, you could take the caramel part and use it with this dough? Good luck if you try it!
I made these yesterday, and while they turned out great, I definitely had to use a rolling pin repeatedly. The dough kept springing back when I tried to pat it out, and even quite a bit when I used the rolling pin. I did use flour on the counter as my dough was pretty sticky. Any thoughts on how to make it more workable?
Hi Mary – it sounds like if you had to use flour on your counter that you might need to add a little extra flour to the dough while mixing. When I make them the dough is soft but doesn’t stick to the counter (the springing back is probably because of the flour issue – sometimes letting the dough rest for 10-15 minutes before continuing can help relax the gluten).
Would this recipe work well for making plain white rolls? I’d love to use half the dough for cinnamon rolls and the other half for dinner rolls; I know some doughs are interchangeable like that. Am so excited to try these!
This recipe looks divine! Do you have a recommendation for a good icing recipe that doesn’t include cream cheese? I’m not a fan of cream cheese! I wish I liked the stuff but I just don’t! The consistency of this icing recipe looks ideal and I’d love to be able to mimic it without cream cheese. 🙂 Suggestions? Thanks!
I would suggest leaving out the cream cheese, cutting down the powdered sugar by a cup and adding heavy cream until it is thick and creamy.
I totally agree about maple in the frosting. It’s divine. I’ll need to give this recipe a try.
Hi! I love your recipes! Are the temps and times you state for a convection oven or regular oven?
Thank you,
Renee
The temperature in the recipe is for a conventional oven; however, I sometimes bake these on convection (I didn’t include it in the recipe since many people don’t have convection). I bake them at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.
Ugh, waiting on first rise now but worried I messed up. I made a 1/2 recipes, but my dough was way too sticky/wet after 6 1/2 cups…probably added another full cup before it came away from side of bowl and didn’t coat my fingers, but I’m worried it will be tough 🙁 Is it possible that it “needed” that much flour?
I made these rolls this past weekend and followed Mel’s/Gloria’s instructions completely. I ended up with 24 very large, soft rolls, exactly as the recipe states. My family loved them, as well as our neighbors. One pan was used for eating, the other ended up in the freezer. This recipe is pure cinnamon roll perfection. In short, Gloria’s rolls are GLORIOUS! I will doubtfully never use another recipe.
These turned out great. I halved the recipe because I didn’t think the dough would fit in my kitchen aid and it turned out fine. We had them for our Sunday dinner with your beef stew. Yummy!
Carrie, I am making her stew and the cinnamon rolls today also!
This was my first weekend goal and they turned out so GOOD! Thank you!!!
Not quite sure what I’ve done wrong but I halved the recipe and still got 24 ginormous rolls which are out of this world delicious…I’m not complaining but right up until I gently placed (shoved) the first one in my mouth I was dubious and I can’t even imagine how huge your rolls are since you didn’t halve it!
Words fail me to describe these cinnamon rolls. I’ve been collecting cinnamon roll recipes for a while now, but haven’t tried many of them and, after trying this one, I don’t need to try any more. So, so good. I made 24 rolls out of a half batch of dough and they came out really well – probably a medium size roll? They’re not very common here in Australia so I don’t really have anything to compare them to. Converting the recipe to metric thankfully doesn’t take me too long now and was so worth it to make these. Somehow, there was a miracle and 16 of them made it to the freezer – the rest were (and shortly will be) consumed by just my husband and me today. I don’t know that the ones in the freezer will last the week though. Thanks Mel and Gloria!
When freezing, could you not use a gallon bag and fit more in, or do you really think only one to a bag? Love all your recipes by the way! Made your pesto last night to freeze… And it is awesome!!!
Hi Jennika – yes, you could definitely do that although the rolls may be hard to get out of the bag one at a time (which is why I freeze them individually).
Mel, I made a quadruple pink batch to sell for breast cancer awareness at our high school, a bit hit and big thank you to the best recipe. It’s a super dough, like you said and the kids did well handling it. Thank you, I hope you’ll check out our pink rolls.
http://cougarkitchen.wordpress.com/2014/10/25/pink-cinnamon-rolls-foods-2-entrepreneurship/
WOW! Amazing job everyone!
That is awesome!
Made these yesterday – 24 rolls. They. Are. Amazing. 10 are already gone. 3 teenagers in the house and one had 3 friends over and the rolls were declared amazing! I have a regular sized mix master so was able to add about 9 cups of flour using my mixer and then dumped it all into a big bowl and did the rest by hand. Used about 12 1/2 cups flour in total.No big deal! I even bought 1 litre of whole milk just for this recipe. Worth it! It takes time to make these, but totally worth it. I wrapped the remaining ones in saran wrap and then put 4 each in a large Ziploc bag to freeze. I have several cinnamon bun recipes, but I think this has become my new go-to recipe. Why mess with perfection? Thanks for sharing!
I know, I know you said not to change the size or number, but did you ever try it and have some success? I’d like to try the recipe this weekend, but I have a kitchenaid so I’d have to halve the recipe each time, and I would probably need 4 batches. Which is way too much work for this week, but if I made them smaller, maybe I could do just two batches. Maybe? Bad idea? Maybe I will have to make cookies instead.
Hey Brianna – oh, four batches seems monumental. Let’s try to figure out a better way. I know in the post I said to ensure success, make them as is. I still think that’s important but in the interest of full disclosure, I made them today and totally messed with the number of rolls. I divided the dough in half. With the first half, I made the 12 beautiful large rolls that the recipe indicates to shape. I split the other half of dough into half again – rolled out each piece into a rectangle (sorry, I didn’t measure, maybe 12 inches by 9 inches or something) and rolled it up (after doing the butter/cinnamon/sugar stuff). I cut each of those logs into 12. So they were half the size of the huge ones for this recipe. I put 12 of the smaller ones in a 9X13-inch pan (so I had two pans like that) and baked them for about 15-17 minutes. They aren’t quite as pretty and are definitely a little more smooshed together, but it would beat making 4 batches!
Thanks! Ended up deciding to make cookies but I can’t wait to try this out. I will probably do it like yours, trying both versions just to see hw the smaller version works. Thanks again!
These are great! However I didn’t see the time frame at the beginning so I started them in the evening. I heated a cup of water in the microwave and put the dough in there to rise. Worked great- I have a recipe that suggests to do that.
My dough seemed a tad sticky I think I could of used more flour.
I will try them again when I have more time, to do both rises but they tasted great even without the frosting
I was curious to know if there is a favorite brand of all purpose flour that Gloria uses?
Am getting ingredients together and making today. Thanks!
Oops!! Sorry to keep commenting!! But I just went back and re-read instructions. 12 rolls per sheet pan. That’s where I messed up.
The Verdict: I could only get 18 huge rolls into my large rectangle sheet pan so I put the other 6 in an 8×8. They rose gloriously high, but unfortunately they continued to rise even higher in the oven and dough/brown sugar mix began spilling over the edges and into my oven. 🙁 My kitchen is still a bit hazy with smoke as I type. Because of the rolls being state-fair big and squeezed together, I had trouble with my edges being too done and the middle slightly doughy. But the bottom line is that, even with all my mistakes, they still tasted very tender and good and the frosting was delicious. I can imagine how wonderful they would be made correctly! So, to other new-at-making-cinnamon-rolls-people, I STRONGLY recommend halving this recipe, unless you have a very large mixer and an extra large sheet pan.
Hi Valerie – sorry about the hazy kitchen. If it helps others, I only put 12 rolls on a large sheet pan. I can see how adding six extra could cause them to rise too high. The full recipe requires the use of two large sheet pans but it could certainly be halved, like you suggested.
These cinnamon rolls are exceptional! Gloria, Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe with us. I couldn’t get enough and the neighbors I shared them with couldn’t agree more!
I love your website – it is my go-to website! I also want to mention how much I love reading your posts – you crack me up!
A more seasoned baker would have known this beforehand, but I did not realize how much dough this recipe makes! I got to 8 c of flour in my old kitchenaid mixer and it was to the top of my dough hook so then I began adding more flour and just stirring with wood spoon. When my bowl was too full, I just dumped the whole thing out on my counter and started mixing by hand! I hope they turn out!!! :-/ Rising right now. Will definitely half recipe next time! Maybe I will get a Bosch mixer for Christmas… 😉
Giving them a try today!! I’m only skeptical of the frosting only because I’m not usually a cream cheese frosting fan but am willing to give it a go. My family will love it any which way since I’ve been on a baking hiatus whilst working off stubborn baby weight and breaking pregnancy craving habits… 😉 I know this is a new post, but has anyone tried it with icing instead of cream cheese frosting?
AMAZING! I can’t stop staring at (and eating) these rolls!! I haven’t had much luck with cinnamon rolls as my oven usually burns them from the bottom before actually baking through the dough. And I’ve tried a few times too! But these, oh these are heaven and I haven’t made the frosting yet!! The dough is sensational, I mean I’m having trouble keeping my hands off. I’m off to make the frosting now but these babies are gold. Thank you so much for the recipe and for this blog!! Genius!
Had to post again- seriously- these are life changing!!! Just warmed up a frozen cinnamon roll for breakfast for my husband and it was just as good as when I pulled them out of the oven! THANK YOU!!
Mel- do you have a tip for getting the filling evenly spread? I have had the two end rolls not coming out right and the filling being thicker or thinner in some spots. I’m thinking if i put the cinnamon/sugar in some kind of shaker that would help. King Arthur flour sells something that is almost like a paste that helps keep the rolles sticking together, but way too expensive.
Hi Barb – I know what you mean. Sometimes I’ll mix the softened butter with the cinnamon and sugar and spread it that way but usually it’s too clumpy. I end up pouring the cinnamon and sugar in a big pile in the middle of the rectangle and spreading it evenly with my hands. It seems to work pretty well.
these are AMAZING! I love you Gloria!! I just made an 8:30 pm run to deliver warm cinnamon rolls to my friends 🙂
Mel- When cutting the recipe in half would I keep the amount of yeast the same. Halving it doesn’t sound like enough yeast.
I’d probably halve the yeast amount or cut it down to one tablespoon (I don’t like super yeasty tasting rolls).