These quick & easy homemade cinnamon rolls are ready in one hour and packed with ooey, gooey cinnamon goodness! Soft, light & fluffy and freezer-friendly, they are always great for weekend breakfasts. Or serve for brunch alongside my Instant Pot breakfast casserole.
My kids LOVE homemade cinnamon rolls, and this overnight cinnamon roll recipe is our go-to for special occasions.
But why should cinnamon rolls be limited to just Easter or Christmas?
And why limit myself to an overnight cinnamon roll recipe when I can have homemade cinnamon rolls in just one hour?!
I think these cinnamon rolls have just earned the spot for Saturday mornings!
1 Hour Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
When I told my kids we’ve have homemade cinnamon rolls in 1 hour, they looked at me like I had lost a marble or two.
Could you really get light, fluffy, gooey homemade cinnamon rolls in a fraction of the time it would normally take? Absolutely, yes!!
Weekend brunches have never been the same with homemade cinnamon rolls that are:
- Soft & pillowy
- Light & fluffy
- Ooey, gooey, and packed with cinnamon flavor
- Lightly kissed with homemade glaze
And what mom wouldn’t love the fact that this recipe is freezer friendly and can be easily doubled to feed a crowd?!
Ingredients for One Hour Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
Cinnamon Rolls are variation of yeast bread, so you’ll find the usual suspects in this recipe as well. Plus a few key players for rich dough, delicious cinnamon insides, and a creamy cream cheese icing!
- Milk (cow milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc.)
- Butter
- Flour (either all-purpose, or all-purpose einkorn)
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar
- Salt
- Instant Yeast
- Egg
- Cinnamon
- Cream Cheese
- Vanilla
- Powdered Sugar
How to Make Quick Cinnamon Rolls (Ready in 1 Hour!)
The exact steps are detailed in the recipe below, but here’s an overview of the workflow:
Step 1: Warm the milk and melt the butter in a mug or small bowl.
Step 2: In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitting with a dough paddle, or a large bowl if you’re working the dough by hand, stir together the warm milk and butter with the yeast. Add some of the flour and egg and mix on medium-low until a dough starts to form.
Step 3. Continue beating until the dough is no longer sticky (you should be able to poke the dough with your finger, remove it without the dough sticking to your finger, and the indentation stays). Let the dough rest.
Step 4: Mix together the two sugars and cinnamon and set aside.
Step 5: When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured surface and roll into a large rectangle. Spread butter over the dough, then sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.
Step 6: Slice the rolls and place them in a greased dish. Prepare the cream cheese icing.
Step 7: Bake the cinnamon rolls, drizzle with icing, and serve warm.
Tips for Making Easy One Hour Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Use a thermometer to test the temperature for the milk and butter. You want it between 105F and 110F. Any warmer and you’ll kill the yeast. Any cooler and the yeast won’t activate. I recommend microwaving the milk and butter in 5 second intervals.
- If you use all purpose einkorn, reduce the milk to ¾ cup. Einkorn takes longer to absorb liquid than regular all-purpose flour, so we reduce the liquid up front.
- You can use coconut sugar in lieu of granulated sugar and brown sugar. It’s one small step towards a healthier cinnamon roll.
- Preheat the oven while the dough rests. Once the dough is ready, the recipe comes together really fast. You’ll be all set if you start the oven a bit early.
- Slice the cinnamon rolls using dental floss for a super clean cut.
- Trim the ends of the rectangle and the ends of the rolled dough if you want perfectly even cinnamon rolls.
- A pie plate will fit 11 rolls, and a 9” x 13” rectangle pan will fit 12 rolls.
Flavor Variations for Quick Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Add peanut butter or nutella: in lieu of softened butter spread on top of the dough.
- Or nuts: sprinkle your favorite finely chopped nut (pecans, walnuts, slivered almonds) over the cinnamon sugar, before rolling up the dough.
- Or orange glaze: make these just like the canned orange cinnamon rolls by zesting an orange over the cinnamon sugar before rolling up the dough, then juicing the orange and substituting the juice for the milk in the icing.
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls FAQs
Freshly baked cinnamon rolls should be soft. If they’re hard, it means the dough was over-kneaded OR the cinnamon rolls were over-baked.
Cinnamon rolls rise using yeast. The yeast is activated using warm water and sugar!
Store leftover cinnamon rolls in a container with a lid. The cinnamon rolls will get hard if they’re left out for a period of time, or stored with a loose-fitting cover (i.e. aluminum foil or plastic wrap).
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- Prep Time: 55 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 Rolls 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ¾ – 1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 3 – 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (I used all-purpose einkorn)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons Instant Yeast (1 envelope)
- 1 egg
For the Filling:
- 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp butter, softened
For the Cream Cheese Icing:
- 2 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons milk (if needed)
Instructions
- Combine 1 cup of milk (3/4 cup if using einkorn) and 4 Tbsp butter in a small microwave-safe bowl or a mug. Microwave in 5 second intervals, stirring well each time. The butter should melt and the mixture should reach 105F – 110F (use a thermometer to be sure). If the temperature is warmer than 110F, the yeast will die. Stir while blowing on the mixture to cool it down.
- In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitting with a dough paddle, or a large bowl if you’re working the dough by hand, combine the warmed milk and butter with the yeast; stir well. Add 3 cups of flour and beat on medium-low speed until the dough becomes a ball and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If you need to add additional flour, add it 1 Tbsp at a time and use no more than 3 ½ cups total.
- Continue beating the dough for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is no longer sticky (you should be able to poke the dough with your finger, remove it without the dough sticking to your finger, and the indentation stays). Remove the dough, form it into a ball with your hands, and place it in a greased bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm area for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix together the granulated sugar and brown sugar with the cinnamon and set it aside. Grease your baking dish using either butter wrappers or cooking spray.
- When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin (floured if needed), roll the dough out into a large rectangle (about 9” x 13”). Use a butter knife to spread 4 Tbsp of room temperature butter* evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter.
- Starting at one the long 14” edges, roll the dough tightly and pinch the final seam together to seal the filling. Use a very sharp knife to cut the dough into 11 pieces for a pie plate, or 12 pieces for a 9” x 13” rectangle baking dish.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into your greased baking dish, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- While the dough is rising, whisk together the cream cheese icing ingredients in a small bowl. If the icing is too thick, add milk 1 Tbsp at a time.
- When the rolls are done rising, remove the kitchen towel and bake the cinnamon rolls for 15-20 minutes, until they’re golden brown and cooked through. Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes before icing.
- Drizzle with the prepared icing and serve warm. Store leftovers in a container with a secure lid to keep the cinnamon rolls soft and prevent them from getting hard.
Notes
- Use a thermometer to test the temperature for the milk and butter. You want it between 105F and 110F. Any warmer and you’ll kill the yeast. Any cooler and the yeast won’t activate. I recommend microwaving the milk and butter in 5 second intervals.
- If you use all purpose einkorn, reduce the milk to ¾ cup. Einkorn takes longer to absorb liquid than regular all-purpose flour, so we reduce the liquid up front.
- You can use coconut sugar in lieu of granulated sugar and brown sugar. It’s one small step towards a healthier cinnamon roll.
- Preheat the oven while the dough rests. Once the dough is ready, the recipe comes together really fast. You’ll be all set if you start the oven a bit early.
- Slice the cinnamon rolls using dental floss for a super clean cut.
- Trim the ends of the rectangle and the ends of the rolled dough if you want perfectly even cinnamon rolls.
- A pie plate will fit 11 rolls, and a 9” x 13” rectangle pan will fit 12 rolls.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Roll
- Calories: 145
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