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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

These are the very best homemade cinnamon rolls with delicious cream cheese frosting. They are perfect for a special brunch or holiday.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 16
Author Donna
Cost $4

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 2 cups Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 packages Active Dry Yeast 0.25 Ounce Packets
  • 4 cups plus 1/2 Cup Extra, Separated All-purpose Flour
  • 1/2 heaping teaspoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Salt

Filling:

  • 1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter melted
  • 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar or use 2/3 cup total granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • Optional: Pecans Walnuts, or raisins

Cream Cheese Frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened
  • 1/2 cup buttern softened
  • 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

To Make your Dough:

  • Preheat your oven to 375˚F
  • Warm your milk. You can do this 2 ways, I honestly haven't seen a difference in quality so I chose the second option, it is much faster:
    1. Heat the milk mixture on low/medium to just about boiling (but not boiling). Take off the heat and let the milk cool until it is warm. It can take up to an hour for the milk to cool to warm.
    2. Heat the milk mixture on low/medium until it is warm. Stirring occasionally. Once it is warm, turn off the heat and move on to the next step without waiting.
  • Once your milk is warm you want to sprinkle your yeast on top
  • Let it sit for about 1 minute.
  • Add in 4 cups of flour.
  • Mix until just combined (do not over stir)
  • Cover the bowl and set it aside to rise for 1 hour.
  • After 1 hour add in the additional 1/2 cups of flour and mix until combined.

Mix the Filling

  • In a small bowl, using a hand mixer, mix the butter, sugars, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.

Roll Out the Dough

  • Place your dough onto a well floured surface. Roll your dough out into a rectangle about 15 inches long.
  • Take your melted butter and liberally brush on the dough. Next, sprinkle on your cinnamon sugar filling mixture. Make sure to get the filling all the way to the edges.
  • Optional: Add your nuts or raisins. Just sprinkle some on top of the cinnamon mixture.

Roll Cinnamon Rolls

  • Roll your cinnamon rolls towards you starting on a long end. Some filling may seep out the sides, that's ok, there's still plenty filling inside. Try not to make the rolls too tight, we want fluffy soft cinnamon rolls when we're done. Pinch together the seam at the end.
  • With the seam side down begin cutting your cinnamon rolls about 1 - 1 1/2 inches thick.
  • Add a generous amount of melted butter into your baking pans and brush them well, covering them well.
  • Place your cinnamon rolls in your pans. I often use 8" round pans that give me space to put about 7 rolls in each pan. You want to leave space around each roll so that they can rise... trust me they will rise even more!
  • Cover with a towel and let your cinnamon rolls rise for at least 30 minutes.
  • Once the rolls have risen, place pans in a pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes. They should be a light golden brown color.

Make Your Cream Cheese Frosting

  • With a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
  • Add in the vanilla.
  • Turn the speed to low and slowly add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
  • Mix until fluffy.
  • Once your cinnamon rolls have cooled and are barely warm you can pour or spread your frosting over the top.