These homemade cinnamon rolls are by far the best cinnamon rolls out there. They’re perfectly moist, fluffy, and pull apart soft then topped with a decadent homemade cream cheese frosting.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

When I was little, I remember my Grandma used to make the best cinnamon rolls. Her cinnamon rolls were honestly legendary. One year, we all talked her into entering them into the county fair and she won grand champion for her cinnamon rolls. I remember a separate instance where my Grandma donated a pan of her homemade cinnamon rolls to an auction for a little boy’s family who had significant medical expenses. The cinnamon rolls sold for $250.00! Everyone knew my Grandma’s cinnamon rolls were the best.

Since then, I have honestly spent years tweaking this recipe to make the BEST cinnamon rolls there that taste just like Grandma used to make. I am proud of a lot of recipes that I have created, but THIS cinnamon roll recipe is the one I want to be known for 😉 I promise, these cinnamon rolls are going to be your favorite cinnamon rolls.

The Cowboys’ Rating: 10/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients Are Homemade Cinnamon Rolls?

All-Purpose Flour
Yeast – The yeast that I use for this homemade cinnamon roll recipe is active dry yeast.
Warm Water – I don’t ever check the temperature of the water (because who has time for that), but just make sure it’s lukewarm water so that it activates the yeast.
Egg – The egg helps bind the dough together and makes the bread soft and fluffy.
White Sugar – You will use a tablespoon of sugar to activate the yeast and then 1/3 cup sugar. Sugar enhances the flavor but also helps bread rise so it has a fluffier consistency.
Butter Flavored Shortening or Salted Butter – 9/10 I will use butter flavored shortening. The major difference between shortening and butter in bread is the textures they create. Butter creates bread has a denser texture whereas shortening has a more tender and crumbly texture. Either will work in this recipe.
Salt – Salt is very important for bread. It has a few roles in making homemade bread turn out. First, it helps to control the rate of yeast fermentation which is very important. Additionally, it strengthens the gluten in the bread. And finally, it helps with taste! If you have every tried bread that the salt has been left out of, it is not good!
Nonfat Dry Milk – I have always used nonfat dry milk instead of regular milk in bread recipes. I swear by it. I think that it gives the bread a better, fluffier consistency.

FROSTING

Cream Cheese
Heavy Whipping Cream
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla

Tools You’ll Need

I always use my KitchenAid to make bread, but you can use a Large Mixing Bowl with a Danish Dough Hook
Measuring Cups & Spoons
Liquid Measuring Cup
Spatula
Bread Scraper
Baking Sheet Pan
Flour Sack Dish Towels to cover dough
Pizza Cutter

How to Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine warm water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar together. Lightly combine, then set aside and let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, nonfat dry milk, and salt and mix until well combined.
Add in shortening and work into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly in appearance.
Add water and yeast mixture along with egg to the dry ingredients and begin mixing.
Gradually add flour one cup at a time to form a soft dough. Once all flour has been added, continue kneading or mixing for another 2-3 minutes. When done, the dough should be slightly sticky to the touch.
Cover the dough with a towel and let rise until double in size (about an hour).
Once dough has risen to double in size, generously flour a surface on the counter and scape the dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface.
Knead a few times, then roll the dough out into a large square shape.
Softly spread the softened butter evenly over the dough.
Next, sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over top of the butter followed by the cinnamon.
Using a pizza cutter, cut 12 even slices of dough in long strips.
Roll each slice of dough tightly and place on a greased baking sheet pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops of the cinnamon rolls are golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool.
While cinnamon rolls are cooling, in a large bowl, beat together softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream and vanilla until nice and smooth.
Spread evenly over top of cinnamon rolls.
Serve and enjoy!

How to Store Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3-5 days. I like to use a baking sheet pan lid like this one here to cover the cinnamon rolls.

Tips and Tricks

I have tried many different ways to slice the cinnamon roll dough, and I have found that using a pizza cutter is the best! Cut the dough into strips and then roll the strips up to make the perfect cinnamon roll!

Try More of My Easy Recipes