Breakfast

Easy Cinnamon Rolls

Make these easy cinnamon rolls for breakfast and serve with some fresh brewed coffee. Soft and gooey with a delicious cream cheese frosting.

To recipe
easy cinnamon rolls in a baking pan
Recipe insights & TIPS

These delicious cinnamon rolls are the perfect breakfast treat with a cup of fresh brewed coffee on the side. Soft with a heavy swirl of cinnamon, brown sugar and butter in the center, these will always be a favorite.

easy cinnamon rolls in a baking pan

With just a few ingredients needed to make this recipe, the most important is time. These are yeast based cinnamon rolls so I like to use quick rise yeast. This means the time from the first rise to going in the oven is only about an hour and a half. That's not very long considering at the end your reward is a dozen soft and slightly gooey cinnamon rolls.

Once the rolls have cooled just slightly, you can add a thick spread of homemade cream cheese frosting on top and let the frosting find its way into the center of each roll for the perfect bite!

FAQ's about making this recipe

Can I make these ahead of time? I would say no, they are best served warm and on the day of baking.

Are they really sweet? The buns are more heavy on the cinnamon flavor, the frosting is like a regular cream cheese frosting, buttery, delicious and sweet.

Is there a difference between a cinnamon bun and a cinnamon roll? Cinnamon buns are flipped upside down when baked and the bottoms are glazed. Cinnamon rolls are frosted on the top side.

Tips for making these cinnamon rolls

  • Use quick rise yeast for a faster rise time.
  • I like to use my oven for proofing the dough, just switch the oven on for 5 minutes and then switch it back off. Place the cinnamon rolls into the oven where it should be just warm enough to help them rise.
  • I prefer to use salted butter.
  • When you roll the dough into a cylinder shape, make sure to keep it tight so the filling can't escape when baking.
  • These are best eaten when they are freshly baked and still warm.
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Recipe

Delicious and light, these fresh baked cinnamon rolls are a fantastic sweet breakfast treat on any morning!

Course:
Breakfast
COOKing TIME:
20 minutes
Total TIME:
170 minutes
CUISINE:
American
PREP TIME:
150 minutes
SERVINGS:
12

Ingredients

  • ½ box yellow cake mix (8oz)
  • 2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ cups warm water
  • 1 envelope quick rise yeast
  • 1 4oz stick softened butter, plus extra to grease the baking pan
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tbsp cinnamon
  • 8 ounce cream cheese, softened
  • 2 ounce soft butter
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 cups powdered sugar

Ingredient Swaps

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with butter.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with a dough hook add the flour and cake mix.
  3. In a small bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
  4. With the machine on low speed, slowly add the water and yeast to the flour mix.
  5. Let the dough mix and come together for 3-4 minutes then cover with a towel.
  6. Let it rise for about an hour until almost double in size.
  7. Dust your table with flour and dump the dough onto it.
  8. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 15 inches x 10 inches.
  9. Spread the butter generously over the dough.
  10. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter followed by the cinnamon.
  11. Starting at the top end of the dough, begin to roll it up tightly into a cylinder shape.
  12. Once rolled make sure it's evenly sized and then cut it into 12 even pieces.
  13. Place the pieces into the prepared pan in a 4 x 3 formation, swirl side facing up.
  14. Cover again and store in a warm place until the buns are larger and just touching each other in the pan.
  15. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  16. Make the frosting by beating the cream cheese and butter together.
  17. Add the syrup and powdered sugar and mix until soft and creamy.
  18. Spread the frosting on top of each cinnamon roll, you will have extra frosting left which can be stored in the fridge for the next batch.
  19. Eat on the same day and cover any leftovers.
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