Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Ever since I posted this Bread Machine Cinnamon Roll picture on my Instagram and Facebook, I’ve gotten NUMEROUS requests that I share this mouthwatering recipe. You’ll be surprised at how easy homemade cinnamon rolls are to make. Especially since the bread machine does most of the work!
Are Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Better than the Canned Ones?
Um. Yes.
Next question.
But seriously. You just can’t replicate homemade cinnamon rolls.
First of all, they are homemade with real ingredients from your pantry. While the Pillsbury Rolls are convenient, they include mystery ingredients like: soy lecithin, artificial color, high fructose corn syrup, whey protein concentrate, colors, sodium stearoyl, lactylate, dough conditioner, artificial flavor and citric acid as well as numerous preservatives such as monoglycerides, potassium sorbate, BHT, BHA, polysorbate 60, ascorbic acid, xanthan gum and locust bean gum.
No thank you.
With just a few pantry ingredients, you’ll feel like a professional baker after following our simple steps.
How to Make Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
I prefer to use my bread machine to make the dough for me. If you don’t have a bread machine, you can use a recipe like this.
- Place the ingredients for the dough in your machine in the order listed in the recipe below. If you don’t have a yeast dispenser, just nestle the yeast on top of the flour.
- Run your machine on a dough cycle. (Mine takes around 45 minutes but times will vary on this.)
- After dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds on a well floured surface.
- Roll one mound of your dough out into some sort of a rectangle. It doesn’t need to be perfect. To get it flattened out, it might take a few minutes of working with it, but it will get there.
- Spread half of the melted butter out on your dough and then top it with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. Starting at one of the short ends of your rectangle, roll up your dough.
7. Brush the outside of your rolled dough with melted butter.
8. Starting at one end, slice the dough into about 1 inch thick pieces. The result will be a pinwheel shaped form when turned on its side.
Place pinwheels on greased baking sheet. I like mine touching each other so they all are soft and not too browned on the outside but if you want them not touching, spread them apart on the sheet.
Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.
9. Cover assembled dough with a lightweight hand towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
10. Bake at 350°F for 17-19 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!
11. Combine ingredients to make icing and spread over warm rolls so it melts into them.
How to Make Homemade Icing For Cinnamon Rolls
I’ll be honest, I have never really measured the exact amounts I use to make the icing. I just mix it until it looks like the consistency I like. Add more powdered sugar to thicken or add more milk to thin.
- 3-4 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4-5 tablespoons milk
Can I refrigerate or freeze the rolls before baking?
To refrigerate:
If you want to prepare the rolls ahead of time, assemble them as normal, let them rise as directed and then refrigerate for 24-48 hours. Make sure to let them come back to room temperature before baking.
To freeze:
If you want to freeze the cinnamon roll dough, assemble them as normal, let them rise as directed and then wrap them tightly or place them in an airtight container with a lid and freeze. Just make sure you let them thaw and warm up to room temperature before baking.
Hope you enjoy these rolls as much as we have.
What to serve with Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Here are some ideas that would go great alongside cinnamon rolls
- Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole with Bacon and Gruyere
- Perfectly Cooked Bacon
- Cheddar Chive Egg Bites
- Fruit Salad
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Homemade cinnamon rolls. Let the bread machine whip up this cinnamon roll dough for you and follow the easy instructions to bake! Once you’ve made them from scratch, you’ll never go back to canned cinnamon rolls!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 1/3 cup lukewarm water
- 1 stick of room temperature butter, cut into small chunks
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup powdered milk
- 1 tablespoon dry-active yeast
Filling
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Icing
- 3–4 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 4–5 tablespoons milk
I’ll be honest, I have never really measured the exact amounts I use to make the icing. I just mix it until it looks like the consistency I like. Add more powdered sugar to thicken or add more milk to thin.
Instructions
- Place the ingredients for the dough in your bread machine in the order listed.
- Run your machine on a dough cycle.
- After dough is done, take it out and split the dough into two mounds.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll one mound of your dough out into some sort of a rectangle. It doesn’t need to be perfect. To get it flattened out, it might take a few minutes of working with it but it will get there.
- Spread out half of the melted butter over the rolled out dough.
- Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the melted butter making sure to cover as much surface with the filling as you can.
- Starting at one of the short ends of your rectangle of dough, roll it up.
- Brush the outside of your rolled dough with melted butter.
- Starting at one end, slice the dough into about 1 inch pieces. The result will be a pinwheel shaped form when turned on its side.
- Place pinwheels on greased baking sheet. I like mine touching each other so they all are soft and not too browned on the outside but if you want them not touching, spread them apart on the sheet.
- Repeat the steps above with the second mound of dough.
- Cover assembled dough with a lightweight hand towel and let rise for 25-30 minutes.
- Bake at 350 for 17 minutes or until lightly brown on top. Tap the middle of the roll to see if it bounces back. If it does, it’s probably done!
- Combine ingredients to make icing and spread over warm rolls so it melts into them.
My family loves this recipe! I’ve been making it for years now and it is one of our favorites! My only problem is that I have trouble getting them to rise after assembling them and putting them in the pan before baking. Any suggestions?
These are fantastic! Using the bread machine makes these so easy. I’ve gotten rave reviews from anyone I’ve shared these cinnamon rolls with…delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback and review, Kathleen!
I mis-read the recipe and used warm milk instead of water, as well as the powdered milk…. I hope they turn out. Has anyone used milk and powdered milk?
Hi Bree. I think you will be ok. Might not be the perfect texture but should still taste good! I think Polly has done this before, if I remember right.
I’ve tried making cinnamon rolls. After the first time if rising, I had to roll out the dough with a rolling pin. The dough never rolled out. I couldn’t finish making it. What did I do wrong?
Just made these this morning and this is the best recipe I have tried so far! The only thing I changed was I used brown sugar in the filling. Thank you so much for the recipe. This is saved as a favorite!
★★★★★
Brown sugar is a great sub idea. Thanks for that and the review. We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
They turned out great! Thank you for the reply!
Easy and delicious! Thank you!
★★★★★
Great to hear. You’re welcome!
Is it self rising flour your using
No, just all purpose flour.
These are the best cinnamon rolls! I make them to go with chili, holiday mornings, when my son and daughter in law come, for a special treat…. any excuse I can come up with.
That’s fantastic to hear! Oh yes, there are so many excuses to make cinnamon rolls. Ha, ha. Thanks for sharing, Tiffany.
Hi . I’m going to try to make these cinnamon buns tomorrow. I was given a bread machine. Can I add crushed pecans or walnuts it in with the brown sugar and cinnamon and butter⁉️ Thank you very much
Absolutely! Go for it.
Just got finished with theese… they smell soooo good!! I baked them in muffin tins having seen that suggestion in another recipe. I made them for a large group and thought not having to separate them was a better idea. So easy and they taste wonderful!!!
★★★★★
Awesome and great job! Thanks for sharing your feedback and review.
Just made these today with my kids and they are perfect! Very easy recipe and instructions to follow. My 6 and 10 year old did most of the work. So soft and yummy! One quick question…how would you suggest storing them once baked? We have a lot left!
★★★★★
We’re so happy to hear this worked out well for you. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and they will sit on the counter for a few days or the fridge. The fridge may dry them out a bit faster, though. Hope that helps!
Rachel, I can’t wait to make these for Xmas today! Please tell me at which step do I refrigerate the dough? Before or after rolling and cutting it? I apologize if I missed that step. TY!
Oh no, so sorry we missed your comment, Eliz! Refrigerate after rolling and cutting and putting in the pan.
Can one use this recipe for dinner rolls
We actually have a bread machine recipe for dinner rolls here. I hope that helps! https://thrivinghomeblog.com/the-best-wheat-rolls-a-bread-machine-recipe/
Has anyone ever frozen their cinnamon buns to make later? Any tips?
Could not wait!!!!! This is the only cinnamon roll recipe I will ever make!!! Dough is smooth as silk, and as easy to make as well as eat!!!
★★★★★
These are THE ABSOLUTE BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve ever eaten. We used to get cinnamon rolls from a bakery in the mall when we were kids. The smell of that bakery filled the top corner of the mall. Well, my house smells like that right now and I’m absolutely loving it!
This makes us so happy to hear! Thanks for sharing, Wendy.
Love!!! My kids keep requesting and love helping make these!
★★★★★
Awesome to hear that!
Why sugar, instead of brown sugar for the filling? That’s a new one…
You could certainly use brown sugar instead.
I’ve never made homemade cinnamon rolls before. I’ve made this recipe twice. Both times they were stellar. Thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Great to hear that, Brooke!
Easy and fast. I’m going to try some. Thanks
★★★★★
Just made these and they are wonderful! Thank you for saving me hours of work.
We love hearing that, Judy. That’s awesome!
Ok I’m going to follow recipe exactly this time. My bread machine instructions say to add the wet ingredients first then flour then make an impression in the flour and add the yeast last so as not to touch other ingredients. Should I use the 11/3 cup of water in your recipe to activate the yeast first or just put the yeast directly from the package to the flour impression?
Love this recipe. It is my go to recipe as a nice surprise for someone, sorry for your lose someone, hope your recovery is quick someone, and thanks Gramma, those were delicious.
Wonderful, Judy. We love hearing that our recipes can be used to bless someone else. 🙂
For anyone asking if you can make this recipe in a stand mixer, yes you can. I got all the ingredients into my bread makes only for it to break down on me. I kneaded 10 minutes won’t doughr hook. Then let sit for 10 minutes and then kneaded another 10 minutes. After I put the doughr in a barely warm over for 30 minutes to rise a bit. Then I rolled them out and baked them and they turned out delicious!
★★★★★
Thanks for the tips, Holly!
Has anyone successfully tried this recipe without a bread maker?
I did it yesterday in my kitchen aid stand mixer!
★★★★★
If I want to use bread machine / instant yeast of active dry does that change the amount of yeast I should use? I was reluctant to by active dry because most recipes that came with my bread maker say to add yeast last and to keep it separate from the wet ingredients and the instructions on the active dry container say to activate in warm liquid first so to avoid confusion I bought bread machine quick yeast.
I honestly don’t know! Wish I knew more about how yeast works. I’ve just always done it this way and it works. 🙂
Even if the recipe calls for active dry, I always use fast ris ing yeast in my bread machine. Matthew
I am looking forward to making these cinnamon rolls, but only have bread flour. Would I have to make any changes to the recipe?
Thanks in advance,
I’m not sure, Nova. I haven’t tested it that way, but I think it would affect the outcome because Bread Flour is higher in protein.
Can you make these without a bread machine? Is it just combining the ingredients and letting it rise?
These are amazing! I get multiple requests from people to make this recipe!
★★★★★
Wonderful to hear that, Christa!
how much butter is a stick of butter?
8 tablespoons
These are awesome! My family wipes them out as soon as they are made. The recipe makes a good bit but I have six grandkids and 2 sons and daughters inlaws. I have made them multiple times. Come out perfect and are easy to make. We love them!
★★★★★
Wow! These are amazing and so easy to make. I was looking for something special but easy for Christmas morning and this is it. I will be making these again and again. Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for the feedback, Mary Anne. I’m so happy to hear this was a special treat for your family on Christmas morning. 🙂
I see that the total flour capacity in this recipe Is 4 1/2 c flour. my older Panasonic machines’ total capacity is only 3 1/2 c flour. i’m worried that if I make this recipe it will overflow onto the heating element. does anyone else have this concern? my machine is over 20 years old and still works wonderfully, but it’s recipe section doesn’t have cinnamon roll dough, just crossiant/Danish dough…your recipe has a lot more in it than those recipes do.
I just found this recipe and have a machine that will only take 3 cups of flour. For cutting a recipe in half, go to this web site:
https://www.thenest.com/content/cooking-qa-cut-a-recipe-in-half
I hope this helps.
Glad I found this recipe. Made these last night…they are delicious. Definitely making them again.
★★★★★
can chopped pecans be added to this recipe
★★★★★
That’s sounds yummy. I don’t see why that wouldn’t work!
These are AMAZING. And quite possibly the WORST thing I could have ever done was make these rolls as a treat for my family one Sunday morning. Then it became EVERY Sunday morning. NOW, it’s every Sunday AND Wednesday. These are, without question, the BEST cinnamon rolls I have ever had in my life. You cannot eat just one. I can get the recipe to make 36 rolls and they are GONE within 2 hours (family of 5). FIGHTS have broken out over someone eating the last roll. They do not need to be reheated in the off chance they are around long enough to get to room temp because the bread flour keeps them soft after baking. The only thing I changed is that I don’t usually keep powdered milk in the house, so I use -1-1/3C warm milk, and ditch the water AND the powdered milk. I do also add 4oz of cream cheese to the glaze, and no, we do not share.
This. Is. Awesome.
Is there a substitute for the butter? I’d like to find something sweet for a dairy free kiddo.
I haven’t tried this, but you could look into using coconut oil. Try googling that and see if there any recipes out there. I use it in a lot of baked goods and love the flavor.
Hi Diane! We need non-dairy and use Earth Balance. It comes in tubs and stick form. It works great.
Hello!
Just made them! I can’t believe myself they were made by me. Well, by the machine lol, but my point is… they are amazing!!
I am from Brazil and have always wantes to try a cinnamon roll. Found this recipe and decided to give it a shot.
I highly recommend making them. The dough is soooo soft and light. Oh, and I haven’t made the icing. I’m having them with a cup of milk with coffee. Perfect combination.
I am so happy,
Thank you,
Mirelle
Congratulations, Mirelle! I’m so excited for you and that they turned out well.
These are good but we found them to be a little too sweet. I may try using a bit of salt in the cinnamon mixture or use a cream cheese frosting. But I really enjoyed making them anyway.
Mmmmm. Good idea on the cream cheese frosting, Denise!
These rolls are GREAT! I have had to make them 3 weekends in a row! Even my hubby, who doesn’t eat a lot of sweets, is now requesting them! Thanks for an amazing recipe!!
★★★★★
Made this recipe without bread flour and used 4.5 cups of all purpose flour and cheated a bit with a store bought cream cheese frosting. It was spot on, easy, and yeilded enough delicious cinnamon rolls to share with the neighbors!
Wonderful recipe, these are delicious! Our family will be hanging onto this recipe forever. Thanks so much!
★★★★★
Thanks, Ashley. This makes us so happy!
Regular flour, are you talking about self rising?
or All Purpose
All Purpose flour. We need to update that in the recipe, so thanks for your question.
Would it be possible for you to vary the recipe and turn them into sticky pecan buns instead ? Am not a cinnamon fan. Thanks
If you have a recipe, the dough should work for it just fine!
Just made these & kinda sorta maybe didn’t read the recipe before I started making them. I D idn’t have powdered milk & had already poured in 1 1/3 cup water when I read the part about substituting whole milk instead. But I’m very glad to report that they turned out very yummy despite my mistake. But I’ll definitely make them the right way next time. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
★★★★★
I made these over the snowy weekend and to say my husband and I enjoyed these is an understatement. They are delicious and according to all who ate them, better than Cinnabon. Cannot wait to eat them again tonight!
Yessss!!!
I made these, and they turned out perfectly! They were the best rolls I’ve ever had! I even divided the dough in half to make regular rolls and cinnamon rolls. I just rolled one of the halves into a log and cut pieces for rolls. They took a little less time to back than the cinnamon ones. They were SO good! Thanks to this recipe, I feel like a baker!
Alright! We love hearing success stories. Thanks for leaving a comment, Nancy.
i made these and they were good! I found a different icing to make – a cream cheese one and omg they tasted good. Thanks for sharing
You’re welcome!
I noticed that there is no sugar in the dough. I’ve never seen a dough recipe without sugar, doesn’t yeast need sugar to rise? I’m new at this 🙂
Wow. I don’t know how I’ve gone this long without noticing that recipe error. I just corrected it. However, it seems like people have been getting along just fine without the sugar!
I found this on pinterest this morning and have them in the bread machine now! I went looking because we had rolls from a can for breakfast, and it scares me every time I pop those suckers, so I thought there has to be an easier way! Looks like I might have found that way!!!! I’m making them with the intention of freezing, but I think the kids are going to hit the breakfast jackpot and get cinnamon rolls two days in a row 🙂
So glad you found us! Hope the kids enjoy their sweet treat!
I just made these this past weekend. They were amazing. I could tell as soon as I pulled the dough out of the bread machine. The dough was some of the best dough ever. I divided the dough and rolled into two 9×13 rectangles, brushed on melted butter and filling ingredients. I rolled the dough up long-ways and cut with floss. I ended up with about 24 mini-cinnamon rolls that I baked in a 9×13 for about 20 min at 350 (they all fit and were touching). They came out absolutely perfect. My husband said that they beat Cinnabon hands down. I brought them into my child’s school for teacher appreciation week and everyone loved them. Thank you for sharing!!!
Sweeeet!!! Seriously, these kind of comments make our day. 😉
About how many cinnamon rolls will this make? I’m making for work and wondering if I should make two batches!
Thank you! Can not wait to try!
We would guess 15-20 cinnamon rolls, but it depends on how much you roll it out and how big you make them. Polly says it easily makes two 9×13 pans worth.
I get 36 – 1inch rolls. I cut them with a ruler to make sure they are the same thickness. I put them on a large baking sheet (start placing them in center and work outward toward the edges). They will rise and easily fill the entire pan. I have never done it in 9×13 pans… although that would make it easier to share them that way.
Thanks for the feedback and ideas, Dee.
Hello!! Thank you for the recipe!!! As Sarah, i would also like to know if its possible to use a regular mixer… thank you!!
I have never done it outside the bread machine but I know you for sure can. I know Pioneer Woman has a few cinnamon roll recipes. A quick search should find it. Good luck!
Thank you!!!!
And when you see how much trouble the PW recipe is… and how LONG it takes… you’ll be right back here. So, maybe, just bookmark this page now. 😉
Is it possible to make these without using a bread machine? Like with a stand mixer with a dough hook?
Have you ever frozen the second batch? Think you could do that to just have a batch on hand when you feel like thawing them out?
Hi Amanda. I actually did this the last time I made these. I just defrosted them overnight in the fridge. They were great!
Can these be prepped the night the night before? If so, at what point would you suggest stopping to put in the frig overnight? Thanks!
Yes! I’ve done this before and what I did was put them in the fridge immediately after I assembled them. The next morning I took them out and let them return to room temperature and even rise a little before baking them. This can take an hour or so depending on how warm it is in your house so give them some time!
Do you cover them with plastic wrap or anything?
At what point? Not sure if I understand your question.
What if I don’t have bread flour?
I’ve used all-purpose flour instead of bread flour quite often and haven’t noticed much of a difference. You should be fine!
Here are some ideas for subbing other kinds of flour in place of the bread flour. http://www.ehow.com/how_6933472_substitute-flour-bread-flour.html
Instead of using a knife to cut the rolls, you can use dental floss. You just wrap it around the dough in the spot you want to cut, and pull. It keeps the rolls from becoming squished.
These rolls look delicious. They may not be the healthiest but at least the recipe has ingredients that a normal person can recognize. Ever heard of “sodium steraroyl” or “Potassium sorbate”? They are two of the ingredients in Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (see below).
One package of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls contains the dough as well as the glaze. Ingredients include enriched bleached flour, sugar, water, margarine, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, nonfat milk, salt, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, vitamin A palmitate and artificial color. Additional ingredients include high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, whey protein concentrate, colors, molasses, sodium stearoyl, lactylate, dough conditioner, artificial flavor and citric acid as well as numerous preservatives such as monoglycerides, potassium sorbate, BHT, BHA, polysorbate 60, ascorbic acid, xanthan gum and locust bean gum.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/318338-nutritional-information-of-pillsbury-cinnamon-rolls/#ixzz2LBqpKMt9