Baking · Bread · Breakfast · Desserts

The World’s Greatest Cinnamon Rolls

You know what’s great? The little lip balms that look like mini eggs. Piano music on a blustery day. Smiley face stickers. Finding a ten-dollar bill in an old purse. Laughing so hard you cry a little. And most of all…cinnamon rolls. Specifically, these cinnamon rolls. The best EVER. No, I’m not kidding. They are perfection.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady


Enjoy them with coffee, make them for a special brunch, have some friends over for the early game or take them to card night with the girls. Did you know breakfast for dinner is always better with cinnamon rolls? Whatever you have to do…just make them. Start with perfectly sweet dough…which comes together very quickly and is a dream to work with. Roll it out into a nice rectangle(ish) shape.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Then brush with melted butter. When the second instruction is to slather butter all over, it’s a good day.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Then take some cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it all over. Now…this is one of the keys to truly great cinnamon rolls. Use brown sugar. Every other cinnamon roll recipe I’ve seen uses white sugar in the filling. Blah. So boring. The brown sugar gives it a caramelly richness that’s fabulous.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Wait just a minute. I said “sprinkle”? I meant to say “cover”. Really coat it thick. Lay it on like the flattery Mr. Brown Noser at work gives your boss. Yeah. Overdo it. That’s better.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Then roll it up. Start slowly, make sure the first few rolls are good and tight so you get a nice spiral in your dough. Seal up the seam with a little butter.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Beautiful spirals of sugar. Mmmmm.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Ok, now we cut the log. Unflavored dental floss works really well for this. But since all I had was the minty kind (darn you fresh breath!), I used a big serrated knife. Start in the middle and cut it in half. Clearly I’m not going to win any awards for my “half” eyeballing skills.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Then cut it in half again (each half). Now you’ll have 4 pieces. Then cut each 4th into 3rds and you’ll have 12 mostly even rolls. This is just one example of why it’s important to stay in school kids…you can’t have cinnamon rolls without math.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Place the rolls in a well buttered baking dish and allow to rise until about doubled. A really cool feature of this recipe is that you can prepare it the night before. Just put these in the fridge after placing the rolled buns in the pan (don’t let them rise). Then in the morning, put them in a cold oven – turn it on to 350° and allow to cook for 25-30 minutes. Or…you can let them rise, and continue on with your baking immediately. Here they are waiting to rise.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Doubled up. When they are just starting to snuggle together at the edges, they are ready for the oven.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Now bake them up. They come out golden brown and the sugar/cinnamon is all bubbly and caramelled. The aroma that fills your house is just incredible. Mmmmmmm.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Then we slather them with the most delicious cream cheese frosting ever. Which, not coincidentally, also has butter in it.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Take the rolls out of the pan immediately. As the buttery sugar goodness starts to cool on the bottom, it will essentially turn into glue. See it there at the bottom of the roll? The deep rich brown? Yeah, that’s the most delicious adhesive substance known to man.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

A little reminder of the process here…just in case you forgot. Roll, rise, bake, mmmmmmmmm.

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Oh, pardon. A thousand apologies. Don’t mind me, I’m just going to continue unrolling to the best part…the middle. Soft, doughy, drenched in glorious frosting and swimming in cinnamon sugar goodness. Enjoy!

The World's Greatest Cinnamon Rolls - Bakerlady

Print Recipe for The World’s Greatest Cinnamon Rolls

The World’s Greatest Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from allrecipes.com

Dough
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Filling
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, melted

Frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl. Mix in the sugar, margarine, salt, and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
Roll dough into a 16×21 inch rectangle. Brush dough with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough starting along the long side and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. As soon as rolls come out of the oven, remove them from the pan. Spread any filling that has seeped out over the top and then spread frosting on rolls before serving.


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147 thoughts on “The World’s Greatest Cinnamon Rolls

    1. I’ve always made them in a glass dish. I’m sure metal would work just fine too, but possibly you’d need to adjust the baking temperature/time.

      1. I e been making these for 65 yrs. Mom called them nun’s farts and made them with left over pastry

      2. Glass always bakes better. Metal will do, but if you are able to use glass, do glass. Blessings~

      1. I always use quick rise yeast. I also use vital wheat gluten, 1 TBSP per 2 cups of flour. It keeps the bread,rolls or cinni rolls soft and 3 days.

  1. Quick question in the top you say to brush on melted butter and then coat with cinnamon and brown sugar but in the directions you say to soften the butter and mix in with the cinnamon and brown sugar. Which way is correct/better.

    1. Hey Tara,

      Sorry for the confusion, I’ll update the recipe. Melt the butter and brush it all over, then coat the cinnamon/sugar all over it.

      1. Seriously just thought I was going crazy I’m making the cinnamon rolls again tonight it’s after midnight and I’m reading the recipe and thinking why did I think this said to put the butter in with the brown sugar and cinnamon. so glad I scrolled down to the comments to see that you already changed it and it not quite as crazy as I thought I was. 😉

      2. hey tonya. I absolutely love this recipe but I am very confused on the recipe when I print it out it comes out as combine melted butter cinnamon and sugar. Very confusing. Margarinas should also be changed on there too. Thanks!erring you know

    2. I’m refrigerating the sliced cinnamon rolls and baking tomorrow morning for Bible study class. Is there anything else I need to know other than put in the oven in the morning?

    3. I mixed the brown sugar, cinnamon and butter together to make a paste. Gobbed in on the dough and it was honestly the yummiest, gooiest rolls ever!!!

  2. THE very easiest way to cut raw cinnamon buns is to use a piece of thread. Slide about a 14″ piece of thread under the roll to the desired thickness, pull up each end, cross the ends over each other and pull in opposite directions. Voilà! Perfectly cut buns.

  3. How about raisins? I must have raisins in my cinnamon rolls! What measurement would I use?
    Used to really love Mrs. Powell’s in Phoenix. They were fabulous, you could get with or without raisins.

    1. Put raisin in a saucepan with 1/2 water & boil . Cook until liquid is almost gone. Cool then sprinkle on cinnamon roll which already has butter & brown sugar. Roll & cut into slices & bake.

      1. I would use a buttercream frosting with toasted coconut mixed in. I learned this from my neighbor lady long ago. Family favorite. Can’t wait to make your recipe for cinnamon rolls

    2. I put raisins and chopped walnuts in mine….. mmmmm….. no measuring, I put as much as I wanted. Sprinkle over the dough and roll up.

    3. So yeast scares me, I’ve tried baking with yeast years ago and i failed and I haven’t tried since! I really want to make these. I’ve always heard of putting yeast in warm water and letting it sit for a bit and then when it’s frothy(?) then you add the rest of the ingredients, I see you don’t have to do that here, I’m just a bit confused.

  4. Sorry, I went right over the recipe. Figures I was in such a hurry to try them I completely missed the recipe. I’ll let you know after I bake them but I’m telling you they will be DELICIOUS. thanks for posting it.

  5. I’ve been making cin. rolls with brown sugar for 62 years, and SO glad to finally see a recipe similar. Because baking is harder for me, now, I will use Rhodes frozen dough. Thaw, roll out and proceed. It is perfectly acceptable.

  6. Does anyone know how long you would knead the dough for? I don’t want to start making these without having an idea!

    1. Between 5-10 minutes. Until dough is smooth and elastic, which will vary depending on your kitchen temp and if you are doing it by hand or with a mixer.

  7. These look fantastic! PS, sewing thread works when dental floss is not available. I love your math/stay in school comment! 😍

  8. I use my bread machine, no kneading, no mess and no work. In a bowl stir up the eggs, add milk, salt, melted, butter, or margarine …or I even used vegetable oil. Pour all into bread machine and add flour and bread machine yeast. Set machine on dough…..thats it , when machine beeps the dough is ready, proceed to roll out your cinnamon buns. Only change to this recipe is, I use 3 eggs. The dough is out of this world!

  9. Would this recipe be okay to refrigerate overnight after the rolls have been let rise in the pan? Then baked the following morning?

    1. That’s what I wanted to know as well. I’m a little confused by putting them in the cold stove and turning it on. Will it rise in time??? I’d think it would need more time to rise then just keeping it in the stove during the preheat stage? Also, could i kneed it with a mixer and attachment ???

    2. yes, these rise perfectly in the refrigerator overnight. I always make them on Christmas Eve so that my family has fresh cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.

  10. I made these yesterday, they were beyond fabulous ! I haved baked for over 60 yrs. and never had much success using yeast ,but gave it a try and am so glad I did ! I used active yeast and was careful to dissolve it in 110* milk. thx for the great recipe 😘

    1. I’m a little confused about making them the night before. I have chronic migraines so I would absolutely need too but putting them in the cold stove and turning it on; Will it rise in time??? I’d think it would need more time to rise then just keeping it in the stove during the preheat stage? Or should I let them rise 30 min then put in fridge over night then bake in the morning? If so how long do I bake then? Also, could i kneed it with a mixer and attachment ??? Thank you in advance for responding!

    2. I’m a little confused about making them the night before. I have chronic migraines so I would absolutely need too but putting them in the cold stove and turning it on; Will it rise in time??? I’d think it would need more time to rise then just keeping it in the stove during the preheat stage? Or should I let them rise 30 min then put in fridge over night then bake in the morning? If so how long do I bake then? Also, could i kneed it with a mixer and attachment ???

      1. In my experience, if you make the recipe the evening before and put them in the fridge to rise, in the morning they should be ready to bake. If you have time, I’d let them sit on the counter at room temperature for at least a half an hour before baking.

        I know this is not a forum for migraines, but I’ve tamed mine with the help of a neurologist. If you’re interesting in hearing my experience, you’re welcome to contact me. I know they are miserable.

    1. I’m thinking that cream cheese orange frosting would be amazing. Just use orange extract in place of the vanilla, and the zest of one orange. Yum!

  11. These are Devine! I have made them twice now for my family and the devour them!
    Any tips or suggestions on how to make the gluten free?

    1. I’ve made these twice, both with my KitchenAid. I follow the steps, adding the milk and yeast first to the bowl to dissolve. Then I add the other ingredients as directed. Use a dough hook attachment and mix on med (4 speed or less) until it balls up and off the sides. I think it took about a minute or two. So easy! I leave the dough right in the mixing bowl and cover to rise. Perfect results.

  12. These were amazing! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. Made them this morning. Hubby said they’re the best ones he’s ever had – not even in the same category as store-bought or even from a restaurant.

    Do you have any tips on rolling the dough into s rectangle? My sides ate always shorter than the middle.

    1. I don’t find that an issue. I pat out the dough (I don’t roll it) into a rectangle with the long side toward me. After putting on the interior ingredients (cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, etc.) avoiding the last 2 inches at the back or so, I roll up the dough starting from nearest me. I pull the corners a bit as I do this, as well as the dough rectangle. When done I lightly pinch the roll together along the long edge. Your ends will be just as nice and filled as the center. Having left the last two inches along the back long edge clear of toppings makes pinching the seam easy. Put the seam side down, then use a long piece of thread to cut each roll. (See my comment above about 18 comments.)

      1. Quick question have you ever tried making these in cupcake tins with parchment wrappers. I love this recipe but I need to make them single serving for an open house you think it might work??

      2. Sorry for the late reply. Assuming you’ve already figured this out. I’ve never tried it, but don’t see why it wouldn’t work!

    1. I don’t know who said margarine, but I’d NEVER use margarine for anything. Nasty. Hopefully the person meant butter–better tasting and better for you. 😉

  13. Can these be made ahead of time and frozen? The hubby doesnt like cinnamon rolls so I’d like to not make them all at once.

  14. I subbed bread flour for the all purpose flour and won the blue ribbon at my state fair with this recipe!

  15. These were the best cinnamon rolls I’ve made! They are now a family favorite and so easy to make, thanks for the recipe!

  16. These look delicious! I made the Southerbut I will add the butter to the filling sn Living recipe and they left off the butter in the filling but they were really good anyway. They do recommend bread flour to give you that chewy texture. I will add the butter next time. Great recipe. Try it with bread flour they’re to die for delicious. Thanks

  17. Is there any method to freezing these ahead of time? I’m about to have a baby and it would be great to make ahead and have a nice cinnamon roll to make without all the work once she’s born

  18. I am a pretty good baker, this recipe is great but I cannot get this dough to rise. I have absolutely done everything spot on and it just wont rise. I use the correct temp for the milk as well. The second time I tried I finished them with no rise and the taste was great. Round 2 today and 4 over all and still no rise. Frustrating.

    1. I am afraid to bake homemade cinnamon buns. My partner of 26+ yrs. says ” We will get married when You make me Homemade cinnamon buns!” Still Shacking up and cook + bake everything …but. Canadian fan

  19. Dough is just rising now hopefully but it was quite crumbly so I added a bit of water… really hoping this will turn out. The directions are really weird at the beginning saying to put in egg and margarine even though it doesn’t have it in the recipe.

  20. I made these. They (in the words of my husband)ain’t nothing special. But they’re ok.
    Not what I want to hear after spending two hours on a special treat! He said the dough isn’t very good
    And I agree.

  21. I tried making these Last week. I had to give the dough two tries because the first time I made them I used the amount of flour in the recipe. The dough was tough and barely rose so I made them again with about 3 1/4 cups flour and it worked much better. For anyone making these I would recommend starting with about 3 cups flour and added more until the dough is just a little sticky.

    1. I used 4.5 . The dough was to stiff. I should of read the comments first for help with this. I just hope them come out good. Didn’t want to waste my time and Ingredients

  22. Your directions are not consistent. The top and after the recipe say different things. It says to let it rise for an hour and then roll it out and then in the paragraph under it it says to let it rise a half hour again but above the recipe it says to let it rise for an hour and roll out first.

  23. Can you use a thermometer that came with a fish fryer to check oil temp to check temp of milk because that’s the only one I have here at house and I really want to try your rolls today for my brothers birthday tomorrow. He lives my original recipe but yours looks like it makes more rolls.
    Please help quick so I can get started.
    Thanks Tiffaney, aka-cake pop mom

  24. Am I the only one who has the amounts cut off? I can make some of them out, but not all. Changing orientation doesn’t help.

  25. Amazing! Followed recipe exactly. Kneaded for five mins in stand mixer. Simply incredible! This is our new go-to cinnamon roll recipe. Thank you!

  26. Just made these last night Then refrigerated overnight. Baked this morning and they were fantastic! Now the rest are in the freezer for the next time I want a roll.

    1. Did they raise on the fridge? I wanted to make for Christmas not sure if I should freeze them afraid they will rise in fridge did yours?

  27. Well today I’m making my 4th batch .it for a church family member she is a diabetic I’m using splenda .I think it will be fine and I’m cutting frosting In Half.

  28. These Cinnamon Rolls are seriously the BEST! I’ve made them so many times and they were always amazing, thanks so much for your recipe! 5 stars (;

  29. Have you ever made these ahead and out in the freezer? I want to try these for Christmas morning but would like to make ahead of time. I was wondering if I should freeze before they rise?

  30. can i use regular flour? how much of the yeast do i use if i use the quick rise? is there a difference in eiher one????

  31. I’ve made these different ways and I found that I didn’t melt the butter to spread in with the sugar cin mixture, I used used it room temp and mixed it with the sugar mixture and spread it out. I also added an egg yolk to the dough to make it softer.

    I’ve been a baker for 30yrs so I made some changes

  32. I made these for my husband, he loves cinnamon rolls. These were bland and the brown sugar did not melt. I felt like I was eating sand in my tasteless cinnamon rolls. In the trash for this recipe.

  33. I made two batches of these today. The recipe was easy to follow and the rolls turned out great. Gave one pan to my neighbors and the other pan I’ll share. Going to make again tomorrow for my Lawn guy coming Saturday. Thanks for sharing.

  34. These look wonderful and I will be making them. Printing the recipe is a must for me. BEWARE! This recipe printed out 18 pages with all of the lovely pictures and replies. I wasn’t in the same room so didn’t realize this had happened or I would have stopped it sooner. Just a little FYI.

  35. I have been making these cinnamon rolls since January, and my family loves them. I live in Gilbert, Arizona, but I will be spending a month in Pinetop AZ. The elevation there is over 5000 feet higher. Do I need to make adjustments to the recipe to make them while there?

  36. Truly the best! Thank you for the recipe! I made them for my husbands birthday, he prefers cinnamon rolls to cake and this is the best cinnamon roll recipe that I have ever made! Love the dough! Thank you again!

  37. tanya, first, i have been baking for 45 years and was taught by my mom to use white sugar, not brown, what a difference. great recipe and thanks for sharing.
    i was reading comments from others and ca,e across “renee” who mentioned having chronic migraines and would love to hear from her as i have intractable migraines. every day for the last 27 years. started in my 20’s with 1 or 2/ week. i’m always looking to others just in case they have tried something i haven’t tried.
    thank you for letting me post this. i willl keep watching for a reply.
    but this post is definitely the reason for writing.. won’t ever be looking for any other recipes
    for cinnamon buns.

    p,s, iove making bread, do you have any other bread recipes you might want to share?
    thank you
    trish

  38. My dough didn’t rise much and I’m using 8oz cream cheese. I don’t think they come in 3oz packages. I’ll try less flour and adding an extra egg next time.

  39. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Just made these for Christmas in the morning. (Yes I cooked them the night before) these are so beautiful and amazing! I mixed them in a mixer since I already had it out. After putting the flour in it was crazy sticky! Like not enough flour sticky. So I put it on a floured surface and kneaded enough flour to make it more manageable. Another mistake I made was my eggs were not room temp and the dough ended up too cold. Easily solved with a warm oven. It took a bit longer but the dough did double. The dough was gorgeous! It rolled out super easy and form the rolls. I did remove them from the pan as instructed and one of the rolls outer edge was left in the pan. Well darn! I can’t let that go to waste! It was amazing! This is my new cinnamon roll recipe!

  40. Made these this morning. The dough didn’t rise very well. The flavors were great as was the icing but the rolls themselves weren’t. I won’t make these again.

  41. Rolls are still in the oven but smell delicious – I needed to add milk to the frosting, otherwise it was just crumbly – did that get left off the directions or did I somehow miss it?

  42. I made these awesome cinnamon rolls with my daughter tonight and I have to agree, these are the best tasting cinnamon rolls I have ever made or tasted from others!
    I followed the recipe as is to the T. Low and behold, everything turned out perfect. The icing was the cherry on top and usually I don’t like icing on my cinnamon rolls lol, not tonight though. Definitely a fam fave. And must make again! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

  43. Hi my first time attempting these beautiful rolls, it was very hard rolling it out, seems my dough was really soft.. and I didn’t get a tight roll.. but I did the best I could do.. assuming I did something wrong, maybe proofed them to long?
    Will see how them come, but any feed back would be great!
    Very easy recipe to put together for sure…
    Thank you
    Lucy

  44. Love this recipe. My husband came downstairs this morning and said “ oh darn i thought I smelled cinnamon rolls”. Well there is now a batch in the oven. I have tried a handful of cinnamon roll recipes and this one works best for me. I let my kitchen aid do the hard work for about 5 minutes. They come out perfect every time. Thank you for a great recipe.

  45. This recipe did not work out for me, and I’m so bummed. My dough never rose and it was tough and dry. I’ll give it another try using less flour.

  46. You can also add chopped walnuts or pecans inside the gills and place in your pan that has melted butter, brown sugar and more chopped nuts. After baking flip the pan and they have a yummy glaze.

  47. They look absolutely delicious. I’d love to try this recipe. Can you please help with the metric measurements. I find that cup measurements in other countries differ to South Africa. Thank you

  48. when dissolving yeast in warm milk, do you let it sit for 10 minutes or just continue with adding other ingredients?

  49. i don’t care what anyone says , these are truely the best. I’m not good at making pie crust, so I kinda cut receipt in half and used it for my apple pie. OMG perfect, thank you sooooo much . And yes I make Carmel rolls every week.thanks again, your awesome !!

  50. For all the folks asking if the cold oven/cold rolls method works, it totally does. I’ve made this recipe at least ten times now (seriously the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had) and have been terrified of trying it. Well this morning I sat in the peace and quiet of my kitchen, watching those bitches come up like the sun as my oven reached 350°. We have gas, so I was sure they’d be fried crispy on the bottom. I recently got a promotion at work, so I figured, “hell, if they suck I can just fire anyone who complains.” Yet, HERE WE ARE! Everyone is stuffed full of sugar and spice and full-time employment. Thank you, oh cinnamon Gods. This recipe is great. I’m like 5 years late to the comments section, but if your dough isn’t turning out, put down the spliff and try making it when you’re not high. There’s nothing wrong with this recipe, however it’s been edited, as of 2024. Peace and greased baking dishes to all.

  51. I made these following the recipe and they turned out very dry. It did take a long time to rise, but other than that what did I do wrong??

    please help would like to try these again

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