The Best Cinnamon Rolls {Cheryl’s Famous Recipe} – with step-by-step tutorial and tons of tips
This recipe for the best cinnamon rolls EVER will make you rethink who you are and every cinnamon roll recipe you’ve ever made! They are so light, so fluffy, and so amazing!
Well, today is a big, BIG day.
Several weeks ago, I quickly mentioned (in this Friday Thoughts post) that I had found “the cinnamon roll recipe to end all cinnamon roll recipes” and I asked if you had room in your heart for one more cinnamon roll recipe? Haha. Hundreds of you responded saying: uh, hello, are you crazy, BRING IT ON! While the other two of you said: don’t need another cinnamon roll recipe, thankyouverymuch.
I’ve been buried under requests for this recipe ever since. You’ve emailed. You’ve commented. You’ve found my personal Instagram account and stalked me there to ask for it. You’ve begged. You’ve pleaded. You’ve called. You’ve emailed and commented and asked again. 🙂
Although I had already made the recipe several times when I mentioned it that Friday, I wanted to make it several more times and take lots and lots of pictures in order to make sure I could provide the most foolproof recipe and preempt any troubleshooting. In total, I’ve made this best-ever cinnamon roll recipe at least nine times since my friend, Cheryl, gave it to me mid-December.
Speaking of Cheryl, I gotta give this lady all the credit. She’s the source of the greatest cinnamon roll recipe of all time! And she’s adorable (and so nice).
So is her husband. That’s him, Jean (pronounced John), making his other-worldly artisan bread. He’s a master bread baker. And Cheryl is one of the most accomplished, gourmet cooks and home bakers I’ve ever met. Like, she takes everything totally next level (they had us over for a Mediterranean-inspired dinner and I could barely eat, I was so in awe at the amazing spread). And these cinnamon rolls are no exception. Thank you, Cheryl! And thanks for letting me share the love with everybody about this recipe!
One of the most common phrases I’ve heard over the last couple weeks as you’ve requested this recipe is: I don’t know how they can be better than Gloria’s cinnamon rolls*, but I’m willing to try! (*Or these vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls or these Yukon gold cinnamon rolls.)
And trust me, I thought the same thing! The backstory is important here. So let me explain really quickly. At a church activity mid-December, I won an innocent-looking disposable square pan of cinnamon rolls as a Bunco prize. I’m wired to never turn down a pan of cinnamon rolls. When I found out Cheryl had made them, I was even more excited. I had no choice but to dig in right then and there even though the dice were still rolling.
I was stunned. How could a cinnamon roll be this light and fluffy? This amazing? I mean, I don’t want to brag, but I already make a ridiculously great cinnamon roll, but these were totally beyond deliciousness, and I began to doubt everything I thought I knew about cinnamon rolls.
I cornered Cheryl in the hallway to ask if she’d be willing to share the recipe after several of us women basically ate the whole pan and unanimously agreed: these cinnamon rolls = lifechanging. I had to whip my phone out faster than an old western gunslinger because Cheryl started rattling off the recipe by memory and I wanted to type in every detail. In my mind, I had already decided that if the ingredient lineup and method was basically the same as the other beloved cinnamon roll recipes on my site, I’d just chalk it up to the fact that Cheryl had a magic cinnamon roll touch. I’d be sad for a minute that I was missing this magical cinnamon roll making gene, but I probably wouldn’t need or use a recipe that was a similar variation to others I make all the time.
But. That wasn’t the case at all. As she gave me the recipe, I realized this was a cinnamon roll game changer and unlike any cinnamon roll recipe I’d made before. Because the amount of variation was so great, I knew I could (and needed to) post it to stand alongside the other great cinnamon roll recipes in my archives.
And because the ingredients and mixing method and dough texture are unlike other cinnamon roll doughs I’ve made, the resulting cinnamon rolls are lighter in texture and much fluffier. You don’t have to take just my word for it either. I’ve already said before that Brian is the resident cinnamon roll snob. He doesn’t like it when I mess with a good thing, and he already loved the cinnamon roll recipes I’ve posted before. But even he agrees 100% that these are the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made.
I even dared make them for my Aunt Marilyn (who introduced me to Gloria’s recipe years ago!), Uncle Dan and cousin Lydia, who take “cinnamon roll snob” to a whole new level. Dan almost didn’t try them because he’s so loyal to Gloria’s recipe. After eating, analyzing, eating, and analyzing (that’s what I make you do if you come to my house), Lydia said they were “way better than any other recipe,” Marilyn admitted they were “absolutely incredible,” and Dan conceded that although he’d never say they were better than Gloria’s recipe, they were “definitely on the same level.” I’ve given so many of these cinnamon rolls away as I’ve tested the recipe; every single person has honestly raved over them (and I don’t think they are just saying that, because I’ve instructed all my friends that we can’t be friends unless they give me honest feedback on food I shove in their face.)
Phew! So there’s the background. I know some of you may not care about all that. But for those of you that have been loyal MKC readers and have fallen in love with any other cinnamon roll recipe on my site, you know that it is important to me to give you an explanation for why I’m posting yet another recipe for something I’ve already declared the best!
Here’s my ultimate disclaimer though:
If you have a cinnamon roll recipe that you love and have already deemed BEST EVER, stick with it! No need to change things now! I already know that this recipe may not be for everyone; the world was meant to be a cinnamon roll diverse place. However, if you love to try new recipes, have been looking for the cinnamon roll to end all cinnamon rolls, or you just want to expand your baking horizons, I think you are going to love this one.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty!
For this recipe, you can use a stand mixer or mix it by hand because it doesn’t require much kneading and the dough is not super stiff and hard to work with. I have recently been using this Danish dough hook aff. link (that one of you recommended!) for hand-mixed yeast doughs and it is a game changer.
I’ve made this cinnamon roll recipe in my Bosch Universal mixer {aff. link} and my KitchenAid stand mixer {aff. link} for testing purposes; I’ll always choose my Bosch for bread making because it’s superior at that kind of task, but a Kitchen Aid will do the job, too. Here’s a quick look at the comparison between these two stand mixers, if you are interested. This recipe doubles GREAT in the Bosch (haven’t tried a double batch in the KitchenAid).
Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup neutral-flavored oil to the mixer and pour in the 2 cups scalded milk.
What is scalded milk? It’s basically milk that’s been heated to just below a boil – doing so changes the protein structure in the milk (none of which I really understand). But what I do know is that the reason many yeast dough recipes calls for scalded milk is because it makes the bread/rolls lighter and fluffier! So do it!
I take the easy way out and microwave the milk for this recipe in a microwave-safe liquid measuring cup. Every microwave will vary, but I heat it for 2-minute increments until little bubbles start to form around the edges and it is steaming. You can do this on the stovetop, too. And yes, I’ve let it go too long and it actually boils, and no, I don’t start over, and yes, the rolls still turn out great (just be aware that boiling milk will foam and rise and most likely spill over so if it does, you’ll want to make sure you have a full 2 cups of hot milk to work with).
Let the milk/oil/sugar mixture rest for 15 minutes or so until the mixture is warm and not blistery hot. Add in the 4 cups all-purpose flour (I always use unbleached all-purpose) and then sprinkle the 1 tablespoon instant yeast on top of the flour. See the recipe below for how to substitute active dry yeast for the instant yeast.
If you’ve been a tad bit impatient like me and maybe, possibly, perhaps didn’t let the milk mixture cool off for the full 15 minutes, make sure the yeast is added on top of the flour so it isn’t incorporated straight into the hot milk.
Start mixing! The dough will be much wetter than a normal cinnamon roll dough. Don’t panic. Things will come together, I promise.
Mix until no dry streaks remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
Now cover the bowl and let the wet dough (we’ll call it a sponge) rise until puffy and a little bubbly. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour in my kitchen. You can see a noticeable difference as the sponge has had time to rest and rise.
To the sponge, add 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Start mixing again. The dough doesn’t need to be kneaded, necessarily, but you definitely want to let it mix to fully incorporate all the dry ingredients. It will start out rough and shaggy looking but it will come together.
After about a minute of mixing, it should form a mass of dough that has smoothed out a bit (doesn’t look as rough and spiky). This dough is very soft! Resist the urge to add more flour. As long as it isn’t leaving lots of wet dough residue on the sides of the bowl, it should be ok.
If you are making the dough in a KitchenAid mixer, I suggest starting with the paddle attachment and moving to the dough hook after adding the last addition of flour, baking powder and baking soda. I find it’s harder to get clean sides of the bowl with this recipe when using the KitchenAid based on the shape of the dough hook and bowl, just try to avoid adding more flour unless it is just so sticky it is impossible to work with. Grease your hands with cooking spray and gather it into a smooth ball before deciding whether to add more flour.
The dough may leave some doughy bits of residue on your fingers or hands, but if you grab a small piece, you should be able to roll it into a somewhat sticky ball. Over flouring this dough will be the death of a great cinnamon roll, so persevere through a bit of stickiness if you can!
Pile the dough into a lightly greased bowl or container. You can see how soft and stretchy the dough is below.
Let the dough rise until doubled. The exact time will depend on the warmth of your kitchen, but it takes right about an hour to an hour and a half in my kitchen. I use these handy measured food storage containers for dough rising and about a million other things {aff. link}. If you live near a Standard Restaurant Supply store (or other restaurant supply store), you can pick them up in various sizes for less than the price on Amazon, FYI.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter (I use about 2-3 tablespoons flour) and roll out to about 12X18-inches. Pictured below is my favorite inexpensive and super awesome rolling pin – I have the 13 2/5-inch one {aff. link}. The size of the rectangle doesn’t have to be exact. I go for this size because it gives several spirals in the cinnamon roll, but if you like your cinnamon rolls puffier, roll the dough into a smaller rectangle so it is thicker. Spread the dough evenly with 8-12 tablespoons butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar (I use about 3/4 cup brown sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon – Cheryl recommends adding cardamom to the sugar, too, which is delicious).
Favorite cinnamon = Penzey’s signature cinnamon blend (totally unsponsored but the only cinnamon I use)
Start rolling these bad boys up! Roll tightly without lifting and stretching the dough up and over. If the dough is stretched while rolling, the rolls may have a tendency to shrink while baking. Once rolled, pinch the edge lightly to seal and pat the roll into an even thickness. My rolled up cinnamon roll log usually ends up being about 20 inches long.
As a quick sidenote, I get this question a lot:
Why do cinnamon rolls shrink and gap while baking?
That is a great question. And one that has kept me up many a night. In my intense cinnamon roll research, I’ve found it can be due to a variety of things. 1) Stretching and pulling on the dough while rolling into a log (like I mentioned above). When I’ve stretched too much during this part of the process, I’ve noticed that the cinnamon rolls can shrink and gap while baking. 2) Too much butter and/or cinnamon and sugar filling. While baking, the sugar and butter melt (into that glorious buttery/sugary gooeyness), and if the sugar filling is really thick, that leaves a lot more opportunity for gapping after the rolls bake and cool. 3) Rolling the dough too thin. While this may mean less cinnamony spirals, a thicker cinnamon roll rectangle is going to gap less while baking. 4) Letting the cinnamon rolls rise too long before baking. Doing this can cause the cinnamon rolls to deflate slightly in the oven and shrink as they cool. 5) Cramming too many cinnamon rolls into a pan that is too small. When I’ve done this, the rolls press together too much while rising and then fall back and shrink while baking/cooling.
Ok, moving on. Now it’s time to cut the log into rolls! I cut the log in half first. And then I cut each half in half again. And lastly, I cut each of those fourths into thirds. Confused? Haha. It’s easier than it sounds. This inexpensive serrated knife {aff. link} is my go-to for cutting cinnamon rolls because it doesn’t crush the dough while cutting, but you can use unflavored dental floss or thread.
My preference is to use a half sheet pan for these rolls (the recipe makes 12 large cinnamon rolls).
These rolls need room to rise and I’ve learned the hard way that putting them in too small of a pan means they won’t be nearly as fluffy and delicious. Below is a picture of this same recipe (all 12 rolls) baking in a 9X13-inch pan. You can see how close they are together before they’ve even risen. And on the right, after baking, they’ve gapped a lot in the middle and the sides are burned/middles are doughy.
So make sure you give the rolls at least an inch in between so they can breathe and have room to live. You can certainly roll the dough into a large rectangle and make 15-16 rolls out of the batch, instead of 12. If they are smaller, they’ll probably fit in a 9X13-inch pan + an 8X8-inch pan just fine.
If you are making these to give away, I’ve found rolling them per the recipe (and getting 12 rolls out of the batch) and putting four rolls into an 8X8-inch pan is about perfect for baking smaller batches. Just the right amount of space to bake up fluffy and perfect. Here’s an example of a cinnamon roll baked in a square pan with three other rolls. Get a load of that fluffiness! It’s the perfect size of cinnamon roll if you ask me.
Once the rolls are placed on the baking pan, let them rise until very puffy and touching lightly on most sides (they may not be double in size, but close).
Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes (add time if needed). If you have convection bake, using that setting will help the rolls bake through to the center more quickly, but standard bake is fine, too.
While the rolls bake, make the frosting. You can frost them warm, or let the rolls cool a bit. I like to hit middle ground and frost while they are still just slightly warm so some of the frosting melts down into all the nooks and crannies but still stays a bit solidly soft on top.
Speaking of frosting, I’ve made a lot of cinnamon roll frostings over the years, and the icing I posted with these Yukon gold cinnamon rolls is hands down my favorite. It is the cinnamon roll icing I’ve been searching for my whole life. The delicate, creamy flavor (without an overpowering cream cheese presence) is the best, best, best. You can use various extracts to flavor it – maple, if that’s your thing (yum) or vanilla.
Lately, with the price of pure vanilla sky high, I’ve been experimenting more with emulsions (scary word that in this case just means flavoring). And wow, this butter vanilla emulsion {aff. link} adds the most insane yumminess to the cinnamon roll frosting. Kind of gives it a buttery sugar cookie vibe. In.the.frosting. It’s crazy good. And it’s only six bucks a bottle.
Incidentally as a sidenote, my 14-year old made these super soft chocolate chip cookies for a youth activity last week and used that butter vanilla emulsion in place of the vanilla extract and people were apparently saying they’d never had a cookie that tasted so amazing and wanted to know the secret. Emulsions! Haha.
And since we’re talking random bits of knowledge here, rolling things out on a lightly floured counter is one of my least favorite things to do in the history of ever because of the gummy mess it can leave while wiping up. That is, until I figured out my handy dandy bench knife/scraper {aff. link} could eliminate the hassle. I use this scraper for so many things, but scraping up floury, cinnamon roll gunk off my counter is one of the reasons it has earned its way into favorite tool status.
So there you have it! Have we covered everything? I think so! If you’ve made it this far (without skimming), you deserve a major award.
If you have any additional questions, ask away in the comments and I’ll respond as quickly as I can. I am SO excited for you to get your hands on this recipe and let me know what you think! Enough talking, go make some cinnamon rolls!
How to make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time
This post on making cinnamon rolls ahead of time applies perfectly to any sweet roll!
One Year Ago: Healthy Yogurt Oat Blueberry {or Chocolate Chip!} Muffins
Two Years Ago: 7-Minute Spaghetti Squash {Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker}
Three Years Ago: Perfect Roasted Vegetables {5 Simple Tips}
Four Years Ago: White Chocolate Oatmeal Craisin Coconut Cookies
Five Years Ago: Light Lemon and Spinach Spaghetti
The Best Cinnamon Rolls {Cheryl’s Famous Recipe}
Ingredients
Sponge:
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup neutral-flavored oil
- 2 cups milk, scalded (heat to just below a boil), I use 2% milk
- 4 cups (568 g) all-purpose flour (I use unbleached)
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast, see note for active dry yeast
Dough:
- ¾ cup (107 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
Filling:
- 8-12 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (159 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom, optional but delicious
Icing:
- 2 ounces (57 g) cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, softened
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ cups (200 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a bowl to mix by hand), add the sugar and oil. Pour in the scalded milk and mix. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes or so until it is warm but not blazing hot.
- Add the 4 cups flour and sprinkle the yeast on top of the flour. Mix until no dry streaks remain and scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. The dough will be loose and wet-looking. Cover the bowl and let the sponge rest until puffy and doubled, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until the flour is completely incorporated and the dough looks smooth instead of rough and shaggy. It may not necessarily clean the sides of the bowl but it should for a pretty cohesive mass. Add additional flour only if it is too sticky to handle or a small piece of dough won’t form a ball in your hands (it’s ok if it leaves some doughy residue on your fingers).
- Scrape the dough into a lightly greased bowl or container, cover, and let rise until doubled, about an hour.
- On a lightly floured counter (I use about 2-3 tablespoons flour), roll or pat the dough into about a 18X12-inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter evenly across the top. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon (and cardamom, if using) in a bowl and sprinkle evenly across the top of the butter. Pat down very lightly.
- Starting with one long end, start rolling the rectangle into a log without pulling and stretching on the dough (but still rolling as tightly as possible). Roll the seam to the bottom and pat the log into an even thickness – it should be about 20 inches long or so at this point.
- Cut the log into 12 even pieces. Place the rolls on a parchment-lined half sheet pan, tucking the loose end of the roll underneath, if you want. The rolls should be about an inch apart so they have room to rise. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise until noticeably puffy and almost doubled, about an hour.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-25 minutes until lightly golden and baked through. Let cool until warm before frosting.
- For the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a medium bowl. Whip with a handheld (or stand) mixer until creamy. Add the salt, milk or cream, and vanilla. Mix again. Add the powdered sugar and whip until light and creamy.
- Spread the slightly warm rolls evenly with the icing. Serve immediately or let cool completely and serve at room temperature (or warm lightly before serving).
Notes
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from a recipe from my friend, Cheryl R (cut the recipe down to smaller size, changed up the mixing method just a little)
These cinnamon rolls checked every box. Gigantic, Soft, tender buttery cinnamon filling, with a frosting that ties it all together. Wow! I have been on the search for a Cinnabon clone recipe- but this is 10 times better than Cinnabon. My favorite part was the bottom of the rolls- some of the cardamom cinnamon butter mixture seeped down to the bottom and created a light caramel coating. It was amazing! Thank you for sharing.
I’ve been wanting to make these since you posted them. Finally did it this weekend and, WOW is all I can say. I love Gloria’s recipe that you posted before and these are as good or better! Thanks so much for sharing it with us! Your recipes never disappoint!
Have you ever tripled these in your bosch? I am wanting a lot of cinnamon rolls, but don’t want to make 2 separate batches :). I can’t wait to make them!
Yes this recipe works great in the Bosch!
Did you already make these? I have to make 9 dozen and am wondering how yours turned out tripling them
Yep! I made a triple batch. It filled Betsy the Bosch to the top. But it worked great! These are so light and yummy! Thanks Mel!
Betsy the Bosch. Haha. 🙂
My double recipe went almost to the very top. I don’t know how I’d get a triple batch in there!
Hi, I know you said you’ve freezed them after baking and frosting but have you ever frozen them before frosting them? I need to make a few dozen and then wanted to frost them all at the same time.
Yes, you can definitely freeze them before frosting.
I absolutely love these!! I’m just wondering if anyone else has the issue I have …after they come out the oven they seem to be sitting in a puddle of butter…they still are delicious but not sure if that’s normal!
Hi Mel.. Slicing a cinnamon always scare the hell out of me. Lol. So i made the dough last night and allowed the 3rd rise in the fridge. I baked it this morning, and yes… so fluffy and soft. I try to control myself from eating the 3rd piece in one sitting. Thank you for the yummy recipes.
MEL! These are SO good! O. M. G. The first warm bite I put into my mouth was simply delicious. The texture is soft, best cinnamon rolls I’ve made to date. Everyone loves them. I even bought the emulsion you mentioned and added that to the frosting. The frosting was the perfect amount for the 12 cinnamon rolls. I can’t wait to make these again!
Mel, these are the BEST EVER! One of my early morning seminary students requested cinnamon rolls for his birthday tomorrow. It’s going to be a short night of sleep because I am still up taste testing them and thinking of all of the adjectives that describe these rolls. Divine! Heavenly! Amazing! Thanks for adding one more cinnamon roll recipe to your blog.
Has no one added raisins to this recipe? I read every comment hoping someone would mention they had added raisins but they didn’t, is there some reason? Would that be a problem?
I think you could definitely add raisins!
Hi Mike! Did you ever end up making these with raisins? If so, did they turn out okay? I’d be so grateful to hear back! Thank you!
These are delicious. Exactly as described, so soft and fluffy. My whole fam agreed the best yet!! A perfect treat on a snowy shoveling no school day!!
I even used almond milk and coconut sugar and they were awesome. Thank you.
Thank you for commenting about almond milk! I’m always a little worried about subbing it when the recipe uses a fattier milk.
Loved these! They are the softest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had, or made. Would definitely make them again.
Oh my goodness. First bite of these and I was without words. They are heavenly. They are so light and fluffy and just the right amount of sweetness and buttery goodness. I like that they aren’t overly cinnamony and the cardamom was very subtle. The 3 rises makes it hard to make for breakfast but maybe lunchtime cinnamon rolls are better anyway. Thank you for posting perfect instructions and thank you to Cheryl for sharing the love.
I was skeptical when I made these cinnamon rolls, already had an excellent recipe. But the dough is so light and tender that you won me over. Second time making them I added another tablespoon of cinnamon to the filling. Love that it makes a small batch, just right for sharing. Thank you!
Thanks, Annie!
Hi Mel! Made these yesterday – the dough was lovely and easy to work with – the rolls were light and fluffy and absolutely delicious – since we are big fans of cinnamon, next time I will had a bit more. The cardamom nicely complimented the cinnamon. The frosting was spot on – not too sweet so the tang of the cream cheese came through.
Thanks for the step by step instructions – I used my kitchen aid mixer. We ate 4, gave 2 to our neighbors and froze the rest. Can’t wait to make them again!
Okay. To start. I’m not even a huge cinnamon roll fan. So I’d been roaming the earth for almost 30 years eating cinnamon rolls, trying to figure out what all the hype was about, until I had one of your vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls a few years ago, and realized ‘oohhh!! So THAT’S what a cinnamon roll SHOULD taste like.’ Well, then you posted these. And Mel, I trust you, but honestly, I was still VERY reluctant to try these bad boys, because why waste time and ingredients on just okay cinnamon rolls? So at the risk of questioning which is REALLY better. I decided to go big and did a side by side taste test. And for our family, and friends, and parents (and anyone else we could find to help us eat these dozens of cinnamon rolls) it was unanimous that THIS recipe is ACTUALLY what cinnamon rolls should taste like!! THEY’RE SO FREAKING AMAZINGLY GOOD!!!!! Just indescribably good!! Thanks SO much for sharing!!
Wow, Stacey! This is awesome! The side by side comparisons are where it’s at and I’m so happy you loved these!!
Terrific! I’ve made them 4 times, both as raspberry rolls and as cinnamon rolls. Superb recipe!!
Raspberry rolls!! Yum!!
Yes I would LOVE to know what you used to make this raspberry.. ❤️
What did you use for the raspberry rolls?
This was my first time making my own cinnamon rolls and WOW they were delicious and just perfect! My husband said I have to start making them for every holiday and family event. They took a bit of time but were super simple for this novice baker. Also the frosting…it is so good that I doubled it so that I could have leftovers and take a spoonful anytime I like. This was amazing. Thank you Mel!!
I am set to make these for supper but am out of milk. Do you think I could use canned evaporated milk?
I can’t remember exactly…but I think someone tried that and it didn’t work out quite as well (the rolls weren’t as fluffy as with normal milk)??
I did use the canned milk, and they turned out just as good, in my opinion.
Cinnamon rolls for breakfast are our Valentine’s Day tradition. I usually don’t make them myself because of time constraints. I usually buy frozen ones or from the local bakery. The ones from the bakery are pretty darn good…but there is just something about fresh-from-your-own-oven rolls that are exceptional. You convinced me to buckle down and make them, mostly out of curiosity. They took most of the day to make but they turned out so well! They were so so fluffy! Like the fluffiest cinnamon rolls of all time. My husband, also a cinnamon roll snob, remarked that they were the best he has ever eaten.
Oh and I always appreciate your step by step picture tutorials. Some people might be put off by all the extra information, but not me! Give me all the info you possibly can for a successful experience. It’s truly the best!
@Amber
Yes, thank you Mel! All those pictures and instructions help me greatly also 🙂
Wow! High praise from your husband (I love it!). Thanks for letting me know, Amber!
Could I halve this recipe
Yes you can!
Hi Mel!
I made these today! My first ever cinnamon rolls! They turned out beautifully with your recommended frosting recipe including the butter vanilla emulsion. All 3 of my boys are super impressed with my “masterpiece.” Ha ha!
Thank you for the step by step instructions and photos. I just love your recipes and blog!
Way to go, Brooke!
So many people commented comparing this recipe to Gloria’s. So I did a side by side, same day comparison. I liked Gloria’s for the ease/quickness of the recipe. I feel likes it’s foil proof as long as you don’t add too much flour. However, I liked Cheryl’s for the day after taste, unique ingredients, challenge. Cheryl’s tasted a bit more bread loaf like to me. But it was incredibly light and fluffy. Both are winners! And it was a fun day in the kitchen doing the recipe challenge!! Thanks for all the tips Mel.
Jessica! You win some kind of award for doing a same day side by side comparison! Love the feedback and insight. Each of those recipes are different (and wonderful) for their own reasons and it’s great to see the details in one place. Thank you!
On a whim I decided to make these. I don’t like cinnamon rolls so I don’t make cinnamon rolls. But oh my goodness, these are amazing. I’m sold. They have the perfect amount of sweetness in both the filling and the icing, soft and chewy, and an easy process to follow. I can easily see these becoming a staple at Christmas and Easter! Thanks Mel for making my cooking world that much more delicious!
Thank YOU, Alyssa!
These were delicious! I made them exactly as the recipe says – even weighted my flour (which I never do). It made the most gorgeous dough. After I cut them into rolls, I put plastic wrap on them and stuck them in the fridge overnight. Took them out in the morning (the brown sugar does run, but that happens to all rolls like this). It took more like an hour and a half for them to come to room temp and rise (I probably should have done 2 hours but I was short on time). My kitchen was cold, so I think it took a little long. I baked them for 18 minutes and they were perfect! It was my daughters 10th birthday and she felt so special! Took them into work and my co-workers loved them too. They were GONE! Next time I’m doubling the recipe. Ha!
Thanks, Trena! Happy birthday to your daughter!
It’s become a tradition in our house to have heart shaped cinnamon rolls (roll from both ends and meat in the middle, then pinch the bottom down to make the bottom point of the heart) for Valentine’s Day, so I made these last night so they’d be ready for breakfast this morning (it was really hard to make myself hold out this long to make these, by the way), they are so yummy!! There were harder to make into the heart shape than Gloria’s recipe just due to them being softer. My softened butter was just digging into the soft dough, so I had to microwave it for 10 seconds to make it soft enough to spread without ripping the dough. I’m excited to make them again not in the heart shape! I think I will stick to Gloria’s for Valentine’s Day but this one for other times! Ha! Thanks for sharing these!
What a cute idea, Misty! I guess it’s good to have several cinnamon roll recipes waiting for just the right occasion!
Mel, these were ama. Like mouth-dropping delicious for sure!!! I feel like I’ll never need another cinnamon roll recipe…this is what cinnamon rolls are supposed to be. Thanks for all your hard work!
I’ve never had success with yeast recipes so I ‘ve never tried to make cinnamon rolls until today. I figured if I was going to try, I might as well use the “Best” recipe right?? Well they turned out amazing! Seriously so delicious! Thanks for your step-by-step instructions. For a beginner like me it made all the difference 🙂
This recipe is amazing and my new ‘go-to’ cinnamon roll recipe. Actually made them twice in the last 48 hours. The first time I used half whole wheat pastry flour and half unbleached white. They turned out great. Second time I followed recipe exactly how you have it and also, pure perfection. Thank you for giving me and my family a new addiction!
I can’t believe there are no eggs in this recipe! I am making them right now!!! Very excited to try them!
We had a snow day here in Utah on Wednesday so I decided to give these a try. Oh man, they did NOT disappoint! So big, so fluffy, we all scarfed them down after shoveling snow for 5 hours. They take some extra time but they are totally worth it!
So perfect for a snow day!
Hi Mel. I made them. I actually made them the next day… because that is how we roll around here. They were delicious. Easy too. The hardest part was spreading softened butter everywhere lol. That was quite the experience. 🙂 I was so excited to roll out my dough and have it the perfect length. We froze some unfrosted, warmed them in the oven and then frosted them. Those were delicious too. I decided I needed butter emulsions since reading and bought it. It should come shortly. I can’t wait to use it in the Swig cookies. Thanks SO much Mel!
PS I am at 6,000 ft elevation and probably added a little more flour, because I always have to, but not more than a half of a cup. I tried to keep it sticky, and after the first rise- the texture was great. I followed the rest of the recipe perfectly and they were awesome. My son’s new favorite cinnamon roll recipe!
Yay! Thanks for the details, Katie!
I made this today, following the recipe to a T and they are fantastic! Oh, I did use a different frosting as I didn’t have any cream cheese on hand but they were so good, I would have loved them unfrosted even.
One thing though, I only had the Instant Dry Yeast, so followed your directions and I bloomed beautifully. But it doubled in size in only 50 minutes and after rolling them out and putting on a sheet pan, they were still so huge that I just baked them right away. I am wondering if maybe I should use less ADY? Oh, but my house was so cold that the butter that had sat out all night had to be shipped to make it spreadable, so it didn’t rise fast due to a warm house.
Hi Mel! I’m serving these for a brunch. What steps (if any) can be done the day before?
Have you seen this post, Kelli? It addresses a lot of those questions! https://www.melskitchencafe.com/how-to-make-cinnamon-rolls-ahead-of-time/
I have not but thank you so much for attaching it!
Made this during a snow day today and now my family thinks I am the coolest mom ever! Seriously, Mel I don’t know how much you earn doing your blog, but it isn’t enough. You consistently help me up my cooking game and help me bring my family together over food!
Haha, you are too cute, Emily. Thank you! You ARE the coolest mom ever! 🙂
Amen and Amen! I agree with Emily, and have often wished you had a PayPal button or something on your website by which folks could make a donation. Your recipes are seriously delicious, though I appreciate the thoroughness of them the most! This website has taught me more about baking in 1 year than the 26 years I have been cooking/baking. Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much, Kari! Comments like this mean WAY more than any donation I could ever get. Seriously.
Oh, my word, Mel. I’ve made Gloria’s recipe a few times and I was really skeptical even as I chose to make these today. It’s been a while since I last made Gloria’s cinnamon rolls, but I think you might be right; these are the best! So fluffy and soft! We are having a snow day here in SLC and they were perfection. Thank you for another amazing recipe. I should know better than to doubt you.
I think they should keep in the freezer for a month or so (especially if they are in a sealed container or bag).
My family loved these cinnamon rolls!
I’d like to make a batch for my husband to take into work. Could I use this recipe to make ‘mini’ cinnamon rolls? What would be the best way to go about doing that?
Yes, I think that would work! I would split the dough into 2-3 sections instead of one long roll and roll them smaller. Probably adjust the baking time and start checking around 12-13 minutes?
Thank you for your suggestions! I split the dough into 3 sections and adjusted the baking time to about 11 minutes or so. I was able to get 45 cinnamon rolls this way. They’re just a little bit smaller than the ‘can cinnamon rolls.’ Thank you, again for another winner!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked!
Oh my goodness. I tried this recipe yesterday and seriously, they need to invent an orgasm emoji for these! Lol! Anyway, I never have made cinnamon buns before, so thank-you for your very in-depth instructions. Just had one now after my lunch and day-after is just as good, maybe even better!
Thanks, Maxine – so happy you loved these and great job making them your first time!
I have always had mixed success with cinnamon rolls, and decided to try this recipe – it truly was a game changer! I don’t think I’ll ever go back. Everyone who had one couldn’t stop telling me how amazing they were, and I agree. 🙂
So happy to hear this, Alison. Way to go!
My daughter wants a giant cinnamon roll for her birthday cake. I’m assuming I could use this recipe but the technique of your giant roll???
Yes, I bet so!
Oh. My. Heavenly. Goodness. These are so light & fluffy & delicious– kind of like a yeast doughnut and a cinnamon roll had a baby. It does take a good portion of time altogether but it’s worth it!
And they are terrific the day after, too. They’re the best day-old cinnamon roll I think I’ve ever had.
I didn’t have cardamom so I instead added a dash of nutmeg– yum!
I cut the dough in half and made 2 logs instead of one large (baked them bake to bake on a jelly roll cookie sheet and they came out perfectly cooked throughout 325° convection for 19 minutes).
I also added a splash maple extract since I loved that concept from Gloria’s recipe. I frosted my first batch about 6 minutes after taking them out of the oven and for the second batch I was running out of time so I frosted about 2 minutes after pulling them out and they looked a lot prettier and less shaggy than the first batch, so I recommend doing an early frosting.
And if you like the sides of the roll frosted, too, do 1.5 batch of frosting (doubling was a bit too much).
Thanks so much for sharing!!
*baked them back to back
(never try and write a review while trying to concurrently answer a four year old’s constant questions!)
Thanks for all the details, Chelsea! The doughnut + cinnamon roll baby is an accurate description I think. Ha!
And revelation! I made the recipe into orange rolls today and they are out of this world AMAZING. I added a little bit (about a tablespoon) of OJ concentrate to the scalded milk, a couple teaspoons mixed with the butter sugar filling (eliminated the cinnamon but added a dash of nutmeg like your baked doughnut recipe has) and then 2 tablespoons of concentrate to the frosting, plus some dried orange zest.
It’s a MUST TRY variation! Love your guts, Mel 🙂
Oh my goodness. I will be making these within the next 48 hours.
I have a convection oven, should I bake them at 350° or at the lower 325° for convection?
325° convection. The middles cook more uniform that way 🙂
I bake them on 325 degrees F if using convection
I wish I would have seen this before I made them. Mine cooked way too fast at 350 and are a little on the brown side taken out at 16 minutes. It might be useful to put that in the recipe notes for other bakers! I’m sure they’ll still taste great though!
I already have what I thought was THE recipe for cinnamon rolls. I even won a contest with them once. But Mel posted this recipe and curiosity got the best of me. So worth it! I was really nervous about how soft the dough was and I thought I over-baked them just a bit but they were totally perfect! I served them to company and almost said no when they asked if they could take the extras home. LOL
Thanks for being willing to give these a try, Ashley! Laughed out loud at your wanting to declare a loud NO to the guests, but I don’t blame you! Haha.
These were really good, and I agree with another commenter that they were better the next day. I have to admit, though, that I am still loyal to Gloria’s Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. They are still our favorite! They have the perfect texture, perfect frosting, and perfect filling ratio. Why mess with perfection!? It’s in the title, after all. 🙂
I love hearing all of those still loyal to Gloria’s. Makes my heart happy (Gloria’s recipe holds a special place there!).
I made them today with my ten-year-old daughter on our “Cold Weather” day (too cold for school). They were so much fun to make. Yeast doughs are like magic to me. They were also delicious! I’m dairy-free, and almond milk, vegan butter, and tofu cream cheese all worked perfectly. So fluffy and enormous! Next time we’ll make smaller ones, but the huge ones sure are impressive!! Thanks for the awesome recipe; it made for a great day with my girl!
That’s awesome that a dairy free version worked out so well! Yay!
I just came here to see if anyone had tried a DF version! Yum! I can’t wait to try it!
Wow these are AMAZING!!! I absolutely love your Yukon gold ones but these even beat those! I think I need to get these out of my house, I couldn’t stop after just 1;) also love how easy they were to make!
Haha, I hear you, Esther! I have to get these out of my house when I make them too! Glad you liked them!
When I first ate these out of the oven they were amazing but I didn’t think they were any better than your Yukon gold recipe that I love. Then we had them for breakfast the next day. I usually only like cinnamon rolls when they are fresh but two days later these were still soft and good. Thanks for posting another great cinnamon roll recipe!
Thanks for the feedback! Lots of people are reporting that these cinnamon rolls taste good the next day or even two days later! Love that!
I wanted to make these for Sunday, but I am unable to see a list of ingredients and instructions.
It was just a temporary error – my website was down for a bit this evening due to some technical issues but everything should be displaying ok now. Let me know if you continue to have issues accessing the recipe!
For me, these missed the mark. Maybe it’s that my ideal cinnamon roll is Cinnabon, or that I needed better cinnamon for this recipe. Not totally sure, but I will definitely ramp up the brown sugar & cinnamon filling next time. I will also decrease the amount of cream cheese in the icing. I thought it was yummy, but my family can’t handle the tangy flavor. Those are my honest opinions. However, they were incredibly soft & tender!! Thanks, Mel, for teaching me the scalding milk technique!
Love the honest opinions – thanks for checking in to let me know!
Made these today on our no-school-because-of-cold day. This is definitely my new bun recipe. LOVED the light fluffy dough. Definitely worth the bit of extra time.
Thanks, Amanda! PERFECT baking activity for a “snow” day (good luck surviving that insane cold spell!).
Cinnamon rolls are my husband’s favorite dessert. I have attempted them several times in our marriage without success. These rolls came out perfect on my first try bc of your amazing, very specific directions. My husband loves them and now I finally feel like a successful baker thanks to you!
I’m so happy to hear that, Kristen! Yay!! Way to go!
I had my very own parable of the cheeseball experience with these cinnamon rolls. I made them with the idea to take them to three different new families in our ward. It was a Monday night and we started out a little later than I had hoped. I couldn’t find the address of one of the families and after texting everyone we thought might know, we came up empty handed. Then my husband suggested a different family that I didn’t know of and so we ran over there before all three of our kids melted down, as it was now way past bedtime. Turns out the mom has a brain tumor and was having problems with her denture. (She’s in her 40’s, but the medication she’s on has done a number on her teeth.) She said that she’s been praying for some relief- she can only eat soft food and for various reasons hasn’t been able to see her dentist. When we showed up with these gloriously soft cinnamon rolls, she was beside herself. To top it off, my husband is a dentist and was able to offer her some advice and set up a time for her to come see him. I feel like I had very little to do with this small miracle, but am so glad that her prayers could be answered and she could feel God’s love for her. Thanks a million times over for posting these!
Oh my gosh, and now I’m crying, Courtney. Seriously, this experience really touched my heart and was just the reminder I needed that life and all of its experiences are so much bigger than I realize sometimes. My heart aches for that sweet mom dealing with a brain tumor, a hurting mouth/teeth, and who had a heart full of prayers that you were able to answer (unknowingly). What a tender mercy for her and for your family. Thank you so much for sharing!