Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

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The only thing better than homemade cinnamon rolls with that delicious cream cheese glaze is easy homemade cinnamon rolls made with a shortcut so you can get them in you belly sooner!

Fork digging into an easy homemade cinnamon roll.

These easy homemade cinnamon rolls have power behind them… real power. You could pretty much get anything you wanted if you showed up toting a plate of these warm cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing oozing down the side. You can use them as wonderful gifts of gratitude and tokens of caring.

I especially love that I can make these ahead of time and put them in the fridge to pop in the oven first thing in the morning, which makes your gifts of gratitude and tokens of caring even easier to provide!

I have been making these cinnamon rolls for years, but only in the past few have I started using this shortcut method that involves no yeast so no proofing or kneading. While it’s fun to make the dough from scratch (see recipe for cinnamon roll dough from scratch below), it’s much more time-consuming and not that easy on your hands. Using store-bought bread dough as opposed to making your own makes this homemade cinnamon roll recipe super easy for anyone to make, regardless of experience in the kitchen. 

Besides the dough, all you need is butter, cinnamon, cream cheese, brown sugar, and confectioner’s sugar. I can’t wait for you to try these cinnamon rolls. There’s just something about the combination of soft warm bread, cinnamon sugar, and sweet creamy icing that I, for one, can’t get enough of. Are you ready to give this recipe a go?

Labeled ingredients for easy homemade cinnamon rolls.

Recipe Ingredients

  • Frozen white bread dough 
  • Unsalted butter
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Cream cheese (here’s my easy recipe for homemade cream cheese)
  • Brown sugar
  • Confectioner’s sugar

How to Make Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Thaw frozen dough at room temp for an hour.

Get out one loaf of frozen bread dough and sit it on a plate at room temperature to thaw. This will probably take about an hour.

Just go check on it now and then and poke it a bit to see if it is still frozen in the center. We need it completely thawed because we’re gonna take our rolling pin and put some elbow grease into flattening and stretching that puppy out!

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.

In a small bowl, place brown sugar and cinnamon and mix them together.

Place thawed dough on floured surface.

Place your thawed bread on a floured surface.

I always roll out a bit of waxed paper to do this on for easy clean-up.

Roll out dough with rolling pin.

Now, putting some elbow grease into this, roll out the dough.

What dimensions should you roll it out to?

Now, my original cinnamon roll recipe called for it to be rolled out to about 16×21 but that was when I was making the dough from scratch. When I use a loaf of dough, I roll it out to about 9×16. It comes out just the same but you just don’t have as many spirals to your cinnamon rolls.

Spread butter over dough.

Take half of your stick of melted butter and spread it over your dough.

Cover dough in brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.

Sprinkle your brown sugar mixture over it and pat down lightly.

Begin rolling up the dough.

Carefully begin rolling it all up into a log.

Rolled up dough.

Like this. Press that together just a little bit.

Cut dough into slices using serrated knife.

Using a serrated knife (because that is what works best for me, but if you prefer some other type feel free) cut one-inch slices all down your log.

Place cinnamon rolls in baking dish.

Place the slices in a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave cinnamon rolls to rise.

Cover the uncooked cinnamon rolls with cling wrap and place them in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This can take anywhere from two to four hours, depending on the temperature.

How to find a place for the dough to rise

In summer, I sat them outside on my deck and they were done in 1.5 hours. But in winter, I get creative and set them on top of the washing machine while I dry my clothes in the dryer nearby.

Another option is to put them in the refrigerator and let them rise overnight. They will rise much more slowly in the fridge, so get up about an hour before you want to bake them because you may need to sit them on the counter for about an hour to let them finish rising.

Homemade cinnamon rolls ready to be baked.

Looky there! Isn’t that beautiful? See how easy this is?

 Now remove cling wrap and bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Place cream cheese in mixing bowl.

How To Make The Cinnamon Roll Icing

Place the cream cheese and the remaining butter in a mixing bowl.

Add cinnamon and sugar to mixing bowl.

Add confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon.

 The cinnamon gives your icing a bit of oomph!

Mix icing until creamy.

Mix that up until smooth and creamy.

Spread icing over homemade cinnamon rolls.

Now if I am serving these rolls right out of the oven I let my family and guests ice them on their own. But if I am taking them someplace I ice them myself. Whatever you do is perfectly fine!

Homemade cinnamon roll.

Ooooh Lawdy, isn’t that gorgeous?

Homemade cinnamon roll.

These heat up well, too. You can make them for dessert after dinner and then heat them up for breakfast in the morning. Delicious!

Storage

  • Store leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can quickly reheat them in the microwave, oven, or air fryer.
  • You can also freeze cinnamon rolls for up to 3 months. Double wrap them in plastic wrap and then foil to prevent freezer burn. Then let them thaw in the fridge before reheating as above.

Recipe Notes

  • Another shortcut you can use is to use store-bought frosting instead of homemade frosting. Whatever works for you! You can also add coffee icing by quickly mixing together 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar and 2 tablespoons of strong coffee.
  • Another way to get your cinnamon rolls to rise in winter is to heat your oven to 150°F. Then turn it off and place the covered rolls inside. Leave the oven door cracked open for about 30 minutes, then shut it, and keep an eye out to see when they’ve finished rising.
  • For the cinnamon roll filling, you can use either light or dark brown sugar, or a combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar.
  • If you want to add a filling to your cinnamon roll spread some chopped nuts (slivered almonds or chopped pecans work well) or raisins over the cinnamon sugar mixture before rolling it up.
  • You can also add more spices if you like, like a teaspoon or two of pumpkin pie spice, ground nutmeg, ground cardamon, or apple pie spice.

Recipe FAQs

How do you make cinnamon roll dough from scratch?

This dough replaces the frozen loaf of bread dough. Use the rest of the recipe as written above.

  • 1 cup lukewarm milk
  • 2 large eggs at room temp
  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter or margarine, cut up
  • 4  3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1  3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 1/2 tsp instant or bread machine yeast

Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of your bread machine in the order listed. Program the machine for dough or manual and press start. After about 10 minutes, check the dough’s consistency. It should be smooth, not too sticky, and not too dry. Adjust its consistency with additional flour or water if necessary to allow the machine to complete the kneading.

If not using a bread machine: combine all of the dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until the mixture becomes cohesive. Transfer to a lightly oiled work surface and knead by hand for five to eight minutes or until it is smooth.

Place kneaded dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease on all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for one hour, until it’s nearly doubled. Transfer to a floured work surface and roll into a 16×21-inch rectangle. Spread with 1/2 stick of margarine and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Complete using the recipe above.

Check out these other cinnamon-spiced recipes:

Stuffed Cinnamon Toast Sticks

Easy Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Cobbler

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake

Upside Down Cranberry Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

A homemade cinnamon roll on a spatula.

Easy Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

The only thing better than homemade cinnamon rolls with that delicious cream cheese glaze is easy homemade cinnamon rolls made with a shortcut so you can enjoy them sooner!
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cinnamon, rolls
Servings: 18
Calories: 372kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf frozen white bread dough such as Rhode's

Filling

  • 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp ground cinnamon

Icing

  • 3 ounces softened cream cheese
  • 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
  • 1.5 cups confectioner's sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

  • Place the loaf of dough on a plate and let sit at room temperature until thawed. Once thawed, roll out onto a floured surface to the size of about nine inches by sixteen inches. Spread butter/margarine over the dough.
    1 loaf frozen white bread dough, 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
  • In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the dough, stopping about 1/2 an inch away from the sides so it will seal. Carefully roll up the cinnamon roll dough into a log and press lightly to seal. Slice into one-inch slices with a serrated knife.
    1 cup packed brown sugar, 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • Place in a greased 9x13 baking dish and cover with cling wrap. Place in a warm spot and allow to rise until doubled in size. Remove cling wrap and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Mix all icing ingredients together and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Spread over cinnamon rolls.
    3 ounces softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine, 1.5 cups confectioner's sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 372kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

 

Southern plate quote 

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208 Comments

  1. Christy,
    I tried making some more last night to bake this morning. I let them rise before refrigerating them…when I opened the fridge this morning they had shrunk back down! UGH! Ok, I really need to know your suggestion for premaking/freezing 🙂 Full time teacher and mother of 3 girls under 3…I need to make ahead…these are so good!

  2. I finally found the time to make these (3 little girls all under 3!) this weekend and they are AMAZING! Thank you so much for the recipe. I can now officially say I make better cinnamon rolls than my mother in law! Ha! I do have a question though…concerning freezing. I love to do OAMC and these would probably work great. Which step would you freeze at? After rolling and cutting the rolls? After letting the cut rolls rise? Or would you bake them and freeze for thawing and warming at a later date? Thanks so much!

  3. I made these for my husband’s birthday breakfast with your scratch dough recipe…I started them at night thinking I could put them in the fridge and they would rise overnight, which they didn’t, so I took them out and let them sit for 2 hours…still didn’t rise all that well, but I just went ahead and stuck them in the oven and they were great, not quite as big and fluffy as I had hoped, but still very yummy! In fact most people preferred them over the cake I made for the b’day party!

  4. Oh Christy! I really messed these up today. And I had delusions of granduer about sharing some with neighbors, family, and stopping by work with some today. Mine turned out looking like pretzels rolled up with cinnamon and brown sugar on them, ugh! I guess they didn’t rise like they should. My 2 yr old and I put them together yesterday. I put in fridge took out 2 hrs before I put in oven today. I warmed up via the dryer method you mentioned:) But they were hard and didn’t rise properly. I have more in the fridge that I didn’t throw in the oven. Is there any hope for those?
    While my husband and I were out Christmas shopping today I showed him your book in Sam’s and said,” I want this for Christmas. He said oh that is the place you go to looking at recipes on the computer all the time”. I said, “Yes, like today when I messed up the fool-proof cinnabuns.” 🙁 Hate when I goof up something that is fool proof. Well, any insight you have would be great. I would share a picture of what they looked like but it is just too sad.

    1. No worries! They take a looooooong time to rise in the fridge. Loooooong time. I put mine in overnight and then still have to take them out and let them rise in a warm place for an hour or so. The cold makes it hard for the yeast to be active. If you wanted to cook them in the morning I’d let them rise at room temp til about doubled and then refrigerate.

      There is definitely hope for the other ones you have. Put them on the counter for an hour or two until doubled then bake.

      Sorry this sounds so short. In car with kids talking my head off but wanted to try to help!
      Gratefully
      Christy

      1. Okay here I go again! 🙂
        I think I figured out my problem from before. I covered them with foil and I don’t think it had a good seal and they got hard in fridge so didn’t rise. They are triple wrapped in saran wrap so keeping my fingers crossed!
        Hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

  5. Just a note, everyone knows that the heat from baking them removes all fat and calories. Right? (Or did I just dream that?) LOL

  6. dying duck fit

    that’s a new one on me- is that like turning himself inside out like he was 2 and got a toy for christmas that he had been begging for? LOL

    what is SO SO sad is that was the key delight in a car show my dad took me to in HS, and we all had to have our pix with it…SIGH, southerners, right? LOL

    LOVE this recipe!

  7. Oh Lordy HOW did I miss this one??????

    These will DEFINITELY be on the holiday breakfast/snack menu FOR SURE. I bet I could also make these for a Thanksgiving Day at mom’s surprise (we will see though since I’m traveling to her house … 6 hours away).

    And I love Bev’s suggestion on the floss – I’ve done that before on other things (log cookies)

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