We’ve all stepped into the food court and smelled the amazing Cinnabon Rolls from afar. Our mouths start watering instantly.
We see them rolling, baking and frosting, but then we see the price, and have sticker shock. Well, with a little extra time to make homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch, this is the recipe for which you’ve been waiting.
I have mixed and matched numerous cinnamon roll recipes to finally come up with one that I love, and this one is amazing. Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are worth the effort, and if you have a mixer, you can hustle this process along.
Drizzle with Cream Cheese Cinnabon like frosting is your choice, but wow, it’s just a party in your mouth.
This Copy Cat Cinnabon Rolls recipe is by far my favorite, but if you don’t have the extra time to see this through til the end, feel free to try out my Overnight Refrigerator Rise Cinnamon Roll recipe. It’s incredibly easy and you put it in the fridge at night and it does the work for you while you sleep. Again, it’s super delicious, but not quite as amazing as the Cinnabons. 🙂
Recipe: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (Copy Cat Cinnabon Recipe)
Summary: This easy copy cat cinnamon roll recipe tastes just like the Cinnabon recipe. With delicious Cream Cheese Frosting, it’s a must have in our home.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 Tbls. ground cinnamon
- (2) .25 oz. pks. active dry yeast (I use 2 TB instant yeast)
- 1 tsp. granulated sugar (only if needing to proof the active dry yeast. If using instant yeast, disregard this)
- 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup melted butter OR margarine
- 1 cup 110 degree water (approximately)
- 1 cup warm milk (must be warm)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs – slightly beaten
- Up to 8 cups all-purpose flour
Coating
- 1/2 cup melted butter OR margarine
- 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, pecans or raisins – (optional, but so good)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (or brown sugar – your preference)
Instructions
- Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar and the cinnamon; set aside (this will be used later to spread on dough)
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water; set aside (if using instant yeast, you can skip this step)
- In a large bowl, mix together milk, 2/3 cup sugar, 2/3 cup melted butter, salt, and eggs; add yeast mixture and 4 cups of flour to mixture; beat until smooth; stir in enough flour to form a slightly stiff dough.
- Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 minutes. I always know when my dough is finished kneading (either by hand or machine) when it can stretch quite well. It must be elastic enough.
- Place dough into a large greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a 15″ X 20″ rectangle.
- Brush 1/2 cup melted butter over dough; sprinkle cinnamon sugar liberally over dough; sprinkle nuts evenly over dough, if desired.
- Tightly roll up dough and pinch edges together to seal; cut the roll into 12 – 15 slices using dental floss or thread.
- Coat the bottom of a 13″ X 9″ X 2″ baking pan with 1/2 cup melted butter; sprinkle 1/3 cup sugar evenly in the bottom of the pan. (When attempting to make these a little bit of a lower fat version, I do not do this. If I do, then make sure after they are done baking, that you flip the pan over so that all the delicious drippings go onto the rolls.) Typically, I prefer more “doughy” rolls and like them as HUGE cinnabon sized rolls, but some have mentioned that they prefer an additional 8×8 pan for the extra dough.
- Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the prepared pan; cover pan and allow to rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes or just eye ball them until nearly doubled in size.
- Bake rolls in a 350 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
Preparation time: 30 minute(s) (plus additional rise time)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12 huge Cinnabon size or divide into two pans for regular sized rolls
Often, new bakers do not know when the kneading phase is done. When your dough can stretch like this, you have kneaded it long enough.
(Note to self: When letting the dough rise, make sure to check rising dough – this had definitely doubled in size. 🙂 )
At this step, I begin losing patience. The cinnamon rolls are so close to being done, I can almost taste them, and I never want to take the time to roll tightly and cut, but yes, it’s necessary.
Oh glorious taste buds. I am so thankful for you. Cinnabon – eat your heart out. I made them myself and saved myself $20.
Cinnabon like Frosting
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 8 ounces margarine
- 1 tsp. vanilla ( I love using almond extract for variety)
- 1/2 tsp lemon
- 16 oz. powdered sugar
Beat together cream cheese, margarine, sugar, and vanilla. Spread frosting on warm rolls and eat until you are stuffed. 🙂
Initially, I made these on my bulk baking day. I tripled the recipe, which I only recommend if you’re an experienced baker. There was a TON of dough, and then I separated some into freezer bags. We’ve been pulling out 7-8 every day, thawing them the night before and popping them in the microwave. Typically, “day old” bakery can be dry, but heating it for about 30 seconds (with the frosting) makes it taste fresh out of the oven.
***Note the new little feature I added at the end of each post. You can print this recipe and make it easy on yourself. It gives you the option to remove the pictures and save on ink. 🙂 Enjoy!
They look so good! I got in the habit of making Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls around Christmas time. I had to stop because of my wasit line!
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Yummy!
I made some Cinnabon-clone rolls last week. This time I got smart- I froze the batch in family-size portions (meaning four rolls). Now we can eat cinnamon rolls without staring at the entire dish of them. Certainly helps my waistline!
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Morning Jen!
I popped over to your blog today to check your post and what did I see??? Those yummy cinnamon rolls! I haven’t had breakfast yet..so, now I am off to eat. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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My waistline thanks you, Jen. 😉 These look amazing (even the Martha reject ones). 🙂
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Thanks for sharing!!! Can you use butter instead of margarine in the icing? Margarine scares me!!!
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You have no idea how quickly I clicked on this post, “Cinnabon?! What?!…Must get that recipe NOW!”. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks.
Oh, and it was so nice to meet you last weekend. You are just as sweet, wonderful, approachable and chatty in person as you are on your blog. I wanted to round all the gals up (including you) and take them home with me :).
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I can’t wait to try these. The kids don’t have school tomorrow, maybe I will make them these as a special treat. I like the idea of making extras and freezing them. They look absolutely scrumptious!!!
Carla
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Yum!! I make some that use a box of pudding in the dough and like another commenter mentioned, I freeze the rolls so I can pull out just the amount needed. It makes the process of making cinnamon rolls just a tad bit easier knowing I can make them for the entire month in one go 🙂
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Absolutely – double/triple the recipe (if you’re brave) and stick some in the freezer. I made seventy rolls. We ate way too many but I did separate them into freezer baggies and then I take a few out as we go. Heating them in the microwave for a just seconds make them taste totally fresh.
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Jessica Reply:
February 11th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
@Jens,
I freeze the raw dough and then cook them from frozen – I was worried it would affect the quality, but it doesn’t! They’re just as good. It saves on the cooking time on this end of things.
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Those look so delicious, it’s scary!
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They look incredible! I would love to try these out. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
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OH, yes! I make a version of Cinnabon and they are too die for! 😀 Glad I only make it for others or special occasions. I also freeze them, too.
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Oh. Holy. Night. A friend has an amazing cinnamon roll recipe that tastes like Cinnabon, but I can’t bring myself to make them because it uses sticks upon sticks of butter.
And I have to know: how did you add the “printer friendly” button on the bottom of your blog? Is it something I can add in blogspot???
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THANK YOU for sharing…my husband will LOVE these!!! 😀
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These look DELICIOUS!!! Thanks for sharing this!! I am going to try these. You also have inspired me to steal my mothers bread machine and try a few loaves! 🙂
I got some GREAT finds a GW recently and just posted about it a few days ago. If you go to my blog it’s 2 or 3 posts down. I got a BRAND NEW pair of Coach shoes for $15! SCORE! 🙂
Kristi
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I do so love Cinnabon! These look really, really yummy.
Thank you for adding that Print Friendly feature! That was a kind thing for you to do. Ink is so expensive, and you sure can go through a lot of it!
Have a wonderful weekend, Jen!
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those cinn rolls look amazing. i used tomake them
all the time. now i’m afraid i would eat them all
myself!!!
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These look fabulous…one little question, what do you do with the cream cheese? Do you frost them with it and then put the sugar frosting over it?
Thanks
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Jens Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
@kathie, at the very end of the post, I have the ingredients to make the Cinnabon frosting. The cream cheese is whipped with the other items and spread on top of the roll. YUM! 🙂
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Oh my goodness, I have got to try those! I looove Cinnabon – who doesn’t? LOL
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Oh you naughty naughty oh I love you my best friend for life lady. lol
I have never had Cinnabon rolls. (Am I deprived??) You can bet I am going to make these though. They look soo good.
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These look soooo yummy good!!! I’ll have to try them!!
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Is it possible to make this dough the night before and then bake it the next morning? I would love to make these for Easter morning…but don’t have that much time before church. Or should I say I don’t want to get up THAT early!! 🙂 If it is possible, at what point in the process would you refrigerate the dough? Anyone know??
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Jens Reply:
April 1st, 2010 at 6:29 pm
@Jennifer, hi Jennifer – yes, you can totally make these the night before and then let them do the slow rise in the fridge. Then pop them in the oven in the morning. So…after you shape them and cut them into rolls, cover them and put them right in the fridge. They will slowly rise over night and be ready first thing in the morning. 🙂 Make the frosting the night before too, and refridgerate. You’ll just want to soften it in the microwave in the morning to spread it easily. Hope that helps.
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Jennifer Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 10:25 pm
@Jens,
Thank you so much!! I am excited to try them this weekend! Happy Resurrection Day!
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Hi – I am trying your recipe, but I cut it in half. Now I kinda wish I didn’t. Next time I’ll go full boar for sure if these come out yummy. I’ll try to write and let you know. The waiting is killing me!
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They came out delicious and we even had some leftover to freeze. Yummy!
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Jen Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 7:10 pm
YEA!! So glad to hear that. They are worth the wait, aren’t they?
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Oh….my……goodness……I am going to the grocery store!!!
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Oh my gosh I hate my cooking but i love these and can’t keep myself away thank you
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Jen,
I notice this recipe did not use brown sugar. Does it matter? Please explain. Oh! what side of the roll to place down in the pan? Should the cut side be turned up or down in the pan?
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just made the dough, this is a lot of dough for 12 buns.total this receipe uses 1 pound of butter.did you double some parts. ended up using 8 cups of flour to get it the consistency you said it needs to be. thats a lot of sugar filling also. am i reading something wrong? will let you know how they taste. just hope i dont end up wasting all the ingredients. awful lot of frosting for 12 buns too.
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Jen Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 6:46 pm
Kathy – It’s for 12 Cinnabon sized rolls. They are gigantic, so yes, the dough will probably make 20 or so normal size rolls. You have the option of making as much frosting as you desire, so if you want them with less frosting, just half the recipe, but for your traditional Cinnabon, they are oozing with frosting. Let me know how they turn out. You should be pleasantly surprised.
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lol havent seen a cinnabon in 8 yrs. forgot how giant they are. the buns were excellent . light and fluffy. huge even tho i made 17 out of them. making these for Christmas morning. thanks
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Jen Reply:
December 15th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Phew – so thrilled to hear that. 🙂
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lol.thanks for your quick response,never had that happen before.Merry Christmas
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i havent tryed this but im sure it works and tastes great. but the true cinnabon recipe is so much easier than this. i use to work there.
you get dough, just regular dough from the store. like pilsbary or something.
smoosh the dough and role it flat into a rectangle longer sides laying horizontal.
spread butter all over the dough.
put the cinnamon brown sugar mixture all over the top, leaving about an inch at the bottom without
cinnamon brown sugar mixture being, 1 tbsp to every 1 cup brown sugar
when you bake,
bake at about 350 and for 10 to 14 minutes
and dont bake with butter on bottem of the pan, be sure to use wax paper.
to make them rise,
heat up oven. after oven is at temperature turn it off and wait about 5 minutes,
after that place cinnamon rolls in the oven for 5 to ten minutes. then turn on oven and bake. 🙂
hope it works out for you the same way it does for us.
P.S. gas ovens cook faster.
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cant imagine pillsbury dough tasting like this, so light and fluffy. stored these in a glass bowl covered with saran wrap and 3 days later they were just as good. didnt have to warm them up. this dough is worth the effort
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I made these for Thanksgiving breakfast; the kids loved them! Two of my wife’s friends also tried them and fell in love. Will be making these again to eat during Channukah!
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I made these today! So yummy. I will be making them again!!!!
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To freeze, do I freeze them raw or baked? Do I frost raw rolls or save frosting for after they bake?
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Jen Reply:
December 21st, 2011 at 11:03 am
You have the choice to freeze them raw (after you have them in bun shaped form. If you do this, take them out of the freezer, let them thaw and rise for the second rise). They are fine freezing baked as well. Frosting goes after they are baked.
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I’ve made these so many times! Best recipe ever! For the sugar cinnamon mixture, I substituted half of the granulated sugar for brown sugar. I’m making them right now! So excited to eat them!
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Dear Jen, I have tried every cinnamon roll recipes available on the internet. I must say, this one really is the best! Thank you for sharing this with us. The only thing I would change is the flour. I’ve decided to use bread flour instead of all purpose flour and then turned out great!
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anthony, how does the bread flour affect the rolls. are they lighter, denser etc. thanks
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These were VERY delicious and flavorful. Thank you for sharing the recipe and I can’t wait to check out your blog. I used Penzey’s Cinnamon from http://www.penzeys.com. I also mixed in a box of vanilla instant pudding into the warm milk and whipped it with a mixer and folded it in. It was actually a little too much dough for my Kitchen Aid mixer to handle so I ended up kneading by hand.
I would recommend using TWO 9x13x2 pans instead of one. I used one 9x13x2 and one 8×8. The rolls in the 8×8 pan came out beautifully but the rolls in the 9x13x2 were very overcrowed and were very misshapen. Many of them turned inside out and some of the edges on those were overdone compared to the inside. I had to take them all out and bake them on a large cookie sheet to get the insides done. Not a very good result but I am sure they will taste good. I added a little heavy cream to icing for flavor. very very yummy.
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I love your recipe (and so does everyone who has tasted it), but I noticed you changed your page and I wanted to let you know that your ingredients for the icing has a mistake in it on the printed recipe. You put butter on there twice and left out the cream cheese 🙂
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Jen Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 9:48 am
Oops, thanks so much for catching that. I changed it so that it was easier to print and doing so, must have accidentally left that off.
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Jen Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 9:59 am
I went back and looked at my error. I actually moved the cream cheese frosting to the bottom of the post. What you caught was for spreading over the dough. Thanks.
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No problem! I printed off the recipe and when I went to make the icing I didn’t have the recipe (That’s almost the best part lol). I actually make this recipe and after I slice my dough(and let rise a second time), I will freeze them until ready to bake and it works really well. My husband especially likes a freezer full of cinnamon rolls so he can have some anytime lol! Thank you again for such a great recipe, I have told tons of people about this site 🙂
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Melissa, when you freeze them do you ice them or put the icing on after they are baked? i have seen it done both ways. I have never had a chance to freeze them! Im hoping to get some in the freezer before kids return from school for the summer. thanks
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Melissa Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
@kathy, i freeze them unbaked. After I roll and slice them I will let them rise again on a cookie sheet, then I put them in the freezer long enough for them to get partly frozen(so they don’t squish), then I put wax paper on the top and bottom and store them in a freezer bag. Then I pull them out and bake like normal, it’s just like if you were baking frozen cookie dough from the store.
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Melissa Reply:
March 12th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
@Melissa, I also ice them after they are baked 🙂
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@ melissa, thanks so much. i really appreciate it
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My Doug did not rise. I used instant yeast. I didn’t see where you would add the hot water. Is that something I did wrong?
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Jen Reply:
March 24th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Was your milk warm enough? In order for the dough to activate, the yeast has to be in something warm. That’s all I can think of, unless your instant yeast wasn’t fresh? So sorry. I know that’s so frustrating after all that work. If that were to ever happen again, I suggest putting your dough into a slightly warm oven to try and force it to rise.
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Jen Reply:
March 25th, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Let me know about the heat of the liquid and I’ll try and brainstorm to figure out what happened.
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UGH! I had been planning to make these tonight, and went by the 30 minutes you put for a prep time at the bottom.
Really sucks, because when you count the time it takes to wait for these to rise, it’s more like 2.5-3 hours before they go in the oven. So one day I guess I’ll take a half-day off at work and make these, but plans to do these tonight are ruined.
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Jen Reply:
March 25th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
Oh, I am so sorry. It says it in the directions, but that it’s at clear. Yes, yeast rolls take awhile. If you don’t have the time to do everything at once, you can always do everything up until the last rise and let the cinn. rolls rise in the fridge overnight. Then pop them in the oven in the morning.
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Hey Jen, Can you sub butter for maragine in the icing? Thanks!
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Jen Reply:
March 27th, 2012 at 4:40 pm
Oh yes, definitely. In fact, for the past two years, all I have used is butter. I better edit that. Thanks for asking. 🙂
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I made a novice mistake, I used active dry yeast but followed the directions for the instant yeast:( I thought that is what I had:( So I didn’t do the “proofing stage” I am at the dough rising part of the recipe (first rise in the big bowl) And alas it isn’t rising which is because of my mistake, is there any way to correct it at this point or did I just waste all these ingredients?
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Christina Reply:
March 28th, 2012 at 10:46 pm
@Christina, I am about 40 minutes into the hour of rising
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Christina Reply:
March 28th, 2012 at 11:20 pm
well after an additional 20 minutes with the heater next to it I think it is rising a little bit… we’ll see if I can make this work:(
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Jen Reply:
March 29th, 2012 at 9:29 am
Oh Christina – bummer. So sorry. I know that is frustrating. I am just seeing this now, but let me know if it turned out. I was going to suggest that you put it in a very low heated oven to help, or else take the bowl of dough and let it rise in the fridge over night. Even though that is a cold rise method, it gives it hours and that might work. Let me know.
Christina Reply:
May 13th, 2012 at 12:33 am
@Christina, Jen, they turned out great but I’m definetly going to try again with correct use of yeast to perfect it. Thank you do mich, they are awesome!!
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I made these rolls today and they are amazing. I used whole wheat flour and worked perfectly. Used raisins in the filling. Cut dough into 4ths froze three and cooked the rest. I will definetly use again. And the icing is so delicious my husband ate up the extra with some strawberries
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I just made these, sat down to a warm one, OMG are these so good….ty for sharing this recipe
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Anyone up? This may be a dumb question. In your recipe, it seems as you proof according to one pack of yeast (by the instructions on the back of the yeast pack). Should this be doubled? Like 1 pack per 1/4 of water, so 2 packs is 1/2 cup? Or should I use 2 packs in the 1/4 cup of water?
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kathy Reply:
April 7th, 2012 at 1:35 am
@Alissabeth, i always proof mine seperately in cas there is a problem with a packet of yeast. so i will put 11/4 cup water and 1 packet in a cup and do the same for the second. i have bad yeast in the same batch of packets so its just an extra precaution i take. before i started that i would just double everything, yeast, water and sugar. enjoy, they are delicious
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kathy Reply:
April 7th, 2012 at 1:36 am
@kathy, boy i cant type thats 1/4 cup water up there
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I always use 2 packets with the 1 cup warm water and the sugar.
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i’m a little confused – where does the 1 cup of 110degree (and i am assuming this is in Fahrenheit not Celsius?) boiling water come into the recipe?
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Jen Reply:
May 4th, 2012 at 9:22 am
Sorry for the confusion. If you look up at the list of ingredients, you will use that warm water ONLY if you need to proof your yeast. As per the instructions, if you are using instant yeast, then this proofing step with the water can be eliminated. Hope that clears things up.
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Jen Reply:
May 4th, 2012 at 9:23 am
Oops, and I forgot to add. You definitely do not want it boiling or it will kill the yeast. Just very warm.
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nikkita Reply:
May 4th, 2012 at 8:03 pm
@Jen, ohhh, makes more sense now ^_^ (even though it says it in the recipe, my brain just didn’t click D= )
though i only ever use about 3 Tbs to dissolve my yeast as i find this is enough
and i can never seem to roll a rectangle – i’m so uncoordinated!
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These are the best cinnamon rolls that I’ve ever made, or bought. Thank you for sharing this recipe. The first time I made them I loved the actual roll so much that I did a little experiment and made just the dough and put golf ball size pieces on a cookie sheet and baked. They were also amazing as just plains rolls with melted butter and garlic brushed on the tops. Were a great addition to my lasagna for dinner.
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Hi these look great…most cinnamon bun recipes use brown sugar for the filling, i noticed that yours does not…does this make a difference??
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Jen Reply:
July 10th, 2012 at 8:46 am
You may use brown sugar if you prefer. Since I have made these for so long, I sometimes switch it up and use brown sugar as a variation.
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So I was salivating while reading this recipe wondering how you make cinnabon size cinnamon rolls?
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I GOT TO SAY THIS LOUD….WHAT A FANTASTIC RECIPE!! Thank you for sharing. Just made it and my kids loved it. Why pay the store cost of a warm fresh gooey roll when you can make this for cents! Thank you Thank you!
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Hi,
I was wondering if you could freeze the dough to bake later?
Thanks!
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Thanks so much for the recipe! I made it last weekend for some friends and family and everyone raved about it for days!! I even had one family member break their diet to try one (or two… sshhhh) and said it was well worth it.
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Nicole Reply:
September 28th, 2012 at 10:59 pm
@Nicole, Also I used brown sugar and the cold rise recipe and everything worked out great.
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Nicole Reply:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
Opps! I mean cold rise method…
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Jen Reply:
September 28th, 2012 at 11:30 pm
YAY! So glad it was the talk of the “town.” Isn’t the cold rise method a time saver? Love that!! (And yes, I too, often mix white/brown sugar as well. Totally depends on how I am feeling. :))
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Im confused, when and where do I add the coating? Is that what goes in before you roll it or on the bottom of the pan, or pour it on top lol? I’m praying it rises to even get to that point, I didnt see where it said anything about how much water to use to activate the yeast. I have put in so much effort to flop now! I used a few tablespoons warm water not to any ceratin temp. maybe a bit more detail on those two things could help the beginners out. Fingers crossed!!!! Its been 40 min so far and not much rising, ugh my family will be sad.
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Nicole Reply:
November 19th, 2012 at 4:18 pm
@Candy, The coating is step 10 and it goes on the bottom of the pan. I had the same problem getting the dough to rise the first time I made this recipe. I discovered that instant yeast isn’t all that it is cracked up to be and I had to double the rise time. The second time I made these I proofed the instant yeast, even though it says you don’t have to, and I had no problems with it rising. The water should be warm water (if it is too hot it will kill the yeast, and if it is too cold it will slow down the activation processes. If you proof the yeast in the 1 cup of 110 degree water, along with the 1 tsp of sugar, you shouldn’t have any problems. Just let the yeast sit in the water sugar mixture for a few minutes before adding it to the recipe.
I hope this helps!
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Candy Reply:
November 20th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
@Nicole,
Thanks Nicole, I didn’t add enough water I think. I didnt notice where it said the amount of water on the top section and just used enough to disolve it. It never did rise so I googled what to do if your bread won’t rise and it said to just proof and add the yeast again then knead and wait… Again lol. OH and of course my grandma and I literally prayed over it :). It worked! I had to do the second rise in the refrigerator and bake them in the morning because by this point it was 11 pm. They were great!! My son said I put Cinnabon to shame.
In spite of the fact that this ended up taking over 4 hours because of my mistake, I will be making them again Christmas morning.
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YUM! I have never made a yeast bread with great success, but these turned out great! They were delicious and even looked exactly how they were supposed to. Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂
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Jen Reply:
November 24th, 2012 at 4:02 pm
YAY!! So glad to hear that. Hope you have a few extras for today. 🙂
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My dough isn’t doubling in size… I added flour to the consistency in the picture. Maybe it’s not in a warm enough place or was there something I did wrong? They’ve been sitting, covered with plastic wrap to rise for almost 2 hours now. I am at 7,000 ft. elevation though. Maybe that has something to do with it?
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Jen Reply:
December 1st, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Oh no. The altitude could definitely have something to do with it since I have heard that there’s adaptions people make when baking, but I would n’t know what to recommend.
I know how frustrating it is to spend the time and not have it rise, but if it hasn’t doubled in size, but has risen some, then go ahead with the recipe as written and it should still work. In my picture, it practically rose too much
If it hasn’t risen at all, then the questions to ask yourself on things when it doesn’t double : Is the yeast fresh? If fresh, did you need to proof it?
I would recommend setting your oven to 250 degrees and putting the dough in there. It will certainly rise. If it doesn’t, then the yeast may have been “killed” by adding to hot of water when you proofed it (for fresh yeast) or for the fast acting yeast, not sure what to tell you ???
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I can’t wait to try these! This might be a silly question, but in the frosting recipe, you call for 1/2 tsp. lemon. Is that lemon juice, extract, or essence? There’s a fairly big difference between those three, so I wanted to check before I started working on this.
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lorrie Reply:
May 29th, 2013 at 8:42 pm
@DaynawithaY, I am wondering the same…zest, juice or extract??
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Can I keep dough in fridge overnight and bake in the morning?
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Jen Reply:
December 17th, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Yes, you can. Don’t let it rise then at room temp. Let the first rise occur in the fridge. Make sure you have it in a large bowl to keep from overflowing.
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I want to make these for Sunday am after church. Can I make them on sat, and just reheat and frost in the am? Or should I wait to bake in am?
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Made these following the reciepe exactly and they were better then Cinnabon! It is a long project but worth it.
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Jen Reply:
December 27th, 2012 at 8:15 am
YAY! So glad to hear that you love them as much as we do. Yes, lots of work, but totally a memory maker. 🙂
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When you use the instant yeast, do you follow the recommendation of letting it rest for 10 minutes and immediately rolling it out and preparing it for baking? Then letting it double in size and baking. Essentially eliminating the first rising.
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Jen Reply:
February 28th, 2013 at 11:27 am
You do not have to follow the step about adding it to water etc, but if I have the time, I still do both rises. If I don’t have the time, the beauty is that you can make these without both rises. Just do a short rise the first time.
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I have made these several times now. It’s the only cinnamon bun recipe I will ever use now!
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Jen Reply:
March 13th, 2013 at 11:28 am
YAY! So glad you enjoy it!
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Hi,
Making these for the first time… The frosting is creamy, am I supposed to warm it up before putting them on the warm rolls to make it more liquidy?
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Jen Reply:
April 15th, 2013 at 4:08 pm
we love ours creamy. It should be the texture of the Cinnabon frosting, but if you like it liquidy, then feel free to warm it. 🙂
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These are amazing…they come out HUGE so be prepared!!
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A couple of questions I’m not sure about: If I want to bake the rolls off the next morning, at what point do I refrigerate? and do I use lemon zest, juice or extract in the frosting?? Can’t wait to make these rolls…..
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These turn out awesome! I do have a few thoughts to share, though. I use buttercream frosting, because I forget to buy cream cheese more often than I remember it. Also, I’m currently in King Cove, Alaska- dairy in general is quite expensive, cream cheese more than butter. My rolls have trouble sticking together- is there something I should be doing to improve that? They still taste good, I just end up having to reroll halfway through the batch. Also, I don’t own a rolling pan, so used my can of Pam. Worked fine. Also, these taste awesome, but I find myself taking like 4 hours to make a batch- a bit overkill. Any suggestions to finish a bit faster? It’s almost one am, and I haven’t finished my treats.
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Thank you so much for the recipe. It is very easy to follow. These are a hit every time I make them. I made them once for my husband to take in for work and now his work buddies request them all the time. lol
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Jen Reply:
July 15th, 2013 at 2:20 pm
YAY!! I am so glad you enjoy them. That is funny about your husband’s co-workers. You could start your own little business. haha 🙂
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These are just like the original cinnabon’s. They are the best cinnamon rolls I have since I had cinnabon. I just made a cinnamon roll recipe from a well known magazine, and these are so much better! I added chopped pecans to the bottom of the pan along with the melted butter and now I have this nice crunchy, sticky bottom on my buns! 🙂
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. It will become a regular in this house, and for the relatives. Can’t wait til Christmas!
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Jen Reply:
August 1st, 2013 at 11:30 am
YAY!! SO GLAD to hear that 🙂
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Amira Reply:
August 13th, 2013 at 9:12 am
@Jen,
excuse me i wanna ask about how much yeast should i use ?? you mentioned 2 TB is it tablespoonful or teaspoonful
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Jen Reply:
August 13th, 2013 at 10:46 am
It’s two tablespoons.
amira Reply:
August 27th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
@Amira,
thanks a lot , they were awesome :))))
amira Reply:
August 27th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
@Amira,
thanks a lot , they were awesome :))))
Just finished eating two of these… I may regret that in a few minutes but as of now I am in love!!! I followed everything except I used 3cups of whole wheat flour and the rest white… No one noticed and they were absolutely heavenly!!! Love, love, love the frosting and although it’s been many years since I have had cinnabon… I don’t feel I need to ever again or any others for that matter. Thank you so much for sharing!
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Jen Reply:
September 2nd, 2013 at 10:01 am
Oh Josie – I know the feeling. It’s impossible to stop at one. So glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
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I’m sorry, I’m a bit confused and feel slightly embarrassed to be asking this but I was wondering about step 2 in the instructions; When you say; “In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp. sugar in warm water; set aside (if using instant yeast, you can skip this step)” Does that mean the whole step or just the “set aside” part ? 🙂 We don’t have cinnamon rolls here, or cinnabons, so I’m dying to try this. Haven’t had a cinnamon roll in 9 years.
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Jen Reply:
September 9th, 2013 at 4:33 pm
Oh my, don’t be embarrassed to ask. I can see how it’s confusing.
If you are using quick instant yeast, yes, you can skip the dissolving in water part. You can just add the yeast to the dry ingredients. I recently added a simplified version of this recipe if you want to look that over too.
Please let me know how they turn out or if you have questions.
http://jenschmidt.life/overnight-cinnamon-rolls/
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Making this for Christmas brunch. Can’t wait!
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I have made these Cinnamon Rolls and every time they have turned out awesome! They are easy to make. I make the dough in the morning do my thing and then come back and bake them. They are a huge hit with family and friends.
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Jen Reply:
January 4th, 2014 at 7:25 pm
I am so thrilled to hear that!! Memories in a pan, I always say. 🙂
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I always fear any recipe that involves yeast, kneading and rising…but THIS recipe works out perfectly every time!!! love it… Thank you for sharing… Especially the pics on what the consistency should look like… It really helps. For those struggling to get the dough to rise…while making the mixture heat the oven a bit, switch it off, wrap you bowl in a kitchen towel and pop it into the warm oven for that hour. Promise you it WILL rise. This is absolutely the best cinnabons I have had and price wise much much cheaper to make than to buy… Yummy..off to have one now!!
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Jen Reply:
June 16th, 2014 at 1:48 pm
SO SO thrilled to hear this!!! Thanks for giving me your success update. 🙂
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I let my bread maker knead the dough for me and then turned it out into a greased bowl to rise. Can’t wait to try these!
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These were off the charts delicious! I used the kitchen aid and the dough hook did its kneading job for about 8 minutes. I found that I did need to use the 8 cups of flour and I cut the sugar where I could. They were so good, they were all gone soon after they came out of the oven!
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Jen Reply:
August 15th, 2016 at 5:57 pm
So glad to hear you enjoyed these! 🙂
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How long can you freeze these before baking them and can you freeze the icing? If so for how long? Thank you so much! These are by far the best cinnamon rolls ever
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These sound wonderful. One question–you have the recipe for “coating” but I could not see where it says to use it. Did I miss something?
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QUESTION!!
I want to make these, but I want to freeze them and bake later?
I want fresh made and baked rolls??
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Jen Reply:
June 13th, 2018 at 12:51 pm
Yes, you can freeze the dough and then let them thaw before baking.
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