Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

This is the very best homemade cinnamon roll recipe. Moist and gooey, super easy to make, and perfect for a special breakfast. Thank you to Janelle for this Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe!!!

Janelle writes:

Ohhhh Dear…would you look at this. THIS is pure torture for a gluten-free gal. I just can’t think of anything I would rather sink my teeth in, Ladies! Ha! It’s the yeasty, gooey, warm, cream cheesy, cinnamony combination that can send a GF girl like me over the edge…lol.

So, even though I cannot partake in the “eating of the rolls” I still enjoy making them for my family…a very special treat for the special people in my life.

Don’t be intimidated -these are not hard to make! By preparing the dough the night before and sticking them in the refrigerator saves tons of time in the morning. Just pop em in the oven and voila! Freshly baked cinnamon rolls!

4 large egg yolks and 1 large whole egg….room temperature. I placed cold eggs in a bowl of luke warm water to get them to room temp.

Beat together sugar, butter, and “buttermilk” {I used regular milk and added 1/2 tsp of white vinegar}

Add 1 package of instant dry yeast and salt. Oh, would you look at that…gluten free. Bahaaa!!!!!!

Also add in 2 cups of flour and beat until combined.

Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead. You can use a mixer attachment or your good ole fashioned hands on a floured surface. Just push forward and roll back until combined.

Roll dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Oil the top of the dough and cover with plastic wrap and let sit to rise for 2 hours. It will double in size.

On a floured work surface, roll out dough into a horizontal rectangle. Make your cinnamon filling but combining brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Brush dough with butter everywhere but the outer edges. Sprinkle filling onto of dough.

Flour your hands and slowly roll up into a cylinder. Even thicker parts by squeezing with your hands.

Slice with a serrated knife into 1 1/2 inch rolls.

Place cut side down in a buttered 9×13. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Remove rolls from the refrigerator and place in your oven {don’t turn your oven on}. Place a bowl of boiling water on the rack below. Close the door and let those rolls rise for 30 mins. Remove the rolls and the bowl of water. Pre-heat oven to 350. Bake for 30 mins until golden. Ahhhh….

Start making your frosting by combining cream cheese, milk, and powdered sugar. Beat well until nice and creamy. Guess what? I can eat frosting, it’s gluten free….If I remember correctly, I think I fought a child to lick one of those beaters! hahaha…

Spoon on frosting when the rolls are still nice and hot.

Then it melts…perfectly…over the rolls…

Enjoy with your families this Christmas morning and for many Christmas mornings to come!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Prep time:  
Cook time:  
Total time:  Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • Dough:
  • 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1 large whole egg, room temperature
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 6 Tbsp butter, melted
  • ¾ cup buttermilk, room temperature {you can also use regular milk and add ½ tsp of vinegar OR lemon juice to your milk}
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour,plus additional for dusting
  • 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2¼ teaspoons
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt
  • Vegetable oil or cooking spray
  • Filling:
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar, approximately
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • Pinch salt
  • 1½ Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
  • Icing:
  • ¼ cup cream cheese, softened
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. For the dough: Beat together the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk.
  2. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; beat until moistened and combined.
  3. Add all but ¾ cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes-you can do this with your hands or if you are using a stand up mixer, change to a dough hook.
  4. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds.
  5. Lightly oil a large bowl.
  6. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2½ hours.
  7. Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl.
  8. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
  9. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish.
  10. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface.
  11. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you.
  12. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle.
  13. Brush the dough with the ¾-ounce of melted butter, leaving ½-inch border along the top edge.
  14. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a ¾-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough.
  15. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder.
  16. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness.
  17. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1½-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.
  18. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off.
  19. Fill a shallow pan or bowl ⅔-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes.
  20. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.
  21. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  22. When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.
  23. While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy.
  24. Add the milk and whisk until combined.
  25. Sift in the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth.
  26. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.

Signature

*Janelle is a woman who is dependent upon Jesus, a mom, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and an advocate for meal ministry. You can find her displaying step-by-step photos of her recipes, giving devotionals, and sharing meal ministry stories on her blog. You can follow Janelle’s blog at ComfyInTheKitchen.com.

11 Comments

  1. This year I will be trying the cinnamon rolls recipe on the side of Bob’s Red Mills brand PIZZA dough package. I haven’t made the rolls before but we frequently make the homemade pizza crust for my son who is gluten, egg, soy & milk allergic. (They have ingredient substitute suggestions on the side that taste great). Even my extended family says the pizza crust “tastes normal”. 🙂 So just a suggestion to get around the gluten issue.

  2. I use dental floss to cut my cinnamon rolls (be sure it is not mint flavored!). My old recipe calls for using it, you put it under your roll of dough, then criss cross it up top to cut. Makes perfect cuts every time! Your recipe looks fantastic!

  3. I am a newbie baker when it comes to “yeast” things. I have been afraid to try. So I tried this recipe, and perhaps most people know this, but I didn’t know when to add the remaining 3/4 flour from step 3. Is that extra for dusting the surface or is it supposed to go in the dough at some point?

  4. Hi Janelle,
    In reading the recipe you say add all but 3/4 cup of the flour to mixture. Where does the
    remaining flour get added or is that for sprinkling? Confused.

    Rhonda

  5. Wouldn’t these contain gluten unless you used a gluten-free flour? Regular all-purpose flour is made from wheat which contains gluten, right?

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