Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

The Best Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

This website contains affiliate links.

Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, Bread By Elise may earn a commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase. Please read our Privacy Policy for more details.

These Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are extra buttery and fluffy, packed with layers of cinnamon-sugar goodness that caramelize to perfection, coating the bottom of each roll, and finished with a luscious cream cheese frosting.

How To Make Perfect Cinnamon Rolls

If you’re looking for soft, gooey, melt-in-your-mouth Cinnamon Rolls that taste like they came from your favorite bakery, this is the recipe for you.

The recipe includes a few extra steps, like a tangzhong and a cold-proof in the fridge, which makes the dough easier to work with. But don’t worry—it’s all super manageable and 100% worth it for the results. Plus, I’ll walk you through every step with tips and tricks to make sure your cinnamon rolls turn out perfect.

Start by making the tangzhong

1. Whisk the flour and milk together in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture thickens into a smooth, paste-like consistency. This only takes a few minutes, so stir constantly to avoid lumps.
2. Once thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl, scraping out every bit of tangzhong (we’ll need all of it for the dough).
3. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let it cool to room temperature before moving on.

Prepare the cinnamon roll dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, instant yeast, and salt (instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated and can be added directly with the dry ingredients).
2. Next, add the wet ingredients: tangzhong, milk, egg, and egg yolk. For the best results, make sure the wet ingredients are around room temperature or slightly warmer at 80°F (27°C).

A note on ingredient temperature: To be precise, heat the milk in a saucepan until it’s exactly 80°F (27°C)—a digital thermometer is your friend here. If the liquids are too warm, the dough can rise too quickly and collapse, leading to denser rolls. If the liquid is too hot, it can kill the yeast. Too cold (like straight from the fridge) will slow down the yeast, making the dough rise slower. I recommend liquids at room temp or slightly warmer, around 80°F (27°C), for optimal yeast activation and a little buffer for any heat from kneading.

3. Turn your stand mixer to low-medium and knead for 10-15 minutes until the dough comes together.
4. Pause the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and dough hook. Turn it back on and add the softened butter, one cube at a time, letting each piece mix in before adding the next.
   If the butter is hard to combine or the dough just spins around the hook, pause the mixer, scrape it down, and restart.
5. Continue kneading for 10-15 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, slightly sticky, and passes the window-pane test (when a small piece of dough can be stretched thin enough to let light pass through without tearing).

First rise + cold proof

Once the dough is kneaded, it’s time for the first rise.

1. Remove the dough from the stand mixer bowl and gently shape it into a round. Place it in a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
2. Let the dough rise at around 80°F (27°C) for 45-60 minutes, until it’s about 60% of its original size. I know percentages can be a bit confusing—just think of 100% as the dough doubling in size, so 60% is slightly over halfway there.
3. Then, transfer the dough to the fridge for at least 2 hours to double in size and firm up. This makes it easier to shape while it continues to rise slowly and double in size.

filling + shaping + final rise

1. Mix the filling ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Remove the dough from the fridge and transfer it to a lightly floured work surface. Roll the dough into an 18×18-inch (45×45 cm) square using a rolling pin.
3. With an offset spatula, spread the filling evenly over the dough, then roll the dough tightly into a log.
4. (Optional) Measure the length of the log, divide by 12, and mark the dough at even intervals for perfectly sized cinnamon rolls.
5. Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife to cut the dough into even rolls.
6. Place the shaped cinnamon rolls in a lined 13×9-inch (33×23 cm) baking pan, and cover with plastic wrap.
7. Let the cinnamon rolls rise for 30-45 minutes, or until they’ve puffed up nicely.

bake + cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and cooked through. To confirm they’re fully cooked, use a digital thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the cinnamon rolls is at least 194°F (90°C). If they start browning too quickly, loosely cover them with foil for the last few minutes of baking.

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, prep the cream cheese frosting. I prefer using an electric hand mixer for this small batch.

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter until slightly lighter in color, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the cream cheese and whisk for another 3 minutes.
3. Gradually add the powdered sugar in thirds, whisking between each addition, and whisk for a couple of minutes until smooth and fully combined.
4. Finally, mix in a pinch of salt and vanilla. Set aside until the cinnamon rolls are ready to be frosted.

And that’s it! The tangzhong helps make these cinnamon rolls super soft, and the cold proof makes shaping way easier, giving you more time to roll out the dough and spread the filling. I hope you love them as much as I do!

Similar Recipes

If you’re looking for more delicious recipes like this one, here are a few I’d like to recommend!