Impossibly Soft Cinnamon Rolls (with Cream Cheese Frosting)
Updated Dec 19, 2024
This cinnamon roll recipe makes ultra soft, squishy cinnamon rolls. They’re 10/10 foolproof and always tender with my 4 pro tricks!
Soft, Tender Cinnamon Roll Recipe
This is my ultimate tested-till-perfect cinnamon roll recipe for soft, tender cinnamon rolls.
A swirl of soft bun, gooey buttery brown sugar and cinnamon filling, and my fluffy cream cheese icing recipe. Is there anything better than a cinnamon roll hot from the oven?
Done exactly as written, these homemade cinnamon rolls turn out heavenly every time. This is my go-to recipe for Christmas and Easter morning, and many, many mornings in between.
A few simple tricks are what sets this recipe apart from the pack. You’ll never look back.
4 Science-Backed Tips for the Softest Cinnamon Rolls
- Use a stand mixer. The dough is very wet and sticky, won’t form an actual ball, and kneading by hand will be difficult without adding more flour. More flour will dry out your buns.
- Weigh the flour, as the few extra tablespoons added by scooping compacted flour straight from the bag can also change the final product.
- Don’t overbake. The buns will be about 190ºF. I use a meat thermometer to check. No sweat if you don’t have a thermometer. As long as they aren’t sticky-doughy, they’re done.
- And my FAV. I’m obsessed with this LIFE-CHANGING tip for FOOLPROOF deliriously-soft cinnamon rolls: Pour some extra milk into the bottom of the pan after you place the rolls in. The milk adds moisture, keeping the buns soft and squishy as they bake. It creates steam so that an outer crust doesn’t form too quickly and the dough can expand to it’s ✨maximum volume and fluffiness✨. The dough slurps up the extra milk as it bakes. None will be left in the pan. You’re simply left with the most pillowy-soft cinnamon buns of your life.
Want to make your cinnamon rolls in advance so you can just pop them in the oven in the morning? You can definitely do it! But to make them as perfect and delicious, use my tricks.
There are two problems with making cinnamon rolls in advance. The first is that even though yeast is still active in the fridge, the dough is such a rich one that the rise is slow. The rolls won’t rise as much overnight as they would on the counter.
The second problem is that cold dough will bake unevenly. The tops will be very dark brown while the middle rolls are still raw and doughy. Gross.
The TRICK is to bring the rolls to room temperature quickly and allow them to finish their second rise in the morning before you bake them. See below.
How to Make Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Prepare the dough up until the second rise. After placing the rolls in the pan and covering with a clean towel, transfer them to the fridge.
- In the morning, lift the parchment out of the baking pan and separate the unbaked cinnamon rolls on the counter. Taking them out of the cold pan and separating them massively speeds up the time to get them to room temperature and finish rising. Plan for 1 hour on the counter to achieve this.
- Once the rolls are at room temperature and doubled in volume from yesterday (take a pic of them before you refrigerate if you’re unsure), put them back in a parchment-lined baking pan and bake as usual. The time will be the same.
Can I Freeze This Cinnamon Roll Recipe?
Baked cinnamon rolls freeze extremely well. Separate them (unfrosted) and freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. Once firm, pack into airtight storage bags or containers for up to 2 months.
Pop one in the microwave for 20-second intervals, flipping upside down then right-side-up, until warm.
Alternatively, freeze the whole unfrosted pan of baked cinnamon rolls and rewarm in a 300ºF oven, covered tightly with foil, until warmed through (expect about an hour).
TIP: tap the “metric “ button in the recipe card to see the cinnamon roll recipe with weight measurements.
Impossibly Soft Cinnamon Roll Recipe (+ Cream Cheese Frosting!)
Ingredients
For Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast (see notes to substitute active dry yeast)
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup warm milk 110°F – 120°F
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
For the Filling:
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
Cream Cheese Frosting (Optional)
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Additional:
- ¼ cup milk for baking pan
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- In a large bowl or stand mixer, stir together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. TIP: tap the “metric “ button in my recipe card to see weight measurements.
- In another bowl, mix the warm milk, melted butter, and eggs.
- Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and stir it together to form a shaggy dough.
- Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 7-10 minutes by hand or 4 minutes with a stand mixer with a dough hook attached on medium-low speed. The dough will initially be sticky; refrain from adding more flour as it will absorb moisture while resting.
- Let the dough rise in a greased, covered bowl in a warm place for about 30-45 minutes.
To Make the Filling:
- Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
To Assemble:
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a 12×16-inch rectangle.
- Spread the softened butter over the dough, then evenly sprinkle with the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture.
- Roll the dough tightly from the long edge and cut into 8 even slices.
- Place in a greased 9×13-inch baking pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let them rise again for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
To Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Just before baking, remove the plastic wrap and pour ¼ cup of milk around the rolls into the bottom of baking dish.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, covering with foil or parchment after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Bake until golden brown and they reach 190ºF with a meat thermometer.
To Make the Frosting (Optional):
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt in a bowl until smooth.
- Spread the frosting on warm buns for a melty, gooey frosting, or wait until completely cool if you prefer frosting not to melt.
Notes
Overnight Option:
Prep the rolls up to the second rise, then cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, lift the parchment out and separate the cold rolls on the counter so they warm up and finish rising. Once they’re puffy and at room temperature, put them back in the pan and bake as usual.To use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast:
- Replace the 2 ¼ tsp of instant yeast with the same amount of active dry yeast.
- Dissolve the active dry yeast in the warm milk (110°F – 120°F) and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy.
- Then, proceed with mixing the warm milk and yeast mixture with the melted butter and eggs. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and continue with the original instructions to form the dough, knead, and let it rise as directed. This extra step ensures the yeast activates properly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
First cinnamon buns I’ve ever made that turned out as promised. Thank you so much for this recipe and all your tips. My husband is thrilled, he loves cinnamon buns.
Absolutely fantastic. Pillowy soft, as my husband put it. The frosting isn’t too sugary; it’s just the right level of sweetness to add a balanced touch to the cinnamon rolls.
Delicious!!! As advertised – very pillowy soft rolls just like we want them.
Your notes were sooo helpful! Thank you 🙂
Hi! I’ve made these and they are perfection. I was wondering what would happen if I used exactly this dough recipe except add spices and raisins to the dough and make buns instead for hot cross buns. Would follow the same bake time and add milk to pan before baking. Do you think it would be okay or a total disaster? 😁
Hi Jeanette, we are TOTALLY on the same wavelength! I already made and posted the exact recipe you’re looking for, with raisins, orange zest and hot cross bun spices: https://foodess.com/impossibly-soft-cinnamon-raisin-rolls/ They’re SO good!
These turned out super delicious, soft and fluffy! I appreciated how easy the steps were but also the time it took to make these…worth it. We didn’t opt for a cream cheese icing (I forgot to but the cream cheese) but will be freezing some to try with it later. For now I just made a simple frosting with icing sugar and milk. Either way…my family devoured half the tray in no time!
These look amazing! I’m making the dough now and will do the overnight steps for the second rise. I see under those instructions that you mention a parchment lined pan – do you still use the parchment if adding milk to the bottom of the pan during the bake?
Hi Shannon, yes I still use the parchment paper! It makes cleanup much easier of the sticky filling.
I made these and they were fantastic! All your tips and notes really made a difference. Thank you for the work you put in to help us get the recipe to turn out perfectly! Will definitely make them again for my family!!!
Hi Donna, your comment gave me goosebumps! What a beautiful thing to say, you’re so kind, I really appreciate that you appreciate my OCD-level recipe testing 🙂
So fluffy and well hydrated! YUM!!
Thank you, Sara! You’re so kind to come back and comment 🙂
These took some time but were well worth it. My family loved them and said they were the best cinnamon rolls they had ever had. I’m going to try to bake some and freeze them for Christmas morning.
These look so good! I’d love to try them but I can’t eat gluten. Any recommendations on converting to a gluten free recipe? I’m assuming it’s more complicated than just substituting gluten free flour for the regular all-purpose.
Hi Julie,
My best friend is gluten-free and cinnamon rolls are the thing she misses the most so I feel you! Substituting 1:1 gluten-free flour that contains xanthan gum can work, but gluten-free doughs tend to be stickier and harder to handle. You might need extra flour for rolling or shaping.
Xanthan gum or a similar binder mimics the elasticity and structure gluten provides in regular flour. Look for blends labeled “1:1” or “cup-for-cup” designed for baking.
As much as I’d love for you to try my recipe,I’d really hate for you to put the work in and not have them turn out. Maybe check out this recipe designed specifically to be GF: https://theloopywhisk.com/2023/02/04/gluten-free-cinnamon-rolls/ – I haven’t tried it but I love her beautiful content on IG and her recipes look delicious!