Cinnabons: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting (Better Than Bakery Cinnabons)

Few things make a house smell better than homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. Soft, buttery dough filled with cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins, and pecans, then topped with a rich cream cheese frosting, makes this one of our favorite weekend treats. Pamela and I spent the afternoon baking these together, and the photos below show each step from mixing the dough to pulling the finished cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven.

preparing the dough

Mixing the sugar and butter

Sprinkling the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Slicing into rolls 

ready to bake the cinnamon rolls 

fresh out of the oven! 

Baking Tips

• For the softest cinnamon rolls, don't rush the rising time. Let the dough double in size before shaping.
• Serve the rolls warm while the cream cheese frosting is still slightly melted.
• Leftover cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container and warmed in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.

This recipe has become one of our favorite homemade treats and is perfect for holiday mornings, family breakfasts, or any time you're craving fresh-baked cinnamon rolls.

cinnamon rolls from scratch

cream cheese frosting

Ingredients:

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 cup of milk

1/3 cup of granulated sugar

1/3 cup of butter

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbs ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. In large mixing bowl combine 2 cups of the flour and yeast; set aside. In a small saucepan heat and stir milk, granulated sugar, 1/3 cup butter, and salt until just warm and butter almost melts; add to flour mixture along with eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 min. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 min total). Shape dough into a ball. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

3. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Lightly grease two 8x8x2 or 9x9x2-inch baking pans or two 9x1 1/2-inch baking pans; set aside.

For filling, stir together brown sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon; using a pastry blender, cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and pecans.

4. Roll each dough half onto a 12x8-inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling over dough, leaving 1 inch unfilled along one of the LONG sides. Roll up each rectangle, starting from the filled long side. Pinch dough to seal seams. Slice each rolled rectangle into 12 equal pieces. Arrange in prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly double in size (about 30 min).

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool about 5 min; remove from pans. Drizzle Cream Cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing:

3-ounce pkg softened cream cheese

2 tbs softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

In small mixing bowl beat ingredients, gradually adding the powdered sugar. Beat in milk 1 teaspoon at a time to reach spreading consistency.

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This recipe is adapted from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. Pamela and I spent the afternoon making them together, and they disappeared almost as quickly as they came out of the oven!