Simply The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe . (2024)

This Cinnamon Rolls recipe is incredible. Every single time I make them my knees go weak. Although not native to the UK these soft and fluffy cinnamon treats smothered with cream cheese icing have been adopted by all of us completely and totally. Try not to fall in love with them I dare you.

Cinnamon is without doubt my favourite spice and along with these Danish Cinnamon Rolls , this is my very favourite way of eating it. No spice speaks to me more.

The smell of them baking in a home is enough to conjure Santa himself, sitting on your sofa, drinking Hot Chocolate with sprinkles, whilst Rudolph is asleep on the back door mat.

*There is a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post*

Ingredients

400 grams (15.9 oz) Plain Flour - This produces a softer crumb than strong bread flour so is preferable but not essential. I have often made them with bread flour.

60 grams ( 2.1 oz) Unsalted Butter - You can use salted (not for the cinnamon paste or for brushing the buns though ) and just omit the ¼ tsp of salt in the ingredients. Baking Spread will not do here.

70 grams Sugar (2.5 oz) - I use caster or granulated for the bun mix and light brown sugar for the cinnamon paste.

150 mls Milk - I use semi skimmed because that is what I have in my fridge but full fat milk is fine too.

quarter of a tsp Salt - I use fine salt here.

1 Egg - Large

14 grams (2 x 7 grams - 0.5 oz) Yeast - Instant dried yeast is my preference but fresh yeast is always fabulous to use and I think gives a better flavour, it's just not as easy to get hold of. But if using then double the weight of the dried yeast and add a bit more, so it will be about 17 grams of fresh yeast.

Cinnamon Paste

2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon - standard spice that's found in all supermarkets.

70 grams Sugar (2.5 oz) - Light Brown Sugar is best but any sugar will do.

110 grams (3.9oz) butter - soft

For The Icing

120 grams (1 cup) Icing Sugar

40 grams (1.4 oz) soft butter

110 grams (4oz) cream cheese (full fat)

Method

I do tend to make bread and yeasty bun thingys in my food mixer with a dough hook. It is easier and I'm all for that, aren't you?

You can make it though by hand with a wooden spoon and large mixing bowl, it will just be harder work and require a good amount of kneading until it becomes easier to handle.

Preparing the wet ingredients

• Firstly warm the milk up until it is just ready to bubble and then take it off the heat and add the sugar stirring until it has dissolved. I add the butter and let it melt in there. If it ends up boiling then leave it to cool for five minutes before adding the egg. You don't want the egg to scramble.
• Then add the beaten egg to the saucepan and set aside to cool a little. You can pour it carefully into a jug for ease of pouring later.

See Also

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Mixing the dough

• Add the dry ingredients to the bowl, keeping the yeast and salt separate. Then add the liquid to the dry ingredients with the mixer running slowly at first and then on a medium speed. Alternatively mix with a wooden spoon.
• Let the dough hook do it's work for about 5-8 minutes on a medium speed until the dough is smooth. It it is still too wet then add a tbsp of flour or two and if it is too dry then add a tbsp or two of water and just keep mixing until it evens out. It will be tacky.

First prove

• Oil around the bowl, cover in clingfilm and leave somewhere warm to nearly double in size. This can sometimes take up to 2 hours. Usually if your place is warm it will be an hour.

Cinnamon Sugar

• Mix all the cinnamon filling together in a bowl or jug. Make sure the butter is soft. A soup spoon is perfect to combine it all. Plenty of smooshing as well as stirring if you get my drift.
• Set aside

• After the dough has doubled in size knock the air out of it with your fist and roll it out on a floured work surface to about 12" by 9 " rectangle.

• I don't worry too much about getting the perfect rectangle but that is just me. I am a casual/lazy ass cook.
• Spread the cinnamon sugar paste directly onto the dough with a knife or spatula. Flipping yum.
• I leave about ¾ inch gap all around the rectangle.

Rolling & cutting the dough

• Roll up tightly like a giant cigar lengthways.

• Cut evenly into 8 sections (1 and a half inches).
• I use cotton thread to cut them into sections, it work's sooo well. A very pleasurable experience. You simply lie the cotton underneath the roll and swap the ends of the cotton to the opposite hand and pull. Squeal!

• I do measure the rolls to get them roughly even.
• If cutting with a knife then use a sharp knife and try not to squash the dough as you cut.

Second Prove

• Cover with oiled clingfilm/plastic wrap and place them side by side in a tin about 9" x 12" or something with the similar area.

I love how the dough puffs/swells up and you can see all the layers developing

Baking

• Bake at 160 C fan/180 C/350 F/Gas Mark 4 for about 25/30 minutes until golden brown and your house feels like Xmas.
• If the tops start to catch then cover with loose silver foil.

• Allow to cool in the tin.

Icing

• Make the icing by simply mixing the icing sugar cream cheese and butter very well together.

• I use a whisk and sieve in the icing sugar.
• You can make the icing thicker by adding more icing sugar. It should spread like soft butter.

• You could add flavourings such as vanilla or caramel to the icing however I would rather chew my foot off.
• Slather it over those incredible cinnamon rolls baby.

Can I Make Them The Day Before?

Yes you can and I often do.

I often make cinnamon rolls the day before I want to bake them, making them up to the point where I'm putting them in the baking tin in slices ready for the second prove.

I cover them in clingfilm and put them in the fridge overnight ready to be pulled out an hour before I want to finally bake them.

Can I Freeze Them?

Yes you can. I make them as above until the start of the second prove whereupon I place them on a baking tray as above pic, in their individual swirls to freeze hard (flash freeze) for about an hour.

Then I put them in freezer bags (I double the bags up so as to prevent freezer burn) or put in a stout plastic container. They will freeze well for up to a month.

When you want them, take them out of the bags, place in your baking tray and leave covered lightly with greased/oiled clingfilm (plastic wrap) for 10 hours or so to thaw and then prove. Overnight is the way I usually do it. Get up and check them early though. Definitely don't have a lie in!

Tips

• Make sure your yeast is in date! Easy to overlook.
• Quick, Fast Action, Instant or Easy Blend Yeast is the type that I find the easiest to use. If you are using fresh yeast then use double the amount that is in the recipe.
• If your dough is too wet then add a couple of tbsps of flour and if too dry then add a couple of tbsp of water or milk. It needs to be tacky even when finished mixing. The wetter the dough the kinda lighter and fluffier the buns will be.
• To get ahead you can make these up to the second prove in the muffin tray, cover and leave in the fridge overnight (see above)
• When rolling the dough up lengthways take time to keep the cigar as tight as you can.
• Measure the cigar and divide into 8 so as to get even thickness.
• Use a sharp knife or cotton to cut the rolls without squashing the dough.
• You can absolutely use bread flour.

More Easy Enriched Dough Recipes

Iced Buns

Danish PastryCinnamon Rolls

Pain au Chocolat

Yum Yums

Apple and Blackberry Kuchen

Do let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love a good old hairy chinwag.