Cinnamon Rolls With Icing

These cinnamon rolls with icing are always a delightfully decadent Sunday morning (or holiday) breakfast for the whole family! Classic cinnamon rolls are easy to make and filled with rich flavors! Whether you grew up calling these amazing comfort food rolls 'cinnamon buns' or 'cinnamon scrolls,' they're always a treat!

Use your leftovers in my cinnamon roll casserole or bread pudding!

Jump to:

• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🔪 How To Make Cinnamon Rolls With Icing
• 💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
• 🥡 Storing & Reheating
• ❓ Recipe FAQs
• 🧇 Sweet Breakfast Treats
• 📖 Recipe Card
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

These cinnamon rolls are perfectly suited to those mornings when the kids are sleeping in, and you can treat them to the aroma of fresh-baked cinnamon rolls. Of course, starting any day out with the gooey deliciousness of soft cinnamon rolls made from scratch is an unbeatable treat!

Now, there is a great debate over cinnamon rolls...do you top them with my vanilla icing (as shown here) or cream cheese icing?

I'm the only one with a strong preference in our home, as I'm not wildly in love with all cream cheese-based frostings. So, if my husband or daughter really wanted cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing, they'd better get busy and make their own.

To be fair to everyone, I have included the vanilla icing and cream cheese icing options in the classic cinnamon rolls recipe instructions below.

🥘 Ingredients

My homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing are made with flour, yeast, sugar, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, butter, and salt. I like to add ground cinnamon to the cinnamon roll dough as well.

Your icing for cinnamon rolls will vary on taste, but the two most popular icings are either vanilla icing or cream cheese icing.

Cinnamon Rolls

• Flour - 4½ cups of all-purpose flour (divided into 4 cup and ½ cup portions). Make sure you measure the flour properly using the spoon and level method. If desired, you could swap this out for bread flour.
• Active Dry Yeast - 2¼ teaspoons of active dry yeast (1 packet).
• Sugar - ½ cup of sugar. You will need an additional tablespoon of sugar if you are activating the yeast in a stand mixer (instead of by hand or in a food processor).
• Milk - 1 cup of warm milk or half & half. You want the milk to be approximately 105°F (40°C), which can be achieved by popping it in the microwave for about 1 minute.
• Eggs - 2 large, room temperature eggs.
• Butter - 6 tablespoons of salted butter that have been melted and cooled.
• Vanilla - ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract.
• Salt - 1 teaspoon of salt.
• Cinnamon - 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Cinnamon Roll Filling

• Butter - 6 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and cooled.
• Brown Sugar - 1 cup of brown sugar, packed. You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
• Cinnamon - 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.

Vanilla Icing

• Butter - 4 tablespoons of salted butter, melted and then cooled.
• Confectioners' Sugar - 2 cups of powdered sugar.
• Vanilla - 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. For white icing, you'll want to use a vanilla extract that is clear in color.

Cream Cheese Icing

• Cream Cheese - 4 ounces of cream cheese (half of an 8-ounce block).
• Butter - ¼ cup of salted butter, softened at room temperature.
• Confectioners' Sugar - 1 cup of powdered sugar.
• Vanilla - 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
• Heavy Cream - 1½ tablespoons of heavy cream, half & half, or whole milk.

*Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!*

🔪 How To Make Cinnamon Rolls With Icing

Don't let the number of instructions intimidate you if you are new to making cinnamon rolls! I have broken down the instructions into methods, including using a food processor (so easy!), a stand mixer, or mixing the dough by hand. Make your dough using one of these methods, then continue on to the kneading instructions below.

For these cinnamon rolls, you will need a food processor, stand mixer, mixing bowl, smaller mixing bowls, and a baking dish.

This recipe will make 12 gooey and delicious cinnamon rolls.

Make Cinnamon Roll Dough Using A Food Processor

1. Combine. In the bowl of your food processor, combine the cinnamon roll ingredients (4 cups of flour, 2¼ teaspoons of active yeast, ½ cup of sugar, 1 cup of warmed milk (105ºF / 40ºC), 2 large eggs, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon) without adding the salt directly onto the yeast. Salt can retard yeast activation.
2. Pulse. Combine the ingredients by pulsing the food processor just until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
3. Transfer. The dough will be tacky and stick to the food processor bowl, use oiled fingers or a spatula to remove the dough to your generously floured (½ cup flour) working surface.

Make Cinnamon Roll Dough Using A Stand Mixer

1. Proof. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 cup of warmed milk (105ºF / 40ºC), 2¼ teaspoons of yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar (additional portion to ingredients above) to activate the yeast. Allow the yeast to proof until frothy in appearance, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix. Add ½ cup of sugar, 2 large eggs, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, and ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract and combine using your dough hook attachment. Add 4 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and stir using the dough hook attachment at low speed until combined.
3. Finish mixing. Continue mixing at low speed (setting 2), kneading the cinnamon roll dough for 3 minutes. The dough should begin to cling to the dough hook in a ball, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. *If your dough is too sticky, gradually add 1 tablespoon portions of additional flour at a time and continue kneading on the low speed setting 2.
4. Transfer. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured working surface.

Make Cinnamon Roll Dough By Mixing By Hand

1. Proof. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of warmed milk (105ºF / 40ºC), 2¼ teaspoons of yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar and allow the yeast to activate until frothy in appearance, about 5 minutes.
2. Stir. Add ½ cup of sugar, 2 large eggs, 6 tablespoons of melted butter, and ½ tablespoon of vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add 1 teaspoon of both salt and cinnamon and the first 2 cups (of the 4 cups) of flour. Stir until the flour is incorporated into the wet ingredients.
3. Continue to mix. Add the next 2 cups of flour to the bowl (this is hard to mix!) OR turn out your dough into the remaining 2½ cup portion of flour on your working surface (this is my preferred method).
4. Make a ball. Work the flour into the dough until you have a somewhat tacky ball of dough that is easy to handle.

Continue Making the Cinnamon Rolls

1. Knead. Knead your cinnamon roll dough on a lightly floured surface for 5-10 minutes (dough that was started in a stand mixer does not need to be kneaded as long, about 3-5 minutes). Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and formed into a ball.
2. Rise. Place the kneaded dough into a well-greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover with a damp cloth and set in a warm place to rise. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *If your house is not warm, or you are having difficulty getting the dough to rise, you can place your bowl with the dough in the oven with a pan of hot water below it. Turning on the oven light also helps the rising process.
3. Punch down. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the center of the risen dough down about halfway and turn out to a lightly floured working surface.
4. Roll out the dough. Roll the dough out into a (roughly) rectangular shape, approximately 12x24 inches in size and ¼ inch in thickness. *Your dough edges can be trimmed, if desired, to a more rectangular shape before rolling up the dough. I skip this and place the first two rolls from each end into a smaller baking dish with my center 8 going into the 9x13 pan.

Add the Filling & Bake

1. Coat with butter. Spread 6 tablespoons of melted butter (from the cinnamon roll filling) on the rolled-out dough, leaving approximately a 1-inch border on the 24-inch long end (or side) to seal up the rolled cinnamon roll dough.
2. Make the filling. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture over the sheet of dough that was buttered. Beginning on the opposite 24-inch long end, roll the dough up tightly and pinch the non-buttered end to seal up the roll.
3. Cut. Using a sharp knife or unflavored plain dental floss, cut into approximately 2-inch portions or 12-15 cinnamon rolls. *If using dental floss, use a long enough piece to work with. A piece of floss that is cut too short will make the cutting of the cinnamon rolls harder than it needs to be 🙂 trust me, I know from experience!
4. Bake. Bake your cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven at 350ºF (175ºC) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before frosting with one of my two icing recipes below.

Vanilla Icing For Cinnamon Rolls

1. Mix. In a small bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of melted butter with 2 cups of confectioners sugar and 2 teaspoons of clear vanilla until smooth and spreadable. More sugar can be added if the icing is too thin, or a bit of warm water can be used to reach the desired icing consistency if the icing is too thick.
2. Serve. Spread the vanilla icing on slightly cooled cinnamon rolls and serve them while warm.

Cream Cheese Icing for Cinnamon Rolls

1. Mix. In a small or medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together 4 ounces of cream cheese, ¼ cup of softened butter, 1 cup of confectioners sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and 1½ tablespoons of heavy cream (or milk) using a hand mixer until the icing is smooth and creamy. A pinch of salt can be added to the icing to taste, if desired.
2. Serve. Spread the cream cheese icing on slightly cooled cinnamon rolls and serve them while warm.

Cinnamon rolls make a fantastic Sunday breakfast or for special occasions such as Mother's Day or Christmas! Of course, they are also super tasty the rest of the year! Enjoy!

💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes

• Activating Yeast with Warm Milk: It's crucial to warm your milk to the right temperature for yeast activation. Aim for about 105°F (40°C). Be cautious not to overheat the milk, as too high a temperature can kill the yeast.
• Avoiding Salt and Cinnamon on Yeast: When adding salt and cinnamon, ensure they don't come into direct contact with the yeast. Both ingredients can slow down or retard yeast activation, so distribute them carefully in the mixture.
• Room Temperature Eggs: For optimal yeast rising, use eggs that are at room temperature. This helps the yeast function properly and contributes to a better rise in your dough.
• Adding Flavor and Texture: To enhance the flavor and texture of your dough, consider sprinkling raisins, chopped pecans, or walnuts over the filling before rolling up the dough. This adds a delightful sweetness and crunch to your finished product.

🥡 Storing & Reheating

Use your leftover cinnamon rolls in my amazing cinnamon roll bread pudding for a fantastic dessert!

Tightly wrap individual rolls in plastic wrap or place them into an airtight container. This way, they can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days (with cream cheese frosting), 5 days (with vanilla icing), or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Reheating

Reheat single cinnamon rolls in the microwave and cover them with a damp paper towel. To reheat a full treat of cinnamon rolls, pop them in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for 10-15 minutes.

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❓ Recipe FAQs

🧇 Sweet Breakfast Treats

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• Panettone Cherry French Toast Casserole - An incredibly decadent twist on French toast that features chocolate chip bread, cherry pie filling, and oatmeal streusel!
• Cinnamon Sugar Baked Donuts - Tasty baked donuts are coated in sweet cinnamon sugar!
• Blueberry Cream Cheese Scones - Perfectly baked scones are loaded with blueberries and topped with vanilla icing!
• Chocolate Pancakes - A rich and indulgent spin on classic homemade pancakes!
• Banana Nut Muffins - Moist and tender muffins that are full of bananas and walnuts!

📖 Recipe Card