Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
These vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls are incredible! Fluffy and soft, the dough is a dream to work with and the frosting is perfection.
This recipe for my tried-and-true vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls is amazing!
The vanilla pudding makes the dough extremely soft and pliable. Once baked, the cinnamon rolls are so softy and fluffy!
Cinnamon Roll Dough with Pudding
This recipe has gained fame and fortune (ok, just fame) because of the secret ingredient:
Vanilla pudding.
Homemade or boxed, store bought pudding can be used.
Boxed pudding: 3.5 ounce box of instant vanilla pudding.
Homemade pudding: about 2 1/4 cups of cooked and mostly cooled vanilla pudding.
Other than the pudding, the dough is really straightforward. The dough is soft and supple and needs to rise until doubled before rolling out into cinnamon rolls.
Rolling Out Cinnamon Rolls
Pat the dough into a large rectangle and slather with butter and then an healthy sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar.
Roll up the dough into a log. Take care not to pull and stretch the dough while rolling or the rolls can shrink while baking.
Using a super sharp serrated knife or piece of thread or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into 1 or 1 1/2-inch pieces.
Place the cinnamon rolls on a greased baking sheet and let rise until doubled.
Bake until puffy and golden. PERFECTION.
When to Frost Cinnamon Rolls
There are two schools of thought on when to frost a cinnamon roll. Neither is wrong, so go with your heart!
- Let the rolls cool for 5-10 minutes and then frost. RESULT: ooey gooey frosting oozing into every crevice of the cinnamon rolls.
- Let the rolls cool completely before frosting. RESULT: fluffy frosting complimenting the pillowy soft cinnamon roll.
Reviews for Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls have been a tried-and-true favorite for more than a decade. Here are a few rave reviews from many of you who have fallen in love with them over the years:
Cooke F.: I have made these cinnamon rolls for the last 7 Christmas morning breakfasts. My family is addicted. Soooo good.
Kristina: The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made!
Gina: I’ve made these lots and they turn out perfect every time. They are the BEST. So decadent. Rave reviews from family, friends and coworkers. Thank you! 🙂
Kathy W.: I thought I had the best cinnamon roll recipe in North America but I was sadly mistaken. I made these this morning and they are to die for! No kidding. I just about made myself sick eating these delicious and gooey 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!
Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Rolls:
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast or 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3.5 ounce package instant vanilla pudding (see note)
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 to 7 cups (852 to 994 g) all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (424 g) brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
Frosting:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese
- ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups (342 g) confectioner’s sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine water, yeast and sugar. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
- In a large bowl (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), take pudding mix and prepare according to package directions. Add butter, eggs and salt. Mix well. Then add yeast mixture. Blend.
- Gradually add flour; knead until smooth. Do not overflour the dough! It should be very soft but not sticky. Place in a greased bowl.
- Cover the dough and let rise until doubled (if using boxed pudding, it may take quite a while to double because of the cold milk – see note below).
- Roll out the dough on a lightly greased or floured surface to about 34 X 21 inches in size. Take 1 cup soft butter and spread over surface.
- For the filling: in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the buttered dough. Roll up very tightly. With knife put a notch every 1 1/2 inches. Cut with thread or serrated knife.
- Place on lightly greased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Cover and let rise until double again.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove when they start to turn golden (don’t overbake). Frost warm rolls with cream cheese frosting (combine butter and cream cheese and mix well, then add vanilla and sugar and mix again, then add milk for desired consistency).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally posted September 2008; updated August 2022 with new photos, recipe updates, etc.
477 Comments on “Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting”
I made this recipe today , first time making this recipe
To me the cinnamon rolls taste more like a cake instead of cinnamon rolls
I followed recipe to a T
My aunt and I were having a chat one day about cinnamon rolls, sharing tips and tricks of the trade, as we both love making them! She said her mom used to add a box of vanilla pudding to the recipe that she now uses. I had never heard of it. I was thinking she meant just add the dry mix to the flour. She says, “No, you actually MAKE the pudding!” I don’t have my grandmother’s exact recipe (my aunt is hoarding it!), but I like to think this recipe is very close to it. I was going for smaller size rolls, more like a cinnabon, so I didn’t let them rise much the second time. They puffed up just enough while baking and turned out amazing!
can i add a potato to it
I haven’t tried that – sorry!
How long do you knead the bread in a stand mixer with the dough hook?
5-7 minutes, or right around there.
I have the same recipe but with 6 TBSP cinnamon… not a misprint… 6 TBSP.
Great recipe!!!
1 cup of butter seems to be a LOT of Butter for spreading on the dough before rolling up
I wonder if that is a misprint?
It’s not a misprint. 🙂
Can you use bread flour for this recipe or does it have to be all purpose?
Yes, you can. The cinnamon rolls are slightly chewier and less fluffy.
Just made these yesterday with the hubby and kid as a fun rainy weekend activity and they turned out great. Thought I’d post here to share answers to some of the questions had: 1) The pudding I used was from a jello mix. It made more than the 2 1/4 cups noted in the recipe but I made it beforehand and let it cool down on the counter so it wasn’t too warm. 2) The waiting time: As Mel says it’s different for every kitchen of course but it took about 1.5 hours for each of the rises.
Overall these were good but I found the dough to be SO very light and airy. You’d think this is a good thing – and it is – but I found that airiness to be enough different from the more substantial/tougher dough of a traditional cinnamon roll, that I found myself wanting these to be a big more doughy/chewy (which i realize sounds counter-inuitive). They were great but if I made them again I’d put in more brown sugar to the filling but that may be just me.
Can these be done in a stand mixer, I just got one and still learning what to do, when to add ingredients and which paddle to use
Yes, if using a stand mixer, I’d mix the wet ingredients at the beginning with the paddle and then switch to the dough hook when adding flour.
Do you think they can be made in a bread machine?
I don’t have a bread machine, so I’m not sure – I think the quantity of dough might exceed the capacity of most bread machines??
Can I keep these uncooked in the fridge overnight and bake in the morning?
Yes, that should work just fine.
My dough never doubled in size after I rolled them and cut them. The dough did rise after I made the dough and let it rise in a bowl. So bummed. Waste of my time
I have made these cinnamon rolls for the last 7 Christmas morning breakfasts. My family is addicted. Soooo good.
I made these yesterday and they were really good! I used cooked pudding that called for 2 cups of milk. I used 1 2/3 cup of milk and 1/3 cup of buttermilk. I did not have cream cheese for the frosting so I made a glaze with 2 TBS melted butter, 2 TSP vanilla, 1 cup icing sugar and 2-3 TBS of buttermilk. The buttermilk really mimicked the tang you would get from the cream cheese. These were great thank you!
Do you have utube channel? Please tag me the link to this cinnamon roll.. thank you
Read all the comments going back years and years! Lol. Have you heard the success rate using an all purpose Gluten Free flour? Want to make these edible for everyone. I always eat my failures, I’m used to different textures and tastes. I want to share these, so I want them pretty too! Lol. If you have used Gluten Free flour, what was it? Brand and type please. Cup for cup, All purpose, bread? Thank you in advance for the ideas.
Hi Marci – I’m sorry, I haven’t tried using gluten free flour. Usually it doesn’t fare very well in recipes like this as a cup for cup replacement for all-purpose flour.
I made this recipe for my daughter. It takes a long time to make but it was worth it. Everyone in the family loved these, although they are very rich and a small cinnamon roll goes a long way. They are great warmed up for about the next 4 or 5 days. We have a lot of Christmas morning food traditions but now that my daughter must be gluten free, I will be making these Christmas eve to be warmed up Christmas morning just for her. I did not make the cream cheese frosting (we do not like it) but used a frosting recipe from another family recipe.
The best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made!
Delicious! Thank you
I once made these in college, on my small little dorm room desk. I had to walk 3 flights of stairs just to make it down to the communal oven. Worth.Every.Step!! Will be making this very soon, once the Arizona heat subsides. Absolutely my favorite ever cinnamon roll recipe!
I’ve been making these for probably 10 years now and they are still the best!
I just made these cinnamon rolls again. The first time I used the 2 tbsp of active dry yeast as indicated in the recipe. This time, I didn’t have that much, so I only used one envelope of active dry yeast, which is 2.5 tsp and the dough rose beautifully with that amount of yeast. Thank you for another wonderful recipe. Now, I’m going to try Cheryl’s recipe!!
I have made this recipe several times – best cinnamon roll recipe ever. I would like to incorporate pumpkin into the recipe for the Fall. Has anyone ever replaced the vanilla pudding with pumpkin spice pudding (or would that add too much spice)? Any other suggestions about how to add pumpkin? Thanks! I love this recipe!
These were delicious. My family ate them so fast. The dough was soft. I took some to a few co workers and they loved them.
Do I put pudding in the fridge before using it. Or do I just make pudding and not put in fridge. I’m confused
You can make the pudding and use it right away in the recipe.
Hello, has anyone made these successfully with an egg replacer of some kind? Looking to desperately makes these but with a egg replacer. Thanks!
I only have 1 egg…wondering how the rolls will be if I omit the extra egg in the recipe? Love your recipes. We are also an all-boy family, just 3 but very LOUD…and with growing appetites and busy schedules, I appreciate how your recipes hit the spot and are not too difficult to make. My favorite recipe, btw, is your homemade twix bars recipe. Everyone who tastes them says they are amazing!
Hi Gigi! I would try it with one less egg especially if that means you don’t have to go to the store…good luck!
Love this recipe! We can’t have dairy or eggs in our home, and the pudding keeps the bun itself so soft and delicious, even after cutting the eggs and butter. I used butterscotch pudding in my rolls and it was a hit! Thank you so much for this yummy recipe!
Question, how did you make this recipe dairy free with the pudding? We are dairy free at our house.
Hi! Looking forward to making these! Wondering how to prepare one day ahead and bake in the morning? PS LOVE, love your recipes and make so many of them! Loyal fan!
Hi Jennifer! here’s a post I did about making cinnamon rolls ahead of time: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/how-to-make-cinnamon-rolls-ahead-of-time/
These are absolutely fantastic!!! I followed the recipe fully and I ended up with 18 good sized rolls. I used the recipe for homemade vanilla pudding and OH was it good! (ok to me it was good. 🙂 ) My family absolutely loved the cinnamon rolls. I am about to make them again and this time I plan to cut the recipe in half.
I have been making cinnamon rolls for years, but this is hands down THE best recipe ever. Came out amazing, thanks for sharing. Really appreciated the yeast good as well.
Hi Mel! I’ve made these cinnamon rolls a few times now and they’re always delish!! One thing… I made them over the holidays, and although they received rave reviews like usual, for some reason, they shrank back a lot as they cooled (leaving big gaps in the rolls). The dough was beautiful and soft like always, allowed them to rise until big and puffy, baked until golden brown etc etc. They just didn’t stay nice and fat and puffy once baked. Any thoughts or suggestions from the expert would be greatly appreciated! 😉
I’ve found there can be a couple things that contribute to gaps in cinnamon rolls. Pulling the dough tightly (or stretching it) as you roll them up (before cutting) can make a difference. Also, if they rise too much before baking, that can also contribute to the gaps. It’s hard to know the exact one thing that can cause this since there are several different factors. Also, using less butter in the filling can help, too!
I made these on Christmas and they were perfect!! My new go to cinnamon roll recipe! Thank you!
I made these over the weekend and they are terrific! I haven’t made cinnamon rolls from scratch in years because they always were dry by the second day, These stayed moist and the recipe was simple & easy to follow. I used instant pudding & warmed up the milk to room temp before mixing this and it took about An hour to rise. The majority of the rolls are in the freezer unbaked but I did bake some right away. The flavor was terrific and they stayed very moist. I made one change – I used 1/2 cup butter with the filling and think that worked fine. Love the recipe!
Hi, Do you roll up from long side or short side?
Thanks!
The long side.
So I am a bit confused with all the comments. Your original recipe says to use a dry box of instant pudding but apparently everyone is using homemade or already prepared pudding. What is the outcome if I follow the recipe as is using the dry box of pudding?
In step #2 the recipe indicates that the dry pudding needs to be prepared according to package directions so make sure to do that with the dry pudding mix – the recipe works great using those original instructions.
Thank you!!!
Omg! Made homemade vanilla pudding for 1st time in long time, hoped I had cooled it enough, the dough was in my 6 qt kitchen aid mixing bowl 3” above the rim in an hour +, yeast was happy-happy, the recipe was widely successful, wonderful & yummy!!!!
Just wanted to let you know that they turned out beautifully with the Cook ‘n’ Serve Pudding Mix. I MW the milk, stirred in the pudding mix and butter. Then poured it into the mixing bowl and let it cool a bit. Then I mixed in the eggs and dry ingredients. I was distracted so ended up letting it rest for 30 minutes. Mixed it, had to add a little more flour because it was really sticky and let it rest for 15 minutes. The dough was soft and supple.
i was wondering what if i used cooked pudding from
the box would that be ok
I think so as long as the pudding is mostly cool before using.
I just came across this recipe. I haven’t made them yet, but I definitely plan on it. The link to the homemade warm pudding recipe has me wondering if it’s possible to use cook & serve box vanilla pudding?
I haven’t tried it but I’m sure you could!
Hands down the best recipe ever!
I made the recipe with the homemade pudding and they turned out AMAZING! Thank you for the tutorial on the yeast dough!! I’ve definitely been over-flouring things in the past!! But no more!! (Hopefully!!!! )
I made these last night to bake this morning and they were absolutely fantastic! I criminally under salt everything, so my next attempt will be a bit more salted.
Thank you!
I want to make this recipe but I have to know if I have to knead this by hand?
I make the dough in my mixer and knead it with the dough hook.
I can’t wait to try thesescinnamon rolls .Thank you
Sugar free pudding or regular. Thank you
I realize that homemade is always best but in a pinch could one use commercially prepared pudding like Snack Pack?
I honestly don’t know since I haven’t tried it and I don’t believe I’ve seen a comment come through of someone else trying it. You’d have to experiment. Good luck!
Thanks, Mel. I will give it a try both ways and let you know if one is better than the other!
Hello! These are amazing! Thank you so much!!! …… just curious if you have ever doubled your batch at one time? Asking in advance because these will not last long, haha!
Yes, this recipe doubles great (makes a ton!)
Awesome! Thank you so much for getting back so quickly! (And great recipe!)
Can’t wait to try your recipe. With another cinnamon roll recipe I have, the creater suggested using a bread maker for the mixing and first rise on the dough cycle. It worked wonderfully. Do you think the same method could work with this recipe?
I’m not sure – I don’t own a bread machine. As long as your bread machine can fit the quantity of dough, it should work fine, I think.
I made these today, and they are amazing! They were soft, fluffy, and, well… perfect. Everyone loved them, and our daughter even took one to work with her – considering she works at the local ice cream parlor, it’s really saying these are better than ice cream!!
Hi Mel!
Can I make this dough ahead of time and freeze it? How long can it stay in the freezer? What would I need to do if I wanted to make them a day ahead and store in the fridge?
Hi Sharon, yes, you can make this dough and freeze it if the cinnamon rolls are already shaped (before they rise on the pan). Then you can take the frozen cinnamon rolls out of the oven, let them thaw, rise and bake according to the recipe.
Hi Mel! Thank you very much! I am finally getting around to making these now, but won’t use all of them (should’ve halved the recipe). I will make some and freeze the rest.
These were delicious! Thanks for a great recipe. We have a family of six. This makes a big batch, so I left what I needed for the morning in the fridge, and froze the rest. My kitchen was chilly; to speed up rising: I heated my oven , before making the dough, to the lowest temp. Turned it off. Then I added a pan of boiling water to the lowest rack. It took about an hour and a half.
Amazing, I used buttermilk instead of the water. And half and half for the pudding.
How did the Buttemilk taste with the pudding mixture? Did you add the Buttemilk to the pudding?
Mel, Today is the second time I’ve made these rolls and all I can say is AWESOME.
I am a self taught baker that has worked for a mom and pop bakery for the past 14 years. Every night the owners come in and make all the dough’s (bread, roll and sweet rolls) to proof overnight for the next days baking. A lot of our customers rave on how good our bake goods are and how they will never eat anything from another bakery. I just want to say, if any of our customers had one of these cinnamon rolls, they would never buy one of ours again.
The owners of the bakery have their secret recipe’s and now I have my own secret to a better cinnamon roll. 🙂
Haha that’s awesome, Donald! Thanks for the review!
would the dough be too sweet for dinner rolls?
I think so, but that’s just me.
Can you use whole grain flour instead of all purpose?
The rolls may not be as light and fluffy but you can definitely try!
Hi! I’ve always made it my mission to show people that healthy can taste good, and I have been playing with this recipe for a couple of years now. (I do realize that cinnamon buns will never be “healthy”, but they can definitely be more nutritious.) 100% whole wheat still rises, but not as much as white, and is quite dense. I realized that part of the appeal of cinnamon buns is the soft pull apart factor. I found that a 60% white flour to 40% whole wheat was the happiest compromise. If you can find it, Robin Hood used to make a “Nutri- Flour”; same consistency as white, just with a bunch of nutrients added back in. So I would sometimes use 100% of that, or do 60% of it, and 40% whole wheat.
Good luck!
Amazing!!! If the “big” pans are as good as the scrap pan. Oh my goodness. These are the new go to.
Best ever rolls so easy too….making them AGAIN….
I don’t know if the recipe site, Recipezaar, recipe #27493 copied you, but that is the one I’ve been using for many years. It is essentially the same. Best cinnamon rolls. Everyone want them for Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, and trade for work. Sometimes I just make them to share with friends. Your recipe is just as good I’m sure.
These cinnamon rolls are absolutely delicious. The closest yet to Cinnabon, had a hard time time not eating the whole pan.
After you make them, do you refrigerate the leftovers (because if the cream cheese)?
I made them and we found them too sweet.
Yes, I refrigerated leftovers if longer than 6-8 hours.
I’ve made these lots and they turn out perfect every time. They are the BEST. So decadent. Rave reviews from family, friends and coworkers. Thank you! 🙂
Possibly the best cinnamon rolls I’ve made – VERY close in taste to Cinnabon although the texture is slightly more bread-y/open (although this could be my fault for kneading or rising too much). Everyone loved them!
This is my new go to recipe for cinnamon rolls, thanks!
I just made these wonderrolls from heaven. I would like you to we are family now because these will be a staple on our menu for years to come!
I have made this three times already. They are scrumptious and the moistest dough that will melt in your mouth. Everyone always for the recipe.
The first time I did this recipe the cinnamon rolls were great and delicious! The second time I put fresh blueberries on top of the filling and they were over the top delicious. I have some left over cooked apple bits that I am going to try this time around for apple cinnamon rolls. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! The warm homemade vanilla pudding was a fabulous ‘secret’ ingredient. Worth the little bit of extra time!
It’s a Christmas Morning tradition at our house to have fresh, piping hot, homemade cinnamon rolls. I came across this recipe over 5 years ago and I’ve never needed another recipe since! These are LITERALLY THE BEST. Thank you for becoming part of our family tradition!
Thanks, Bridget – so happy you love this recipe!
I can’t wait to try these! I love cinnamon roll’s but can’t very a good one or can’t get a good recipe of them so before I completely give up I’m gonna try these! Wish me luck!
Oh, Donna. You will have to look no further. Been making these for about 12 years. Boy did I become popular real quick.
This is the only recipe I will use and I have tried dozens of recipes over the years. For gifts I split it into three round aluminum pans with covers from the dollar store. Always a hit!
I have always failed miserably at making cinnamon rolls but my friend told me that her secret was pudding in the mix. I googled cinnamon rolls with pudding and this one popped up. The reviews were good, recipe was easy to follow, so I decided to give it a shot.
I am so glad I did! These turned out phenomenally – large, fluffy, soft, and just sweet enough! Thank you so much for sharing.
ME TOO, now you’ve got me excited to try these!
Hi Mel!
Can you please write measures in milliliters and grams?
Hi Ana – I’m sorry, I don’t measure my ingredients that way, but there are lots of online conversion calculators if you need the amounts in grams.
I thought I had the best cinnamon roll recipe in North America but I was sadly mistaken. I made these this morning and they are to die for! No kidding. I just about made myself sick eating these delicious and gooey cinnamon rolls.
Thank you so much for sharing your recipes with the world. I will be making more and more of your fantastic food.
Hi Mel!
If I want to refrigerate these overnight, should I do that before the second rise?
Yes! Then just take them out of the refrigerator a couple hours before baking so they can come to room temp and rise before baking (they’ll probably puff/rise a bit in the fridge overnight).
I saw your post on Instagram and these looked perfect for the cool fall day we had today. They did not disappoint, we were out of cream cheese, but even with a simple sugar glaze I ate 3. They just melt in your mouth!
Okay this may seem like a dumb question but I’m confused on the 3rd step. It says add flour and knead. So do you mix in the flour with a spoon, then knead it? Or dump the flour on the yeast mixture and just start kneading? Haha sorry I’ve never made cinnamon rolls before and am so confused! Also, how long do you knead it?
Sorry for the confusion! Just toss the flour in (gradually so it doesn’t fly everywhere) and knead once the flour has been added. You should knead 3-5 minutes with a mixer or double that if kneading by hand.
Could I substitute lemon pudding for the vanilla pudding?
Could certainly try!
These cinnamon rolls are very soft and the frosting on the rolls are delicious.
Love this recipe! It’s my go to recipe for cinnamon rolls! Perfect rolls every time…..thank you!!
I love the texture of these, but the actual roll was quite bland. Would it ok to add more sugar to the dough? If so, how much would you recommend?
Sure, you could add more sugar or more salt. Without knowing what brand or recipe of pudding you are using, I don’t dare give a recommendation on increasing sugar. You’ll have to experiment a little!
I have made these a few times, and they are AMAZING! They are also ginormous, so I was wondering if I could divide the dough in half before I roll it out. Would that produce a slightly smaller roll? Thanks for the recipe. They are seriously the best I have ever had!
Yes, you could totally do that.
First time I made these AMAZING! 2ND time they didn’t work and I could figure out why. Then it hit me LOL it was diffrent flour, so make sure you are using regular all purpose flour! It makes a huge difference. And also I use my kitchen aid every time and it handles fine. And lastly I leave my dough quiet sticky and allow to rise then when I turn it out to roll I just add a little flour and it Amazing. Good luck everyone these are do wrth the frustration trust me.
How long does it usually take the dough to rise?
Because the pudding is cold, the first rise takes quite a bit longer than a normal yeast dough. I often warm my oven just for a few minutes, turn it off and then put the bowl of dough in there to rise (just make sure your oven isn’t too hot- don’t want the dough to cook!).
Hi! Thanks for sharing this great recipe, we loved them. I hurt my kneading hand a bit ago, so I put the ingredients for the dough of course into my bread machine on dough setting. Not sure if anyone or yourself had tried it this way but it cuts down on quite a few steps. The dough turned out silky, rose beautifully, and made huge rolls. I’m definitely keeping this recipe!
Can you use this receipe for sticky buns instead of cinnamon buns If so how
I’m sure you could, but I haven’t tried it so you’ll have to experiment.
If you habnt tried making these into sticky buns yet , all you need to do is tear off pieces of the dough and dip them into a cinnamon & sugar mixture completely coating them and just drop them into the pan as you dip them. Just as you would do any recipe for sticky buns. Also this is more of a bread dough so the rise is bigger. I would make the pieces small. Figure them to double – triple in size.
Mel I would truly love to make your cinnamon rolls but because of health issues unable to handle the kneading of a full recipe. And others say that a full recipe is too much for a mixer. My problem in halfing the recipe is how to cut the 3.5 oz. of pudding in half?
The best solution is to make the full batch of pudding and just use half for the recipe and keep the other half for eating/snacking.
Hey, Mel! Once again, almost my entire weekly plan comes from your blog! 😉 I’ve never made Cinnamon rolls before, but I’d like to make some for my class at church for Christmas. Would it be possible to use this recipe but roll the “log” smaller to get more, smaller Cinnamon rolls?
Absolutely!
I found your recipe and I have one that calls for vanilla pudding in the mix too. I will have to check and see if it is the same. Funny thing is that my recipe came from my aunt Marilyn too. Well her name is Marilyn Jean and she always went by Jeanie so was my aunt Jeanie.
If I made these today for cooking tomorrow morning could I just refrigerate tonight then pull them out in the morning?
Sure…just make sure they have time to come to room temperature and double in size before baking.
How long do the rolls take to rise approximately? Also, if using granular sugar in place of brown sugar, do you use the same amount? 2 cups?
Two questions: How long do you let the rolls rise to double in size? And if I want to substitute granular sugar in place of the brown sugar, do I use equal amounts? Thanks!
It kind of depends on the warmth of your kitchen but maybe 1-2 hours for rising. I haven’t ever used granulated sugar but you could try subbing an equal amount.
Mel, I have an aversion to stuff like canned cream soups, Italian dressing mix and pudding mixes. If I can’t pronounce what’s in it I don’t want to feed it to my family. Since the pudding is prepared, can you use 2 cups of homemade vanilla pudding as a substitute? (Assuming the size package mentioned in your recipe calls for 2 cups of milk to prepare, of course.)
Definitely worth experimenting, Cat! I know there are lots of comments to read through but I believe others have tried that same thing and reported back with their results.
Hmmmm, i baked these Cinnamon rolls last night, and i had one this morning, ooooh so yummy…so soft, so pillowy, thanks for sharing the recipe Mel. In the past i had tried so many Cinnamon rolls recipe, but none beats this one. Spot on.
How about publishing all of your amazing recipes in print-hardcover? The Encyclopedia of Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Not very catchy. Oy! I’d pay a hefty some to have someone else print for me. 🙂
Hi thank you for the recipe. The idea to put custard to the batter sounds very nice however I tried this recipe this morning and after 4 hours my dough is still sticky and not workable. It did rise very nice. At the moment I’ve let it rest again and see how it turns out. I have also added an extra cup flour but that only helped a little.
Really struggled with this recipe. Added over 8 cups of flour and it was still super sticky. Maybe I should have needed longer but was afraid over-kneading as I’ve done that before. Now they won’t rise. I’ve really had a hard time with the last few recipes after several successes. I might as well jsut open up the ingredients and throw them right in the trash. Just about ready to give up on baking.
Sorry about that, Ryan. Don’t give up though! I hope the rolls turned out ok.
These are my “go-to” cinnamon rolls! Absolutely love them! Made them again yesterday, it seems I use a different flavor of pudding mix each time (because seriously, who has vanilla pudding on hand when you get the wild hair to bake some yummies but don’t want to go to the store.) Yesterday’s batch was banana pudding infused, and oh my golly (!!!) My favorite ones yet! Just a faint hint of that banana, but enough to add to the deliciousness of these cinnamon rolls. I also increase the filling mix by half again as much, and you get that little more carmelized sugar at the bottom. Thank you for sharing with the world your geniusness in the kitchen! Cheers!
This is my first time to make the rolls and just wondering how long it takes for dough to raise the first and when they are on the cookie sheets. It is cool in my house(blizzard outside today,that is MN, lol) so I turned the heat up in the house. I have the bowl sitting on top of the stove and I did heat up the oven top first. Thanks for your comments.
It really depends on the warmth of your house but maybe 1-2 hours for the first rise and about an hour when they are on the cookie sheets? That’s honestly just a guess – could take longer if your house stays cool with that blizzard outside. 🙂
I make these cinnamon rolls every New Years Day. This was the first year I made the pudding from scratch, using the recipe on this site (the day before, so it was cold when incorporated into the cinnamon roll recipe). So good!
Thanks again!
I very new to baking and was wondering if someone could tell me how do you know when to use the paddle and when to use the dough hook?
Paddle works well for wet batters. Dough gets a lot more dense (dry, thick, hold shape) and for that you use the hook.
I used the cook and serve vanilla pudding (by accident), just what I had on hand. I looked up the servings for the 3.4 ounce instant and it makes 4 (1/2) cup servings, so 2 cups and the cook and serve makes 6 (1/2) cup servings. Either way the recipe calls for 2 cups if the whole 3.4 ounce of instant vanilla pudding is used. Hope this helps!
Dumb question, the instant pudding measurement, is that one package of instant pudding or 3 packages of instant pudding? Making sure I’m reading this right, thank you!
It’s one package of pudding.
Can you bake these in a cake pan instead of on cookie sheet. I made these but they didn’t raise very well. Thinking I didn’t add enough flour dough as it was kind of sticky
Sure!
These are the BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. I love all your yeast recipes (and specific instructions!) and am proud to say my baking has drastically improved because of you 🙂
Growing up my mom only ever made caramel rolls. I’ve tried to recreate that warm, gooey deliciousness but can’t get it right. Do you have a recipe for caramel rolls?
I don’t have a tried-and-true caramel recipe, Nancy – sorry! I’ll post about one if I ever land on a great one.
Well, I certainly got the royal treatment from making these rolls. All you could hear is, oh my gosh Mom, these are awesome, the best we have ever eaten. I even got kisses and a GROUP HUG. How about them apples!! All I can say is thank you a hundred times over.
Can these be baked in a 9 X 9 pans
I don’t see why not.
Unbelievably good!
I’m making them 3 times in the same month!
That tells you something!
I made these on Fri night and I can’t believe I am making them again!
wow addicting lay good! Thanks for a kick ass recipe.
Made these today, topped them with red white and blue sprinkles and they were as festive and delicious as ever! Loved the recipe and loved that it made so much!
Hi,
We don’t have Vanilla Pudding in the UK but I’m going to try something similar, Angel Delight. How much milk does a three and a half ounce packet of Vanilla Pudding require?
Thanks
The pudding mixes with 2 cups milk. Good luck trying it with the substitute!
Thank you! I made them and they have turned out utterly magnificent! Lightest dough I have ever tasted.
I do love the tang of buttermilk cinnamon rolls and wondered have you ever used fullfat buttermilk and/or sour milk for your liquid in this recipe? (Using Instant dry yeast to avoid proofing, of course, added to the dry ingredients.) I have yet to see a recipe using both the pudding and the buttermilk and was curious the results. Or perhaps the chemistry combo would prove disastrous?
I haven’t tried using buttermilk in this recipe so I can’t say for sure how it would work out but I don’t think it would be disastrous – sounds like it’s worth a try. Good luck if you decide to go for it!
I have to admit….am going to give it a go just because I love a challenge!
So I want to make these for neighbor gifts and want to freeze so they can eat whenever they would like. However I don’t want them to have to worry about the frosting. How do you think they would fair if I baked frosted cooled then froze??
I’ve frozen another roll recipe (the one I just posted a few weeks ago) after they were baked and cooled and frosted – I put each cinnamon roll in a little ziploc bag and they heat up perfectly in the microwave (about 1-2 minutes straight from the freezer – but out of the bag).
I love this recipe! I’ve made it many, many times (always a hit)! Just one question, any advice on how to make this recipe into an orange roll. I love the dough but I’m not sure where to go from there. Thanks!
Hi Lacy – I have a recipe for orange rolls if you want to use this dough instead, just try using the filling from the other recipe. Good luck!
Okay Mel;
I am kind of confused about your vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls. Do I just put the pkg of instant vanilla into my dough and mix that all together with the yeast? Or do I actually make pudding and then pour the pudding into my dough before kneading?
You want to mix up the pudding first before using it in the dough.
I can’t wait to try these cinnamon rolls. I’d like to may some as tasty as my son!
Can u give me the half recipe
I make these all of the time and don’t have a problem with them being too cold or slow in rising, because I have always put in the pudding as powder and just add the milk that I allowed to get to room temperature. Everything works out fine every time. I haven’t had them fail as of yet!
Have you tried warming the pudding after it sets? That’s what I usually do because from experience, using cold ingredients will significantly increase rising times.
Mel, in your recipe for Vanilla Pudding Cinnamon Rolls, the ingredients call for 2 Tablespoons of active dry yeast. Is this correct? That is a lot of yeast.
Hi Kathleen – I know it sounds like a lot but that’s how much I use. If using instant yeast, you can cut it down to 1 1/2 tablespoons.
Just perusing for a new cinnamon roll recipe and I’ve heard of these from friends who have tried them (S & D Zobrist). I always use white wheat, but wondering if you have done the same with this recipe in particular??
Thanks
Hi Jodi – yes, I’ve made this recipe with ground white wheat flour – the cinnamon rolls are a bit heartier but as long as the dough isn’t overfloured, they are still delicious. Good luck if you try them! (Say hi to the Zobrists from me and Brian!)
These were SOOOOO good! It made so many I gave so many away to my apartment neighbors! You said the dough wasn’t suppose to be sticky, but mine was super sticky. I used my hands to mix it, so that might have been the problem, but I don’t know. Thank you though. These were perf :3
Hi there- I made these one time and they were so amazing. The second time I made them they didn’t want to rise…the dough was soooo cold because of the pudding and I think that just chilled the dough so much it didnt want to rise….any tips? I am not sure what I did different the first time as they turned out so great and I remember the dough being cold that time too….THANKS!
Hi Lexie – is there a chance your yeast was expired or your water not warm enough? Also, overflouring the dough can seriously impact rising, too. It’s impossible for me to know what you did differently without being right there in your kitchen but I’d keep an eye on those factors next time. Good luck!
Hi- I’ve made these 4 times now and twice they were yummy and twice they wouldnt rise… all of my ingredients are fresh so I dont think that is it and I make bread/rolls fairly often so I sure think I have a good feel for water that is hot enough (and not too hot). The dough sure is cold though from making the cold pudding, even the two times they turned out right, they took a very long time to rise…. hmmmm…I love this recipe, that is why I would love to get it figured out so that I can make them and trust they are going to turn out right. I cook for a crew of cowboys, so it is important to me that I can serve them. Thanks for you suggestions, I am open to more!!
Hi Lexie, Lien’s suggestion is a good one if you want a more typical rising time from this dough. Like she said, the cool pudding will make it so the dough takes longer to rise. For the two times they haven’t worked out for you, are they rising but just slowly or not rising at all? One thing you could try is putting the dough in a warm oven (I preheat to 175 and then turn off when it has preheated) to speed up and help rise in a warm place.
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I found this on Pintrest and these are awsome cinnamon rolls everybody loved them
Thanks I enjoyed these
I had difficulty with freezing them. I baked some right away and they rose fine, big and fluffy, so I know it isn’t the recipe. I thawed in fridge over night and they wouldn’t rise on the counter, so I warmed the oven, only to 100 degrees and put a hot pan of water inside. They did rise, but not to their glory. Oh well. Live and learn. I have yet to learn how to successfully freeze and bake.
It’s around an hour per rise. It will depend on the temperature of your kitchen, type of yeast, even how long you kneaded the dough.
I perused the comments but didn’t see what I was looking for but what is the general time frame for letting the rolls rise…for the first and second time? I’ll be in the kitchen in the morning trying them out!!
I’ve made these no less than 100 times now! I have my dough rising for a batch that I made with pumpkin spice pudding! Love this recipe!
I really don’t know why I don’t read the whole recipe before I set out to make them 🙂 Was going to make 6 batches for my freezer club for our exchange next week. These make a BOATLOAD of rolls! First batch was too doughy and I powdered it up with flour and baked them for today. They are so goooood…and they are the flops! It has been a long, long time in the kitchen today, but I now have cinnamon rolls for Christmas for not only my freezer club, but my neighbors and our Life group from church. A LOT of rolls. I am beat. But this has replaced all other great recipes for cinnamon rolls because of the ease of rolling out. It just glides out so smoothly. Thank you.
I made these this weekend and they are our new favorite! So soft and tender. The only issue I had… I refrigerated them after forming, and then got them out in the morning about an hour before baking. One pan of rolls seemed to… melt… pancake cinnamon rolls! They still tasted good though! Thanks Mel!
Made these today for Sunday afternoon. This was the third time I have made these and they turned out great as usual. I am only eating one. Just saying. Thanks again!
omg looks delicious….i want some
Thanks for the DELICIOUS recipe! Just got them out of the oven and they are AMAAAAAAAAZING! 🙂 I didn’t have instant pudding on hand, but I had cook-and-serve pudding, so I just used that with some milk. Didn’t even cook it to make the pudding. I’m totally not a pro, but they turned out beautifully! This will totally be my go-to recipe for cinnamon rolls now, thanks! 🙂
Do you think these could be made in a bread machine? If so, should I make the pudding before, or just add the milk and dry mix?
Momofboys – I have almost zero experience with bread machines so I’m not sure since I don’t know how much you can add to a bread machine. Good luck experimenting!
I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for decades – these were the best I’ve ever made. You can teach an old dog new tricks!
Oh my goodness this recipe is a keeper they turned out just fantastic. I made the dough the night before and just covered and left raise in my oven overnight. Baked them the next morning they were just delish. I will only make this recipe when we want fresh cinnamon rolls . Thank you for the fantastic recipe !
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I haven’t eaten breakfast yet this morning, and I can’t get this cinnamon roll out of my mind. Thanks so much for sharing! Can’t wait to try them. Have a wonderful day!
Melanie! I LOVE your blog…I have tried several of your recipes. Does this recipe work making it the night before and refrigerating the rolls then let them rise in the morning?
Hi Wendi – it sure does! I’ve done that many times.
The flavor of these are awesome!! But, I must be doing something wrong. The texture of the rolls are more like bread…nothing like every other cinnamon roll I have tried. I do not know what I am doing wrong. Any suggestions?
Robin – hmmm, I don’t really know what you mean, I guess. What texture are you going for? I’ve always thought cinnamon rolls were like bread, just a bit softer and gooier. You might try adding a bit less flour and see how that works.
Great news! I only had a half package of cook and serve vanilla pudding in my cupboard but desperately wanted to try making these so went against all the baking common sense voices in my head and tried making a half recipe of these babies. Doing things like this usually results in utter disaster about 80% of the time but NOT TODAY! Yes, I had to cook and cool the pudding but the rolls turned out fantastically. SO delicious. I’m going to make them again (with instant pudding this time). YAY dangerously unhealthy Friday food!
I didn’t think cinnamon rolls could be improved upon until I saw these. Definitely will try them this weekend!
Not too long ago, I had a cinnamon roll “cook-off,” and I was pretty certain that I had an absolutely winner – http://tuesdaynightboyfriend.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/cinnamon-roll-throwdown-winner/ – but after seeing this picture, I neeeeeeeed to make these.
Just made these rolls tonight…. AMAZING!!!! So easy, so delicious. I’m in love!
Came across your recipe on Pinterest and decided to make tonight for the holiday. WOW! Amazing. So soft and yummy, and the frosting is just perfect. I don’t think I rolled out the dough enough, though, because when I rolled everything up, it was a huge roll and a little difficult to cut. I ended up making 12 huge rolls instead of 24. I wonder if you could make a cinnamon bread out of this instead of the rolls? Might have to try it since I’m so un-coordinated!
I’ve run across your blog while looking for an Italian bread to go with my Italian dinner for Christmas Eve and came across your Ciabatta and can’t wait to try it tomorrow. Then I noticed your Cinnamon Rolls and checked them out – come to find out you use the same recipe I began to use a several years ago. Mine calls for corn syrup for the filling, it’s great when you bake them right away, but I froze some and with the corn syrup all of the filling ran out during the freezing process. When I freeze I use butter and they are fantastic. I am going to have to make some more very soon. I’ll let you know how the Ciabatta comes out – I use an Electrolux Assistent for my bread, really for almost everything, and I love the way all of my bread comes out — as light as professionally made bread.
After years of making the pioneer woman’s recipe for cinnamon rolls, my kids have begged me to convert to this one! And I have to agree that it is the best! About to get ready to make and freeze for Christmas morning. Thanks!!
I don’t have the strength to knead by hand and would like to use a stand mixer. Does anyone else do this? and how long would I let it run?
I make mine in my bread machine. Dough setting. It works just fine. Once the dough is completed, you may want to add a bit more flour.
I cut this recipe in half because my machine will not handle that much flour.
Anon – sorry, I don’t know the answer to that since I’ve never officially measured the pudding. You might try googling the answer. Also, I know there are a lot of comments on this post and they are cumbersome to read through, but I seem to remember someone else had used homemade pudding so you might read through to get their feedback.
Roughly how much vanilla pudding does a 3 1/2 ounce package produce? I want to use pudding made from scratch!:)
the 3.5 oz package of instant pudding makes four 4oz. servings, so 2 cups total. 🙂
These recipes look amazing!! Thank you for sharing!! Now mommy can have a “nice” popsicle with the littles
wow! the cream cheese frosting looks so yummy on the bread. i bet this smells so good!
Hey! I just made your recipe from pinterest, they are awesome!!! Thank you very much for sharing the recipe! Mucho gracias.
Hi Esma, unfortunately, I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the German pudding at all. Sorry I can’t be more help! Perhaps just try using one package next time?
Hey Mel,
Your rolls Look very delicous. Thanks for the recipe but i had My Problems with the instant pudding. In Germany we make One package pudding with 2 cups of milk. So therefore i had to put alot more flour then u wrote. I also used2 of them haha so alot more flour was needed. Could u Tell me how much of our German pudding i have to use to get the exact flour amount for the dough. Thanks alot
I made these for Christmas last year! Baked half and froze half!! They were so good! I will definitely make these again!!!
OMG Just made these and they are awesome! I have tried several and these are the ones! I didn’t even have as much yeast as it called for and they still turned out. Now if I can figure out how to incorporate pumpkin into them.
I might add that it took closer to 8 cups of flour with kneading so that the dough wasn’t too sticky. I didn’t use an electric mixer but would recommend doing so because of the stickiness of the dough and not knowing exactly how much flour you will need. I doubled the recipe and it seemed like forever kneading it to get the stickiness to go awy. BUT it was worth every minute it took. This is by far the best cinnamon roll recipe I have ever made. Thanks for sharing it with us.
I made these cinnamon rolls and the women couldn’t get enough of them. This recipe makes 24 VERY LARGE rolls. I took them to a fish fry and they were devoured by about 10 women and a few small children within 5 hours …..followed by body wraps, of course LOL. The recipe said to spread the softened butter over the dough and sprinkle with the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture but I mixed the butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon and spread it on that way. I also put pecans in half of them and that was wonderful. I highly recommend this recipe !!!!
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These were amazing! I think they are the best cinnamon rolls in the world. =)
Melanie,
I made the pudding cinnamom rolls today and they are superb. Your recipe was very easy to follow and totally foolproof in my opinion. Cant wait for hubby to get home and try them. He will be impressed! Gonna share some with our neighbor too. Thank you so much for sharing!
Vicki from Oklahoma
The blog is very good, It worth to collect
Excellent recipe for vanilla frosting!
Thanks – MakingVanilla.com
Hi Shane – this dough is definitely on the softer side of the dough spectrum but it shouldn’t be overly sticky. It should end up being very soft and supple without leaving a lot of dough residue on your fingers. Because the amount of flour can vary widely in yeast recipes based on how you measure flour, humidity, etc., I think if your dough was overly sticky and not clearing the bowl that you need to add more flour. I use my Bosch mixer to knead the dough and depending on where I’ve lived (living at a high altitude, dry climate and now living at humid, sea level), sometimes I add as much as 8 cups of flour. It’s hard to put a specific amount because it will depend on each person making them. Hope that helps a little!
Hi Melanie! I am very excited to taste these. I am in the middle of making them but wonder if I am doing something wrong. I make bread all the time but mostly do the kneading in my Kitchen Aid, especially for soft, wet doughs. I tried to do this the same but it never cleared the sides, was always sticky even after adding about another 3/4 cup flour. I then tried to knead them by hand with about another 1/4 cup flour and that was much worse and messier. I finally managed to get it in a ball and put it in a bowl to raise. How much “6+” flour do you end up using. Do you knead them by hand? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hilary – you can use either light or dark brown sugar. I use whatever I have on hand and both work great.
Brian – I hope the measuring flour thing helps out with the stickiness of the dough! It sounds like you need to add a bit more flour to begin with. Hope that helps!
Just found your entry on measuring flour, & I have been using spoon & sweep since I could reach the counter. This could account for the difficulty I experienced!
Found this recipe & had to try it – & they were delicious. First time I’ve made cinnamon rolls (though mom used to do so regularly when I was growing up).
The issue I ran into was kneading the dough. It took a long time (I’m talking 35-40 minutes) for it to come together. I followed the recipe with the 6+ cups of flour, and ended up adding probably 1/2 – 3/4 c additional flour during kneading. My first guess was that because of the pudding the dough took a bit longer, but I see that nobody else had this problem.
Any thoughts? Do I need to add a bit more flour to start? I’d love to make these again but I don’t look forward to another marathon of kneading….
I think that it is hard to make good cinnamon rolls! There are definitely more bad than good out there, but these look amazing!! All elements met… moist and gooey and slathered with frosting… it just looks like it will melt in your mouth!! I can not wait to try these! Thanks for being great at what you do!
Sorry this is so late, but do you use light brown or dark brown sugar for the filling?? Thanks!!!
Making these for conference in the morning. I wake up early with the baby anyways, so I am going to try to make them tonight and put in the refrigerator over night, take them out to come to room tempurature and rise until double and then bake so they are warm and fresh from the oven for conference. I will let you know how they turn out!
Lyndsay – you can make the rolls, shape them and put them on the baking sheet the night before. Don’t let them rise on the baking sheet – cover them with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate them. Take them out 2 hours or so before you want to bake them so they can rise.
Should the dough rise is a warm area of the kitchen?
I use all-purpose flour (unbleached); and yes, the dough can rise in a warm location or just at room temperature.
Is there an easy way to make these at night for breakfast the next morning?
Is instant yeast the same as rapid yeast????? I do have rapid and active….Thanks
Brenda – yes, instant yeast is also called rapid rise yeast.
I made these Cinnamon Rolls for Christmas! They were so good!! I froze them and made them as needed because this recipe makes a lot. So, So delicious!!!!
That could have been it. I was very conservative when using the flour as I have a bad habit of generally overflouring my baking. Next batch I will tweak the amounts, thanks so much!
Emily – is there a chance you might have underfloured the dough? That may cause them to spread (if the dough is too sticky and won’t hold up to rising/baking) – otherwise, you might try rolling them up even tighter.
Should I use bread flour or regular flour?
These are delicious! However, I think that I must have done something wrong. I divided them into three batches, one of which I baked straight away on a cookie sheet. The spread out like crazy, but we all still enjoyed them immensely. The second batch I froze and thawed over night, plopped on a cookie sheet, and noticed after 2 minutes in the oven they were spreading again. I transferred them to a 8″ sq dish and they are looking great.
I have been making these for a couple of years, now, and, after experimenting with several other versions (including your buttermilk ones), we keep coming back to these. Love the light, fluffy texture, and, with my LARGE family (7 kids!), the recipe makes enough for everyone to have their fill with some left over. 🙂
BUT, I have shied away from them recently, as we are trying to cut WAY down on processed foods, and the instant pudding thing… *sigh* HOWEVER, I had a thought. I subbed in your Vanilla Pudding recipe for the instant (made ahead and chilled), and guess what? They were DIVINE. *happy dance* Still the same light, fluffy texture, and lovely sweet taste, without all the unpronounceables. My family is happy. I am happy. And we are once again in cinnamon roll heaven. <3
Just made these to go with chili for the Super Bowl. They are amazing! This will be my ONLY cinnamon roll recipe from now on. Very easy and the dough is so tender!
For those about icing, I change mine up for more flavor. So I add pecans to the filing, but for the icing I use honey nut cream cheese and instead of vanilla I use about 3 tbs of maple syrup. Cannot wait to make this again!
i made these today and they turned out super awesome! it was by the weirdest recipe i have ever worked with but it was absolutely delicious. thanks so much for sharing, keep on blogging!!!! 🙂
Lacy – you know, I don’t know that I have any really great tips other than just trying to get that first roll over as tight as possible – it seems like once that first roll is tight, the rest rolls up fine…although, mine don’t always look tight and neat, I have to admit.
I made these last night and took them to my husband’s work this morning, huge hit! Thank you! One question, do you have any tips for rolling them tight? I’m not sure if they weren’t tight enough because I refrigerated them over night and the filling leaked out a bit or I just didn’t roll then tight enough in the first place. Thanks again!
Kristin – love moms of all boys! We have to stick together. As for the cinnamon rolls, yes, they can definitely be shaped and put in the pan the night before. Don’t let them rise in the pan, once they are shaped, stick them on the pan, cover with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate. Pull them out a couple of hours before you need to bake them so they have time to double in size. Hope that helps!
Hi Mel! Congratulations on the fifth new one!! If it is a boy, we will be almost twins!! Speaking of five boys, they are hankering for your Pudding Cinnamon Rolls. Just one question, I want to put them together tonight and bake them in the morning. Do I let them rise after cut and then refridgerate? I am new to the yeast endeavor. I did make your french bread rolls for our early Christmas with the in-laws and they were a huge hit!! You are the bomb!!
Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Mom of Five boys from Kansas…love them boys!!
Ok Mel … .we are trying these for X-mas morning and your Buffalo Pretzel bites, 7 layer dip and amazing chocolate cake for X-mas eve. .. .a tad ambitious I am afraid. ..but can’t resist as everything we try of yours comes out fab! Wish I had the confidence to try your fab frosting recipe as well. .! Thanks for the great ideas!! Fingers crossed we don’t mess it all up royally!! Ha ha!
Lorrie – I don’t usually give an exact time because it depends a lot on the temperature of your kitchen, how warm your dough is, etc. But on average, I’d suggest about an hour to an hour and a half for each rise. Good luck!
Tina – you need to use the dry mix pudding where you just add milk (like the instant jello pudding brand). Hope that helps.
I am making these before I head to church on sunday. How long do they rise (1st and 2nd time)?
Hi,I really would like to try these rolls,but I do not understand clear about the pudding,if to use a ready pudding? or to make it from powder custard with milk?or make it from vanilla jello?please help me,because it looks delicius!
So I found out that just thinking about food can impact blood sugar. Tomorrow I am making these glorious rolls. Tonight all the members of my family are suffering from insulin problems. I may start at 6am. mmmmmm. LOVE THESE!!!
I made these last night and they were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! This is now my go to recipe for cinnamon rolls! Thank you!
Really? then do you just mix it all by hand flour and everything? You may have said it somewhere, but I dont remember reading it
Stace – I use my Bosch mixer when making these rolls. It has about a 12-15 cup flour capacity so I think it is quite a bit bigger than the Kitchenaid. If you halve the recipe, it might fit better in your mixer.
So I am making these for conference sunday.. do I have a tiny kitchenaid or am I doing something wrong? While trying to knead these the dough kept coming over the top of my hook. I realize this makes 24 rolls.. but am I doing something wrong.. or can I half the recipe next time… I am stressed about how well it was kneaded.
Stace – I’ve never made cinnamon rolls or anything, for that matter, in a kitchen aid, so I’m not sure how the size of your kitchen aid will work with the cinnamon rolls, although I have heard several people mention that whenever they make any yeast/bread recipe in their kitchen aid, they halve the recipe. It sounds like maybe that might be the key next time. Either that or perhaps the dough needed a bit more flour in order to not be so sticky. I hope they turned out ok!
Whoa, this makes A LOT of cinnamon rolls! I went ahead baked the one pan for our family and froze the rest. I froze them on the sheet pan but then wrapped each one in plastic wrap (probably overkill, I know) and then put them into a freezer bag. The thing I like about that is that we can pull them out individually and make 2 or so at a time if we get a craving for them rather than the whole pan. I just unwrap them, plop ’em on a pan before bed and they’re ready to go in the morning. Thank you for the great recipe!
Mel, you’ve done it again: these are, hands-down, the best cinnamon rolls my family and I have ever had. I made these for my sister’s birthday, and they turned out beautifully. Everyone’s bellies are achingly full–and I’ve got a fistful of compliments, thanks to you and Aunt Marilyn! 🙂
I made this recipe the first time with butterscotch pudding because that’s what I had on hand. I just made them again today and I used vanilla, I have to say that I like it better with butterscotch, although both were tasty 🙂
made these on wednesday and i confess, they were gone within 24 hours and theres only 4 of us. even with all whole wheat flour they were fluffy and wonderful—maybe even better than my moms recipe…but dont tell her i said that. 😉
Mmmm, I made these with butterscotch pudding instead and they’re heavenly 🙂 thanks for sharing the recipe.
I used half and half just in case. I didn’t expect you to respind so quickly! 🙂 YAY! I made these and the garlic Chicken pasta with spinach(with a tad of extra red pepper) YUMMO- well the bite I snuck. Thanks a bunch
Do you use bread flour or all purpose?
Jahna – I use all-purpose flour.
I have the dough for the rolls rising right now. I had to add about 7 cups of flour to make it stiff enough to handle. Husband did not want cake for his birthday but said cinnamon rolls sounded good. Also going to attempt your shrimp penne recipe tonight. Thanks for getting me out of my ordinary, everyday recipe rut I have been in.
I made these for Father’s Day and they were a huge hit. It was my first time making cinnamon rolls and it all worked like a charm. Thank you for an amazing recipe. This is on my list of favorites now.
i made these for fathers day(my first time making cinnamon rolls ever), but i used sugar free pudding so there was six cups of milk in total i ended up having to use a lot more flour and i randomly put in sugar. I guess they tasted alright no one complained about having a hot cinnamon roll. but the dough was kind of tough and i will try this recipe again
I noticed that in the recipe you said you thaw in the fridge overnight but in the comments you just thawed 8-9 hours. Is that on the counter? I haven’t had the best of luck thawing in the fridge. They don’t rise very evenly and it takes forever to rise after they come out of the fridge. I was thinking that next time I’d just leave them on the counter but I didn’t know if that was a good idea or not. Please advise! Thanks!
Kim – with these and other cinnamon rolls, I’ve done both thawing methods – both in the refrigerator overnight or just on the counter. If I use the refrigerator method, I usually have to let them sit out at room temperature for 2 hours or so to continue to come to room temp and rise. In my honest opinion, cinnamon rolls made and eaten the same day are the only way to go. While the frozen/thawed method works fine, I still prefer them fresh. But there are times when I have to/want to make them in advance so I usually thaw them on the counter or the refrigerator. I agree with you that sometimes I notice they don’t thaw or rise as evenly as if they hadn’t been frozen but those little nuances are worth it when I need to make them in advance. I think leaving them on the counter is just fine, especially if your home is a cool room temperature (a piping hot/sweltering house wouldn’t be a good idea, in my opinion).
Just made these on Sunday. For 5 years I’ve been begging my mother-in-law to share/show me her delicious cinnamon roll recipe. Still haven’t got it from her, and I was on a mission to find one even better! In my husband’s words, “These rival my Grandma’s and Mom’s…actually these are better, but pleeeease don’t tell them I said that!” Hahaha! Thanks Mel, for an amazing recipe.
Oh, and for the frosting my husband hates cream cheese, so I only put half the recommended amount in, he had no idea until he finished off two rolls, then I told him! Surprisingly he didn’t mind.
The. Best. Ever. You weren’t kidding. My entire family can’t stop eating them. This will be my staple Christmas morning cinnamon roll recipe. Thank you so much! I think that next time, I may use just a little less of the filling. Also, I didn’t use the cream cheese frosting because I don’t like my rolls overly-sweet. But they weren’t gooey at all. The dough is so light and perfect. They’re wonderful.
These were incredible. My 5 year old son asked for cinnamon rolls so I made these. I didn’t have cream cheese so I just used a glaze frosting and they were still great. Thanks for another great recipe!!!!
Mel, you’ve done it again…. These are FANTASTIC. I even made the subs for my daughter (with almond milk and MSPI-safe butter) and she thoroughly enjoyed them as well, even without frosting!
Do you think that you could let them do the final rise before freezing, that way they could go straight to the oven, without needing a thaw? I froze them how you suggested, but some mornings, I get a craving for these bad boys, and can’t really wait 4 hours to thaw them! I guess I could have some in the fridge on standby… Going to halve the recipe later this week and let you know how it goes!
Hi Bliss – you could attempt freezing them after the final rise – the only problem with that sometimes is that when they are taken from the freezer and come up to room temperature (in the oven, let’s say, as they are baking), they will sometimes fall because they have risen too much. It’s worth a try, though! Let me know how it turns out if you try it!
In my best Daffy Duck voice, “You’re dispickable!” LOL
OK, thank you for your answer, definitely going to give these a try, they look delicious!
Hi Mel, I’ve just stumbled upon your recipe and I love it! I’m going to make these, can you please just tell me about this vanilla instant pudding:you prepare it according to instructions-do you actually cook it in milk or water and then add the rest of the ingredients to it, or you just mix the powder with milk or water (without cooking) and then add yeast etc. ? I’ve never made yeast dough with vanilla pudding so I need to ask, don’t want to do anything wrong 🙂 Looking forward to your answer and making these :))
All the best
Hi Tamara – you don’t want to use the cook-and-serve vanilla pudding – make sure you are using the instant vanilla pudding. That way you can just mix the powder and milk together and it will thicken up perfectly to use in the recipe. You want to actually whisk together the pudding and milk before adding the other ingredients. Hope that helps! Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
I was debating on if I wanted to make these or the buttermilk ones.. I went with these and they are delicious! I have made other recipes and this is the best I have made. They are very soft. Taste like cinnabon to me!
When I try the buttermilk kind I’ll let you know which ones I liked best. Sounds like it’ll be a close call.
I printed this recipe a year ago and finally made them tonight–during our ice storm here in Ohio. The rolls were awesome! So tender. My family loved them. Thank you for the note about the instant yeast.–but didn’t see it till after I made them. The recipe turned out fine with the 2 TBL of instant yeast. I’m going to try freezing the left-overs and then reheat in the mornings. Thank you Mel!
This is the exact same recipe my Dad has been using for years (he had the BEST cinnamon rolls! So good they were mentioned in both his obit AND his eulogies!) I don’t know where he got it – he’s been using it at least the last decade. Fortunately, he taught me to make them, though mine aren’t quite to the same standard as his – as he said, practice makes perfect.
QUESTION – the ones I made yesterday were a little dense, and tasted a little of flour. After reading Goomba’s comments about flour, I think I, too, probably used too much flour.
My problem is knowing when to stop working the dough. Dad always said it was easy to over-work it, and I ended up not kneading it long enough. Can anyone give me a guideline/rule of thumb on how long to knead it?
I found your blog by searching for this recipe. I look forward to checking out your recipes!
Hey Mel,
Goomba again. So I just made another batch of these last Saturday and I think I perfected them. Since Christmas I have made 5 batches of these and here is the trick imo….
I used 6.5 cups of flour in mixer and the dough is still sticky. no problem. let dough rise until doubled per recipe. add little more flour to make dough soft to roll out, cut, place in pan and let rise a little bit again. BAM! awesome rolls and people praising them.
I made the mistake with 2 of the batches by letting them rise for many hours (since I let dough rise while I was gone on Christmas eve) and then rolled them out and instead of baking them, let them rise in pan till morning cause I was dog tired at 2 am Christmas morning. I baked them the next morning and although they were good, they had a strong yeast taste… I think I also used too much flour (7 cups) instead of 6.5 (+ the flour used to get dough soft for rolling out). Anyway I corrected the mistake and got the measurements and timing back to the 1st 2 batches I made which were awesome.
Goomba – I just might start referring to you as the VPCR expert. You are on to something with the rising – when I let my breads/rolls over rise, they get the same yeasty taste you are referring to. Thanks for checking back in!
I LOVE this recipe and have traded my grandmothers pass me down recipe (That EVERYONE loves) for this one because I think it’s better! 🙂 (Shhh don’t tell). I froze these so they would be an easy breakfast for the morning. Thawed them all day in my fridge and then set them out on the counter when one of my kids woke up at 4 am until 7 and put them in the oven- so delicious!
Just curious when my mom has tried this in the past she said they never raise up and they taste really doughy when she freezes them? She leaves hers on the counter all night and bakes them in the morning. Do you think she’s missing the raise and by the time she gets up they fall again?
Anyways thanks for another great recipe! And I LOVE the frosting too
Nicole – I’m honored these beat out your grandma’s recipe. Don’t worry, I won’t say a word. About your mom’s questions, some dough recipes don’t work quite as well defrosting and baking…but you may be on to something with the rising thing. Maybe she should try letting them rise a few hours less.
Wow! just finished making these and they are awesome!!! The dough is so much more flavorful and softer than the dough recipe I have been using for years…. My wife loves them too. Thanks again for the recipe.
Goomba – I was wondering how they turned out for you after reading your initial comment. I think I may email your comment to my husband and inspire him to make ME some of these beauties!
Thanks for the recipe. I just made the dough tonight and going to roll them out soon. Question though…. I added 6.5 cups of flour gradually and the dough was still sticky, does this mean I need to add more flour gradually until it is soft but not sticky anymore? I didn’t add more flour cause I didn’t want to overflour.
Thanks again!
I’m going the try the yummy rolls for xmas morning…if i make them ahead and freeze them…can i let them defrost at room temperature on my counter the night before (as opposed to the refrigerator) so i can bake right when we wake up xmas morning?? Happy Holidays! I enjoy your blog!
Diane – when I freeze my cinnamon rolls ahead of time, I take them out the night before so they have a good 8-9 hours of defrosting/rising time. I let them sit on my counter until the next morning when I pop them in the oven. Hope that helps!
I had this recipe couple of years ago and lost it…..so upset. Looking for it this morning and found your version. I think it looks better than my original and can not wait to try it. They are raising right now…I am taking them to work tomorrow…..
I love your site….found by surfing……great recipes. I am snowed in today and will probably spend the day with your recipes!!!
Kate – I hope you like this version as much as you did your lost recipe! I am snowed in today, too, and just made two recipes that were perfect for a snowy day – just like cinnamon rolls!
I’m a college student with limited access to real food, so when I saw this recipe, of COURSE I had to try it! If there’s one thing my mom passed on to me, it’s an appreciation for good baking.
Well I made these rolls for my dorm-mates, and wow. They were absolutely phenomenal. Rich, fluffy, dreamy. Every single person who tried one listed them in their top favorite things about college :] Thanks for your devotion to this blog and I can’t wait to have my own kitchen to try out more of your ideas!
Katie C – what an honor that you and your dormmates loved these cinnamon rolls so much! Thank you for trying them and checking back in to let me know!
Hi Melanie,
Your blog is incredible. I just made your recipe and took a few pictures and blogged about it and wanted to share the link with you. Thank you for sharing all your amazing recipes, detailed instructions and photos.
http://kellytimestwo.blogspot.com/2010/12/cinnabon-style-cinnamon-rolls.html
Kelly – thanks for your comment! I’m thrilled you liked this recipe…I’m on my way to check out your post!
That sounds great. Thanks for the advice!
Hi Mel – I desperately want to make these cinnamon rolls, but my husband won’t go near cream cheese (in any form). What would be a good alternative to the cream cheese frosting?
Tiffiny – what about a traditional powdered sugar glaze? You could use 2 tablespoons butter, let it soften and mix it with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well and then add milk or cream and whisk it like crazy until it is smooth and the desired consistency to drizzle over the rolls.
The vanilla pudding cinnamon rolls were delish!!
I made these last weekend. They were awesome. I had to take the extra to work so I wouldn’t eat all of them.
Thanks, Shelley!
Every time I’ve made cinnamon rolls, I’ve used a recipe that calls for cake mix, but I had to try these. These were awesome! Just for others info, whenever I make cinnamon rolls, I freeze them after baking them and my husband can take one to work on crazy mornings for breakfast or whatever. These have been delicious that way so you can enjoy them for longer!
Ashlee – thanks for checking in on these cinnamon rolls! (And thanks for your tips on freezing…)
These are the softest gooey-est most delicious cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made! I make cinnamon rolls pretty often but even with bread flour, I don’t think I’ve ever made cinnamon rolls this soft and delicious!! This is my new staple cinnamon roll- Thank you!!! I’m so glad I found your blog and this recipe 🙂
Frances – I’m thrilled you loved these cinnamon rolls so much, since it sounds like you are quite the aficionado about cinnamon rolls! Thanks for letting me know.
I am finally back in the USA and had access to instant vanilla pudding, so I made these this morning! They were so yummy, truly the best and they didn’t last long around 15 neices and nephews! Thanks so much Mel!
Kensi – thanks for checking in on this recipe…so glad it worked out for you!
Oh Mel Mel Mel! Why do you do this to me!? LOL
I only make cinnamon rolls once a year, but now because of you that might all change. To make matters worse, my batch made about 20 gianormous rolls and I ate 3 of them tonight! How on earth do you stay so skinny girl?! Thanks again for a wonderful recipe!
Oh yeah I did see that someone was asking about halfing the recipe and you weren’t sure about the pudding. The pudding box I had was 5 oz, so I used my scale to measure out the 3 1/2 and made it with 2 cups cold milk (instead of the 3 cups the box said). I’m sure you could just measure out 1.75 and add 1 cup cold milk? They turned out wonderful!
Nicole – you are so funny! I’m glad the cinnamon rolls were a hit. And why on earth do you have to worry about eating three of them, you skinny, silly girl?? All that running negates the three you ate. Thanks for the tips on halving the pudding.
Great! Thank you for your response. These will be such a treat one day.
I decided to try these and freeze them for after baby arrives, but we had to bake up a few to taste them. Oh my gosh! These are simply the best. They were fun to make, too. Thank you! Thank you for making me look like such a pro!
Do you think the icing could be frozen, too? (sorry if that was asked already)
mrs.frisbie – good luck with the new arrival! I’m glad the test run on these cinnamon rolls was pleasing. As for the icing, yes, I have frozen it before. I put it in a freezer safe ziploc bag and throw it in the freezer. The texture isn’t quite the same after defrosting (it is a tad grainy) but it is still delicious and worth not having to fuss over frosting the morning of.
Just made these today and they are AMAZING! Seriously, I got rave reviews from my friends and family. Btw, they ended up making 36 rolls for me. I put 16 on each *large* cookie sheet plus some on another sheet. They were perfect…and like other reviews said, not too sweet, just tender and soft. Also, I upped my cinnamon to 1 Tbsp. instead of 4 tsp. Great job, they were delish, Mel!
Chavah – I’m so glad you liked these cinnamon rolls! Thanks for checking in to let me know.
I’ve made MANY of your recipes and I LOVE them ALL!
I had a question about this one though. I see the freezer part, but if I make the dough and then just put it in the fridge, will it still rise in there too much? If its ok to do that, how long do I take them out before cooking?
Thanks so much!
sarah – I’m glad you’ve liked so many recipes – thank you! As for the cinnamon rolls, you could put them already shaped (but not baked) into the refrigerator overnight (or throughout a day). They will probably puff up and rise a little bit in the fridge, but the cold temperature will probably slow much of the rising. If I were you, I’d take them out of the refrigerator 2-3 hours before baking to give them time to come to room temperature and double in size. Let me know if you try them!
Kinda a random question…..but where did all the pictures go? Love your recipe blog….and loved that you included pictures.
Kathya – I hope they really do flip and they should give you major props for making THEM cinnamon rolls. I’m really glad you liked this recipe. Thanks for letting me know!
Okay, I broke down and made these fantastic sounding cinnamon rolls. I have to tell you that hands down, these are the most delicious and tender treats I’ve ever baked. I LOVED this recipe and will make them again this weekend to bring down to my mom, sister and her boys. They will FLIP when they bite into one.
Thanks for sharing!!!
AJ – that is a funny coincidence with you and your sister. I’m so glad the cinnamon rolls were such a hit!
So I can’t believe my sister made these the same weekend as me. We didn’t even talk about it. So funny. She introduced me to your site, so I guess that helps.
I made the cinnamon rolls for a big family dinner and had everyone LOVED them. We had tons left over, so I got to eat them more for the couple of days that they lasted. So good. Soooooo good.
Shannon – hey, great minds think alike, right? You and your sister must be brilliant. 🙂 I’m so glad you liked these cinnamon rolls – thanks for taking the time to let me know!
Jessi – what a nice wife you are! I’m glad these were a hit for Valentine’s and that they ended up rising ok for you.
How crazy is that? My sister commented two prior to me (AJ)- we must be on the same wavelength. I made these this past weekend and they were so good. I ate one and started piling them on plates to give away so I wouldn’t eat them all! Thanks for a yummy and easy recipe- the pudding is such a good and simple secret ingredient!
Thank you thank you! These were great, and my hubby was so suprised this morning when our normal Sunday canister cinnamon rolls were different. 🙂 Perfect way to start Valentines!
I did the overnight fridge way, and I just had a little trouble getting them to rise in the morning, but once I got them up, delish!
Thanks for a great recipe, even this beginner in the kitchen nailed it. 🙂
Ooh, I am at a major craving point in my pregnancy and have been wanting some baked roll deliciousness all the time lately. Reading this recipe and all the comments is totally making me want these even more. I am so making these tomorrow. And I’ll probably eat half the pan.
Pat – glad you found these rolls forgiving and that they worked out for you. I’m especially glad your husband boys loved them. Thanks!
Rachel – I bet bread flour made them even more delicious! Thanks for your comment…I am very, very glad you liked them so much.
This was the all-time best homemade cinnamon roll recipe I have ever tried! No lie, thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe! You rock! P.S. I used bread flour and they turned out super light and fluffy and full of fantasticness!!!
The rolls are amazing and the recipe is very “forgiving” (I added too much butter to the dough). They raised and baked nicely and were pleasantly flakey. Hubby and boys loved them. Thanks so much for the recipe, Melanie.
This recipe is a keeper!!
I just made these and blogged about them on my new little craft/cooking blog. They are SO DELICIOUS! You’ve got amazing talent!
http://tocraftortocook.blogspot.com/2010/01/cinnamon-rolls-recipe-with-review.html
***I copied the recipe into my post and made sure to note where it came from (with links) multiple times. I wasn’t sure if this was “PC” in the blog cooking world since I’m new to it all. If it’s not just let me know and I will only link to it and not put actual recipe in. Thanks again! :)***
The Speckled Hen – thanks for checking in to let me know that you liked these! Glad they got rave reviews.
Thank you for sharing this recipe -these are soooo good. I made them for my BF and he hasn’t stopped raving about them.
Hi Glenda – how did the rolls turn out for you? As for kneading, you want to knead until the dough is really smooth and elastic – probably about five minutes in an electric mixer and seven to nine minutes by hand. Good luck!
Melanie, My mom made THE best cinnamon rolls and I decided to keep the tradition going. She used pudding for years. This recipe is pretty much like hers, but a little easier to follow! Right now the dough is rising, but I wonder if I kneaded the dough enough…Can you tell me how much kneading is necessary? I am a novice!
Glenda
Danielle – better than a bakery? You go, girl! That’s high praise from your husband and I hope you took all the credit. Thanks for letting me know!
I made these this morning, and they were so delicious. My husband claimed he didn’t want one because he’s “trying to be healthy.” But when they were finished he couldn’t help himself and declared them better than any bakery. My 13-year-old summed it up best when she said,”Freakin’ amazing!” Thanks once again. I had to give some to my primary class or we probably would have eaten them all.
Abby – your comment was so fun to read. I’m glad you have faith in my recipes…I hope it stays that way (but you still have to let me know if you ever have a bad result!). I’m so glad these cinnamon rolls were a hit…and the steak, too! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
I was pretty nervous about making these because none of the cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made before have turned out decently. Total garbage usually. But I thought to myself “Melanie never lets you down with a recipe..give it a chance” so I did and I’m SO glad that I did! Total YUM! I had a friend over for dinner (your succulent steak..oh my gosh! YUM again!) and she and my husband both agreed that, yes, these are the best cinnamon rolls ever. They’re not overly sweet..total perfection. Thanks for another stellar recipe (or two of them, really)..total keeper! 🙂
These rolls were amazing!!! I’ve never had rolls this light! However, I did have to add more flour. They were just not ‘workable’ but it didn’t hurt the texture in the least. They were a huge hit with my family!! They had 2 each, (some had more!).
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m t_patn52’s daughter. I requested these rolls this morning and am I glad I did! Wowzers. These things are amazing!!!
t_patn52 – so very glad you liked these. Adding more flour is not unusual depending on how the flour is measured but I’m glad overall they worked out.
Julie – thanks for weighing in with your vote – I’m glad you loved these rolls, too!
Hello! I wanted to take a sec to thank you for this great recipe. I made them for the first time last New Year’s and they were such a hit I’m making them again right now to usher in 2010! 🙂 I smell a new tradition in our midst, a delicious one at that.
Melissa – thanks so much for your comment. It means a lot to me when someone takes the time to leave me a comment. I’m glad these have become a new tradition! I hope they were just as much a hit last night as they were last year!
I just made these today… yum! Thanks for the recipe! Our neighbors heard I was making them and ran right over! Enjoyed by all, thanks!
The Three Amigos – so glad you liked these! Your neighbors are awfully lucky to be living next to you…
I’ve never made cinnamon rolls before, and I tired these a couple months ago. Well, they were awful. My yeast didn’t rise at all. AFter reading yoru tutorial on yeast, I decided to try again. Success!! These were so yummy! Thanks for all the wonderful recipes and tips along the way.
Hey Nanci – what a relief and a pleasure to read your comment and realize that yeast tutorial helped someone out! I’m glad that these rolls turned out better the second time!
Melanie,
I don’t know if mine were successful either. I probably started too late last night and I didn’t roll them out to the size you mention. I let them rise to double after making them into rolls and then I refrigerated overnight. I took them out and let them sit for a couple of hours this morning but my husband said they were still “doughy” tasting after I baked them. I may try the instant yeast you mention in your tutorial and see if that makes a difference. I’ll try, try again!
Hey Melody – could it be that they need to be baked longer to get rid of the doughy taste? Just a thought. I’m sorry they didn’t work out well for you.
oh, these are lovely little morsels. Okay so there is nothing little about them, but they are divine! I made them today and have shared, and everyone has said good things. Thanks for sharing!
Joey
JM – glad these rolls have been a hit with all you have shared with. Thanks for checking in to let me know!
Kris and Amy Morris – just to let you know…anyone who loves these cinnamon rolls is automatically updated to BFF status so I guess you are kind of stuck with me as your cinnamon soul mate. I’m so glad you liked them…thanks for letting me know!
These are AMAZING! The pudding makes these so wonderful! And the frosting… holy cow! I could have eaten the entire bowl! Thanks for this awesome recipe!
Dani and Jake – I’ve never halved the recipe because it’s a little tricky trying to halve the pudding part of it, but I’m sure you could make it work if you take care to get exactly 1/2 of the pudding mix out of the packet. One tip, in case you don’t want to mess with that, is that these freeze exceptionally well. You can freeze them after shaping them into cinnamon rolls – don’t let them rise on the pan, instead cover them with foil (a double layer) and then freeze. Take them out of the freezer about 6 hours before you want to bake them. Good luck!
Okay so I just found these and I can’t wait to try them! I am going to be making them for my family’s christmas party but I want to make them before just to make sure I know how to do it. Is it possible to 1/2 the recipe and still turn out okay?
Hey Mel – I am so impressed with your baking skills. I was definitely not making homemade cinnamon rolls in college, so you go, girl! I’m glad you loved these (thank A. Marilyn!).
I needed a dessert for FHE tonight so I decided to give these a try. I pulled them out of the oven while my group was here- I had complete confidence that they were going to be amazing and they were! Your recipes are no-fail and I love it. Thank you for sharing!
Anonymous – thanks for commenting! I’m glad these cinnamon rolls were a hit. Thanks so much for letting me know.
I stumbled upon your blog while looking for a cinnamon roll recipe. I made these tonight and the whole family loved them! I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes!
Celia Marie (W.) B. – thank you for your comment! I’m glad these cinnamon rolls delivered great results for you.
These really were heavenly. Best cinnamon roll I’ve made yet and I’ve tried lots of recipes.
These really were heavenly. Best cinnamon roll I’ve made yet and I’ve tried lots of recipes.
These really were heavenly. Best cinnamon roll I’ve made yet and I’ve tried lots of recipes.
These really were heavenly. Best cinnamon roll I’ve made yet and I’ve tried lots of recipes.
Turned out wonderful! My husband said “you’ve found your recipe, don’t try any others now!” 🙂 Thanks again!
Okay… They are baking as I speak (type).They look good, but I think my beginner level in baking may have “messed” up the cinnamon rolls. I’ve posted pics at my blog… Just waiting for the final picture!I don’t know what I did wrong but they were VERY runny when I put the filling in. I think I would use less butter next time.Thanks!Monica
Monica – did you melt the butter before spreading it on the dough? If so, that may have made the filling extra runny. I only ever use softened butter to spread on the dough before adding the cinnamon and sugar – it helps keep everything together before baking. I’ll check out your blog for pictures!
wow, thanks for the quick response!!! I’m making them NOW. I’ll be sure to post some pictures on my blog when it’s all done!http://www.thepedigofamily.blogspot.comMonica
Monica – yes, the 2 tablespoons of yeast is correct. I promise it doesn’t make them too “yeasty” but it does help them rise quickly. Let me know if you have any other questions!
NICE!! I have a weakness for cinnamon rolls!!!
OMG! I’m in love with these too! I can almost smell them baking in the oven. Note to self…. Must make these!
OMG! I am drooling over my keyboard right now! Yum!
Elizabeth – I love it when people check back in and let me know they have made and loved a recipe, so thanks for letting me know! Your comment made my day.
Thanks for posting these Melanie, we really liked these. I think I may have found THE one recipe! You can read about them on my blog 🙂
Thanks! I had a similar recipe but it wanted the dough made in a bread machine which I don’t have. These turned out amazing and my kids had so much fun helping! Thanks- I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!!
Oooo I love that you put pudding in it! I bet these are the best! Anything covered in cream cheese icing is a definite winner!
My thighs, my thighs! Oh wait, that’s My eyes, my eyes! Either one and that roll looks sinful!!
I finally got around to making these tonight – they are so fluffy and delicious! Definitely a keeper. Thanks so much for another winning recipe!
I must leave this blog post immediately or I shall have to abandon my diet for these wonderful looking cinnamon rolls. I’m bookmarking this one to make for holidays this year!!
Hillary – I probably need to be more specific in the recipe but when buying a vanilla pudding mix, don’t buy the cook and serve, buy the non-cook vanilla pudding (the one where you just add cold milk to the mix). All you will need to do then is add the milk to the pudding mix, stir together, and add to the rest of the ingredients. Let me know if you have other questions!
Tricia – three yums is a good thing! Thanks for letting me know you liked your first batch of these beauties.
These look sooo yummy!! I’ll have to make them soon! You have so many yummy looking recipes with things that I usually have on hand! I love that!Come on over to my blog and enter my giveaway! htpp://mycozycreations.blogspot.com
Anonymous – thanks for checking back in. I’m glad to know the reason for the confusion. Anyway, I hope you liked the cinnamon rolls!
Darrin and Britta – hey, thanks for checking back in and letting me know these turned out for you. Just knowing you made a batch makes me start craving them again!
Oh man, your rolls look terrific. I’m going to have to make cinnamon rolls soon!
Wow! You were not kidding when you said 24 very large rolls. I made these for a meeting at my work and one girl went for seconds and tried for thirds, but I told her no. Another girl texted me and said “that cinnamon roll was AMAZING!!” The cream cheese frosting is the best I’ve made. I was just eating it off a spoon at one point.
Oh how I love your blog! These are in the oven now, I can’t wait to try them along with the hot hoagies for dinner, looks so good! I didn’t roll my dough out big enough, it only made 16 but I cut the butter down and the sugar so we’ll see how they turn out! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and aunt Marilyn’s too, (BTW I have an Aunt Marialyn too! :))
I found your blog while searching for an icing recipe for some cinnamon rolls I made tonight. The rolls were almost done baking, when my husband asked where the icing was. 🙂I’ve added sugar free pudding (just the dry mix) to chocolate chip cookies and that was good. Thank you for the icing recipe it helped make a Thursday night special. – Suzanne
Anonymous – I’m so glad you liked these! Great tip for letting them do the final rise in the fridge overnight. I’m definitely going to have to store that tip away for the future. Thanks!
Geri – great question. I’ve never timed it exactly…but my kitchen is usually right around 70 to 72 degrees and the first rise (in the bowl) takes about an hour and 15 minutes and the rise for the rolls in the pan is right around 45 minutes to an hour. A lot of that will depend on the temperature of your kitchen (and how big you like your rolls to rise) but there is quite a bit of yeast in the recipe, so the rising time should be fairly “quick” as far as yeast doughs go. Let me know if you have any other questions!
I’ve been meaning to comment about these cinnamon rolls for awhile now, but your email about the cookbook giveaway gave me the “final push” I needed :). These are, without a doubt, the best cinnamon rolls I have ever had! I came across your blog when I did a search for cream cheese frosting and I am oh so very glad I did. The recipe made a little more than my husband and I could eat on our own, so we brought a few over to my in-laws’ house. My mother in-law absolutely loves them. I made them again for her birthday in February, and I’m planning on making them for Mother’s Day. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
Thanks for posting these! The addition of pudding is so intriging. I am excited to try them out! YUM!
Anonymous – yes, the 1/2 cup water is correct, but that is because you actually mix the vanilla pudding according to the package directions before mixing it with the other dough ingredients, so you have the additional liquid of the milk in the pudding adding to the dough and helping absorb the 6 cups flour. Does that make sense? I guess, officially, the milk called for on the pudding package should be added into the ingredient list of the recipe. I can’t remember how much exactly it calls for on the pudding package, but it should be about 2 cups of milk. Let me know if you have any other questions. I hope they turn out for you!
Anonymous – glad you liked this recipe…thanks for letting me know!
made these today, so yum. linking your recipe on my blog! thanks.
I am making these rolls for work on Monday. Do you think it’s possible to make the dough on Sunday night and put the rolls in the fridge overnight? If so, would I have to change the rising times at all, or can they just go from fridge to oven? Thanks so much – I can’t wait to have these!
i think i’m in love with all cinnamon rolls, but if there are everything you say they are, i may stop all those other affairs. 🙂
jt – so glad you liked these. Thanks for letting me know!
Stephanie – I’m all about helping with pregnancy cravings. I know how they go. 🙂 I’m glad that this hit the spot and were a hit at playgroup. Thanks for letting me know!
Cant wait to try these! The cinnamon roll is my all time favorite sinful thing to eat. I believe I have an addiction…. hey btw, did you get my email last week?
Kia – wow! With as many times as you will have made these, you should be the expert! You can answer any questions anybody else has. 🙂 I’m so glad you (and your mother-in-law) liked them!
i love anything with cinnamon and vanilla! yum!
Hi! I have been planning on making these for several days and I was just wondering a few things. So by prepare the pudding you mean I need to cook it and let it set for 1/2 hour-1 hour? Or do I just add the milk to the pudding mix and not cook it at all? Thanks!
you should try out for the next food network star…you are so good at describing the food in a way that makes me hungry!
PS – so glad you liked these cinnamon rolls. I don’t have a bread maker either so I’m always looking for bread recipes that don’t require one. Anyway, thanks for checking in and letting me know you made these and enjoyed them!
Anonymous – I’m wondering if you have the right kind of pudding. I just pulled a box out of my pantry to check the size. It is a small box of instant pudding mix and it is 3.4 oz (96 grams). The instructions say to add 2 cups milk to the dry pudding mix. Look on your boxes of pudding and use whichever box calls for only 2 cups milk. I’m not sure why the measurements are different on the pudding boxes – it is hard to know if we are talking about the same product so let me know if you still have questions!
fmandds – I laughed when you wrote that you told your coworker no for thirds. Too funny. I’m glad you liked these – I can eat the cream cheese frosting by the spoonful, too.
I keep wanting to make cinnamon, but haven’t as of yet. These look delicious. I’ll have to star these for a particularly sinful moment.
I am a complete cinnamon roll glutton. This version sounds really, really good to me so, as with everything else you make, I’m sure I’ll have to make it very soon! How are you doing?
Psychgrad – thanks for letting me know you made and enjoyed these. I agree on the guilt-inducing thing. Sorry about that. Looking forward to seeing your post about them!
I came across your blog and can I just say I am In love with your baking and cooking! I have made these yummy rolls twice in a week. Once for my husbands sales meeting last Friday and then again last night for my Bro In Law and his family. I just ate one and said to my husband ” I can’t believe I made these!” They are heaven on a plate. Thanks so much i am sure I will be making these for years to come. Keep the recipies coming 🙂Natalie
Natalie – thanks for your comment, it was so nice! I’m very glad you liked these cinnamon rolls. They are a huge hit at my house, too. Thanks for checking in!
Mmm, wow. I wrote in my blog the other week, that I am on a cinnamon roll quest. I have found one I like but now I think I have to try this recipe up against it. 🙂 I’ve added vanilla pudding mix to cookie dough, and those are awesome, I can only imagine how these turn out! I will have to find out, soon!
OK, Ryan just said said he wanted to make cinnamon rolls this weekend. We’ve never done it and this looks like a really tasty recipe. I hope I can wait, I’m licking the screen.
I totally wrecked the first try! I didn’t read the amount of pudding needed so I put the large box in! Way too runny!!! Do you think pre-made pudding would work (i.e. Swiss Miss)?
I bet premade pudding would be perfectly fine. I have made this recipe of Mel’s for several years, and used to use the boxed kind as the recipe states, but then a few years ago my daughter was discovered to be intolerant to artificial food dyes and the boxed pudding has a lot of chemical yellow coloring. So I started making vanilla pudding from scratch using Mel’s recipe and I use that in this cinnamon roll recipe instead — DIVINE!
Me too, Melissa! I should update the recipe with a new post using homemade pudding. Thanks for the reminder!
Seriously – can I just hire you to come and cook for me until I find the energy to do it myself again? These sound soooo good!
okay i was just about to make these… and 2 tablespoons of yeast really? I mean I have no room to question… but that just seems like so much. can you confirm that for me?Thanks!!!Eagerly wait to bake!!Monica
Hi Suzanne – I’m glad the icing recipe helped out a bit! I’ve heard that adding pudding mix to several things (cake mixes, cookies, etc.) make them even more delicious – it sounds like you’ve tried that out with cookies already!
Melody – I’m so bummed these didn’t work out for you! I can imagine they would have been very runny with the larger box of pudding.
I don’t know about the premade pudding – it’s worth a try but I’ve never attempted it myself.
Oh my goodness, these look so good I think I may faint!
I just made these today and they were fantastic! My husbands adjective for them- AMAZING! Your recipes never disappoint! Thanks
Nikki – thanks for checking back in to let me know how these turned out. I chuckled when I read your comment because my husband told me the EXACT same thing. Great minds think alike, eh? Glad they turned out for you!
I have been wating for this recipe ever since you posted about it a while ago. THANK YOU!
Anonymous – all I can say is we must be kindred spirits since I don’t have self-control when it comes to eating, either! I’m so glad you liked these rolls.
Darrin and Britta – I’ve thought several times I wanted to try the night-before method and put the rolls in the fridge, but I have never actually tried it. I think it will work just fine but if you put them in the fridge right after you shape them into rolls, I would take them out of the fridge the next morning in time to come to room temperature and rise like normal. They’ll probably still rise a bit in the fridge overnight so maybe taking them out an hour before baking would work? Sorry I don’t have an official answer but that would be my recommendation. Be sure to let me know what you do so I can use your expertise!
i had a pregnancy craving for cinnamon rolls and tried these. they made so many i took some to playgroup and got lots of compliments and requests for the recipe, i’ll be sending them here. they were yummy! next to my mom’s it’s my 2nd favorite recipe. thanks!
Hi, I often look to your blog for awesome recipes. I want to make these cinnamon rolls tomorrow. We have a friend I was going to make some goodies for tomorrow and these are the winner. However, I was trying to figure out if 1/2C. of water is all the recipes really calls for or if that is a typo. I can’t imagine with 6 cups of flour is all you need is a 1/2C. of water. If you could post and let me know that would be fabulous.Thanks!!
I am so excited to try this recipe! Could you please tell us the approximate wait time for the dough, and later the rolls, to double in size? Thank you!
Okay, so I am not sure if I should thank you or be very upset. These are hands down the best cinnamon rolls I have ever tasted (sorry Grandma!!). I can’t believe they turned out so great on my first try!! You are very right about the pudding, it makes a huge difference! Now, about the upset part. I think I have gained 6 pounds today. However, it is obviously not your fault that I have no self control and cannot stop eating them!! Thank you SO much for the recipe. I stumbled on to you blog and now I am afraid I am hooked!!
I loved this recipe!!!! It was so easy and SO delicious!! Thank so much.
Just made my first batch. Yum. Yum. Yum.
I just made these tonight. They’re really good. Quite guilt inducing. But very good! I’m going to pawn them off on my colleagues tomorrow because keeping them in my house would be trouble. I’m going to post about them later this week. Thanks to you and Aunt Marilyn for the delicious recipe.
Thank you, Melanie. I was trying to calculate what time to get up to have these rolls ready for my family in the morning. I am SO excited for the weekend — fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
I’ve been thinking about making these for awhile and I finally did last night. They were great! I refrigerated them overnight b/f the final rising. It took about 1 hour this morning in a warm place to double in size prior to baking them. I also used 2 13×9 inch baking pans, not cookie sheets and they worked great. The recipe turned out fabulously and I’m sure it will become my go-to cinnamon roll recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for clarifying on my water question. I really should have read first the directions before just jumping to that conclusion. I should never question your cooking b/c all your recipes come out great!! Thanks!!
hey there – i was the one w/the pudding question…turned out we had accidentally bought the sugar-free kind. i got the regular pudding today and am just finishing up my batch of rolls now – maybe we don’t have to make dinner afterall!!
I want to make these for when my mom visits this week…but I’m wondering about the instant pudding. I have two boxes of the jello instant kind, and the small box is 1oz, the big box is 1.5oz. Should I really use enough to make 3.5oz?? Thanks for the help!
I made the frosting and tasted it and it doesn’t taste right. It tastes just like butter. Why and what can I do to change the flavor?
Anonymous – hmmm…this is a pretty standard cream cheese frosting recipe so I’m not sure why it would be tasting just like butter. If you want a stronger cream cheese flavor, try adding more cream cheese and powdered sugar. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
i have a ? do i need to put the cinnamon rolls in the fridge because of the icing? by the way, these are superb. i think i like them better than mt grandmas recipe. thank you for posting the recipe.
Anonymous – technically, yes, the frosted rolls should probably be put in the fridge because of the cream cheese in the icing but I’ve been known to leave them out overnight with no problems. I’m glad you like this recipe, thanks for letting me know!
I made orangette’s cinnamon rolls a few weeks ago. They were okay, not out of this world, which set me on the path to finding the best cinnamon roll recipe I could. These are on my list for this week. They look incredible!! I’ve never considered putting something like pudding in my dough, although, a friend of mine makes scones with vanilla pudding and they are divine. Thanks for sharing, when I get to the recipe I’ll let you know how they turn out! Thanks again!
Hey missmallory – ok, I’m double crossing my fingers you like these cinnamon rolls, mostly because I haven’t met a cinnamon roll that compares! Let me know.
I made these yesterday and all I can say is YUM! But I only used 1/2 the butter for the filling and only about 2 TBS in the frosting and I think they turned out perfect. This will for sure be a family favorite!
Tara – thanks for letting me know you loved these and also giving me your changes on butter amounts. So I guess with those changes, these could definitely be considered health food, right??
I made these cinnamon rolls last week and they were AMAZING! My husband was very skeptical because he hates my caramel rolls and said that he wouldn’t eat any of them. Well I proved him wrong. Needless to say we both ate way too many of them. Thanks for a great recipe!
Shante – I can’t believe your husband hates caramel rolls. Crazy! I’m glad these turned out for you and that you both liked them.
WOW!! I came across your blog whilst I was searching for a prawn(shrimp) enchilda recipe. I just made these scrolls and they are delicious, well worth the effort!! My scrolls are HUGE and the recipe made so many too! Could I freeze some, without the frosting I presume? I will make the enchilda recipe next! Thanks again from Christie in Australia
Christie – I love how you call the cinnamon rolls “scrolls.” Is that your own thing or is that what they are called in Australia? Sorry for being ignorant but I love it. These rolls can definitely be frozen. They work great frozen before baking but you can also freeze them after baking but I wouldn’t freeze them with the frosting. I’m glad you liked them!
Yes Melanie, not sure why but we all call them scrolls over here! Thanks for the tip about freezing before baking, I will definatley do that. I like the idea of fresh warm scrolls anytime I like! Thanks for a delicious recipe and I am looking forward to making the shrimp enchiladas & the slow cooker italian beef next. YUM!! Christie
Christie – let me know how you like the shrimp enchiladas and Italian beef! And I hope it’s ok if I adopt your use of the word scrolls. I love it.
I will do! Absolutley feel free to use “scrolls”- I love that you love it!!! I took some in to work today and a collegue asked for the recipe so I directed her to your blog! Christie
I can’t wait to make these. I have a question about freezing before baking though…can you tell me how you would do that? and then what you would do when you take them out of the freezer? I really want to make them, but maybe only bake 1/2 of them and freeze the other 1/2. thanks!
megan – when I freeze these, I form them into cinnamon rolls, place them on the prepared baking sheet and once the baking sheet is filled with cinnamon rolls, I cover with a layer of saran wrap and then a layer of foil and place them in the freezer (don’t let them rise!). When I want to bake them, I take them out of the freezer the night before and let them thaw and rise all night (about 8-9 hours). I bake them in the morning just like the recipe says. Let me know if you try it!
These were so good!