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Hayley’s Famous Cinnamon Rolls are famous for good reason. These warm, ooey, gooey, buttery brown sugar cinnamon rolls with cream cheese icing are literally the perfect cinnamon rolls. I am sharing step-by-step instructions on how to make homemade cinnamon rolls.
We love the Foster Family. They are one of those families who are always out serving and doing things for others. I love how Stephanie has her kids raise their own money for whatever camps or activities they want to participate in. I have seen their son mow many lawns, sell homemade bread, and Hayley is definitely known for her famous cinnamon rolls around these parts. Everyone clamors to buy these coveted cinnamon rolls.
They are always examples to us of teaching kids how to work while learning a new skill. I am also grateful for Hayley sharing this perfect cinnamon roll recipe with us.
Cinnamon rolls are my Mom’s love language. Every single birthday, all she wants is a big ‘ol cinnamon roll all to herself. I consider her a cinnamon roll connoisseur and when she used the words — phenomenal and out-of-this-world to describe Hayley’s Famous Cinnamon Rolls, I knew we had a winner. These are seriously the BEST cinnamon rolls ever. I have tested and tested and tested again a lot of recipes and these famous cinnamon rolls take the top prize.
This makes a LARGE batch of cinnamon rolls. Feel free to half the recipe if you want to make only 7-8 cinnamon rolls.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients:
This homemade cinnamon roll recipe is made with a sweet dough rolled out and spread with a butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon and baked until warm and gooey. The cinnamon rolls are topped with a sweet cream cheese frosting.
CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH:
- Warm Milk (about 110 degrees)
- Instant Yeast
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Butter (melted)
- Salt
- Flour
Brown Sugar Filling:
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla
How to make the best cinnamon rolls:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 90 seconds or until the milk is warmed.
- PROOFING YEAST: Add yeast and stir. Place 1 cup of sugar in measuring cup. Scoop out 2 Tablespoons of sugar from measuring cup and place in a bowl. Stir. Let yeast proof for 5-10 minutes. This helps the yeast to activate since yeast feeds on sugar.
- Meanwhile, add remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, and salt in large mixing bowl. Once yeast is activated, add mixture to a bowl. Stir in flour, 3 cups at a time. Watch for the dough to start coming off the sides of the bowl.
- FIRST RISE: Once the oven is preheated to 200 degrees, turn OFF oven. Place dough in an oven-safe bowl. Cover bowl with a moist towel. Let the dough rise until double in size at room temperature or place in oven to rise for 1 hour to double in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out on a floured surface into a large rectangle.
- Spread softened butter all over the dough. Place brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle over dough. Tightly roll up the dough and slice it into rolls.
- SECOND RISE: Place on greased baking sheets and cover loosely with towel or saran wrap. Let rise for at least 1 hour.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 9-12 minutes. The cinnamon rolls should be a light golden brown on top.
- To make frosting: Cream together butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Spread over slightly cooled cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
What are the tips for making perfect homemade cinnamon rolls every single time?
- Make sure your yeast is good and fresh. I store my bag of yeast, which I buy at Costco in bulk, in the freezer in a freezer bag. This ensures that it is always fresh and ready for baked goods. I have many stories of bad yeast that never activates even with warm water or milk and sugar. You can tell if your yeast is fresh by watching it start to activate and foam. You start to see bubbles and movement. Sugar is a big contributor to activating the yeast. I always throw some sugar into the yeast mixture as it proofs to help expedite the process.
2. Let it rise in a warm oven, turned off. This is a key trick to getting your yeast bread or rolls to rise. Weather can be tricky when getting your bread or rolls to rise. You can be in not ideal conditions. The trick is to let your oven do the work. It expedites the process because a warm oven creates an environment conducive for yeast rolls. Turn your oven to 200 degrees and let it heat up. Once it reaches 200 degrees, turn it off. Place your cinnamon roll dough in an oven-safe bowl and place in the oven for 1 hour. It should rise to at least double the size. It saves you at least an hour of rising time!
3. Watch for the flour to come off the sides of the mixing bowl. When you are making any type of yeast bread, I always add flour in increments and not the entire amount at once. I wait for it to start to come off the sides of the bowl and form in the center. That is a big clue that it is ready. In this particular recipe, I add 3 cups of flour at a time and mix it for 30 seconds in between. I usually end up with 8 1/2 – 9 cups of flour every single time.
4. Make sure you have enough filling. The brown sugar, cinnamon, butter filling is where all of the warm, spiced flavors come from so you want to be generous. Feel free to add a little more brown sugar or butter if you want a little extra filling. Spread to evenly coat the entire rectangle.
5. After you have rolled out the dough and cut into slices, let the cinnamon rolls rise for the 2nd time. This is when it gets fun as you start to see the cinnamon rolls become large and amazing. Let the cinnamon rolls rise for one hour on a baking pan.
6. Bake until lightly golden brown and cooked through. This can be tricky. If your oven tends to heat up hotter in the back, then turn the baking sheet halfway through the baking time. Watch for your rolls to get a nice light golden color and remove from oven. Let cool slightly before adding frosting.
7. Spread with a good amount of cream cheese and butter frosting. This quite possibly could be the BEST part of the cinnamon roll. Don’t skimp on the frosting. Cover these babies with a generous coat of cream cheese frosting. The combination of butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla makes a phenomenal, creamy frosting.
Storage and Freezing Cinnamon Rolls:
- Keep baked rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in the microwave for 15–20 seconds.
Can You Freeze Cinnamon Rolls?
Before Baking: Freeze the rolls after cutting and placing them in the baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil. When ready to bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and let rise before baking.
After Baking: Allow the rolls to cool completely, then freeze individually or as a batch in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through.
Popular Sweet Roll Recipes:
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Hayley’s Famous Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
FULL RECIPE:
- 2 cups Warm Milk microwave for 90 seconds, then test
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1 cup Sugar divided
- 4 Eggs
- 3/4 cup Butter melted
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 8 1/2 – 9 cups Flour
Brown Sugar Filling:
- 1/2 cup Butter softened
- 2 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 4-5 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 cup Butter softened
- (1) 8-ounce pkg. Cream Cheese softened
- 5 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
HALF RECIPE:
- 1 cup Warm Milk (microwave for 90 seconds and then test)
- 1 1/4 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/2 cup Sugar (divided)
- 2 large Eggs
- 6 Tablespoons Butter (melted)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 4 1/4 – 4 1/2 cups Flour
Brown Sugar Filling:
- 1/4 cup Butter (softened)
- 1 1/3 cups Brown Sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons Cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 cup Butter (softened)
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese (softened)
- 2 3/4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Place milk in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for about 90 seconds or until the milk is warmed.
- Add yeast and stir.
- Place 1 cup of sugar in measuring cup. Scoop out 2 Tablespoons of sugar from measuring cup and place in a bowl. Stir. Let yeast proof for 5-10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add remaining sugar, eggs, melted butter, and salt in large mixing bowl. Once yeast is activated, add mixture to a bowl. Stir in flour, 3 cups at a time. Watch for the dough to start coming off the sides of the bowl.
- Once the oven is preheated to 200 degrees, turn OFF oven.
- Place dough in an oven-safe bowl. Cover bowl with a moist towel. Put in oven to rise for 1 hour to double in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, roll out on a floured surface into a large rectangle.
- Spread softened butter all over the dough. Place brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle over dough.
- Tightly roll up dough and slice into rolls.
- Place on greased baking sheets and cover loosely with towel or saran wrap.
- Let rise for at least 1 hour.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 9-12 minutes.
- To make frosting: Cream together butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Spread over slightly cooled cinnamon rolls.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I can’t wait to hear what you think about these famous cinnamon rolls. Forget Cinnabon….these are even better! Happy Baking, my friends! xo
Ok, I am new to this baking. You say take out a two tablespoons of sugar and put it in a bowl. Why???
Haven’t made these rolls yet but plan to very soon. However, I will use SAF instant yeast and put the first six ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix on low, adding flour til it starts to come together. Switch to dough hook and continue adding flour till dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Proceed with rest of recipe. Much easier and results are just the same. Be sure to not mix any longer than absolutely necessary and this is a very rich dough.
Can I get them ready the night before and put them in the fridge so it’s just baking them for breakfast? Can I use instant yeast?
This recipe is nearly exactly the same as my Mom’s family recipe that I have been using for years. So good that I have to force myself to stay away from them or I could eat the entire pan myself in a day. The big thing I do differently is that right before I put them in the oven to bake, pull out my secret weapon that launches my rolls into a class of their own. Nothing compares to the heavenly oooowie goooowie goodness that is about to come from my oven. What I do is I pour a cup of heavy whipping cream over the top of the rolls making sure that it drizzles it’s way in between those cinnamon layers. You won’t believe your taste buds! At my house they are gobbled up faster than I say “cinnamon rolls”.
Dumb question but do you use instant yeast or active dry yeast. Haven’t worked with yeast a lot so wasn’t sure!
As it is a sweet dough you can use Instant as Instant is usually used with sweet rolls or sweeter doughs. I would think both could be used worse case instant would just make it fluffier and more soft.
Hi! Couple questions – Do you place these touching each other on a pan? And is there a preferred pan to use?Thanks!
These rolls are absolutely the best I ever had one problem I made these in pampered chef cookie pans and the cinnamon runs out and burns to pan and leaves a harder bottom is there anything I can do to have softer bottoms love these rolls Thanks
Is the amount of yeast correct at 2 1/2 Tablespoons?
Also is flour, all purpose or bread flour.
Thanks so much.
These are so delicious! This was my first attempt at ever making a bread dough so I was nervous but they turned out perfect. I will definitely be making these again! My boyfriend can’t stop eating them☺️
I made these a couple days in advance this christmas and thought I’d report back since a couple others were wondering about that. I baked them almost completely two days in advance. I then froze them and then let them defrost in the fridge overnight before I needed them. I was planning to bake them but found microwaving was better so they wouldn’t overbake and get crispy. I just filled Pyrex dishes with them instead of metal pie pans. They were just a little dry on the outsides. This worked well but I think the next time I’ll freeze the rolled/sliced dough, defrost overnight then bake fresh.