Cinnabon Bakeries are in malls everywhere, and who makes a better cinnamon roll than they do? Maybe your Grandmother. These bread machine cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting are rich and sinful cinnamon buns that taste like Cinnabon’s.
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If you are lucky enough to wake up to the incredible smell of these cinnamon rolls baking, you are a truly blessed person. And the taste? Well, one bite is all it takes to know it’s worth getting up early to make these bread maker cinnamon rolls. Serve Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls in less time than it takes to pick up a box from Cinnabon! Remember to make extras because everyone will want seconds!
Baking Cinnamon Rolls in Bread Machine? That’s Crazy Talk!
Yes, yes, it is. But don’t worry, no one is actually asking you to bake your cinnamon rolls in a bread machine. The role of the bread machine in this recipe is limited to kneading and proofing the dough to perfection. Not only will it keep your hands clean, but you’ll have time to whip up the cream cheese frosting.
Of course, you don’t need a bread machine to make cinnamon rolls, but this version is formulated to work best using one. If you don’t have a bread machine, check out this Easy Overnight Cinnamon Roll recipe instead.
Cinnamon Rolls? Cinnamon Buns? Sticky Buns? What Do You Call These Things Anyway?
Around breakfast tables across America, a great debate is raging. What is the real name for this delicious gooey goodness? Whether you call them cinnamon rolls or cinnamon buns, you’ll love this recipe.Why? Because there are two different names for the same food.
Although cinnamon rolls and buns are the same, sticky buns are distinctly different. While the doughs are very similar, the toppings are not. Instead of cream cheese icing, sticky buns have a syrupy sugar and pecan glaze baked-on, giving the sticky bun its name.
Cooking Cinnamon Rolls in Advance
Yes, you can serve your family hot cinnamon rolls in the morning without losing any sleep.
Probably the best way to store cinnamon rolls is loosely wrapped in plastic on the counter. They should stay moist and fresh for around three days.
- To reheat, start by preheating the oven to 350-degrees. While the oven warms up, brush a bit of melted butter on top of the cinnamon rolls and put them in a deep baking dish. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil. Heat in the oven for 15 minutes or until hot.
- Freezing Cinnamon rolls unbaked and baked
- Unbaked – rolls follow the recipe until just after you slice the cinnamon rolls. At this point, wrap each slice individually in freeze wrap and keep it in the freezer. Thaw the cinnamon rolls entirely before following the rest of the recipe to finish baking. You can store these for up to 2 weeks.
- Baked – double wrap with plastic and store in your freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before reheating.
Cinnamon rolls store well for two or three days at room temperature when wrapped with plastic. If you have a breadbox, a breadbox can help keep fresher for a day or two longer. Breadboxes keep the right amount of moister in their environment to keep the breads and bread products fresher for longer.
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Tips for Cooking and Serving Bread Maker Cinnamon Rolls
- Go with the best cinnamon you have in the cupboard. Saigon cinnamon (sometimes called Vietnamese cinnamon) is fantastic, but Ceylon cinnamon works well, too.
- Forget the knife! Instead of cutting the cinnamon roll log into slices using a knife, use clean, non-flavored dental floss! Form a loop with the dental floss around the cinnamon roll log and pull the floss in opposite directions to cut a perfect slice.
- Store in an airtight container. Choose the right-sized container to eliminate any extra space.
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Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you need for the cinnamon rolls:
- Milk
- Egg
- Butter
- Water
- Instant vanilla pudding mix
- Bread flour
- Sugar
- Bread machine yeast
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Chopped walnuts, optional
- Raisins, optional
Here’s what you need for the cream cheese frosting:
- Butter
- Cream cheese
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls in a Bread Machine
- Place all of the cinnamon roll ingredients in a bread machine.
- Run the dough cycle.
- Remove the dough and knead it enough to punch down.
- Roll the dough into a 17 X 10-inch rectangle.
- Place butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well.
- Microwave the filling for 10 seconds to make it spreadable.
- Spread the filling over the dough.
- Sprinkle nuts and raisins over the dough.
- Roll the dough into a log and pinch the edge to seal.
- Cut the dough log into 1-inch slices.
- Place the slices cut-side down in a lightly greased baking dish with sides.
- Put the dish in a warm draft-free place and allow the dough to rise until double.
- Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Place butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix together with a mixer.
- Add lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well.
- Slowly add powdered sugar while beating with a mixer.
- Spread the frosting on warm cinnamon rolls.
Recipe Notes
You can substitute the raisins in the filling with chopped dried cherries, blueberries, or strawberries. Or leave them out if you do not care for raisins or any fruit in your cinnamon rolls.
If you do not have a warm draft-free place, you can set your oven on warm or the lowest heat setting and place the dough inside. When the temperature light goes off or after a couple of minutes, turn off the oven. Let them rise 20-30 minutes this way. Take them out to heat the oven to baking temperature.
Love Cinnamon? Try these recipes:
- Cinnabon Recipe (Regular Cinnabons)
- Cinnamon Coffee
- Cinnamon Pancakes
- Cinnamon Pretzel Bites
- Cinnamon Pudding Cake
- Cinnamon Stix
- Dominos Cinnamon Bread Twists
- Taco Bell Cinnamon Twists
Favorite Sweet Breakfast Recipes
Check out more of my easy bread recipes and the best breakfast recipes here on CopyKat!
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 1 beaten egg
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
- 4 tablespoons water
- 1/2 box instant vanilla pudding (3.4 ounce box)
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup raisins optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pound powdered sugar
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Instructions
- Place all of the cinnamon roll dough ingredients in your bread machine in the order recommended by your machine's manufacturer.
- Set the machine to run the dough cycle.
- When the cycle is finished, remove the dough and knead it enough to punch down.
- Roll out the dough to a 17 X 10-inch rectangle.
- Place butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Mix well.
- Heat the filling in the microwave for 10 seconds to make it spreadable.
- Spread the filling over the rolled-out dough with a rubber spatula. Get as close to the edges as possible.
- Sprinkle nuts and/or raisins over the dough, if using.
- Starting with the widest end, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the edge to seal.
- Cut the log into 1-inch slices.
- Place the slices cut-side down in a lightly greased baking dish with sides.
- Put the dish in a warm draft-free place and allow the dough to rise until double.
- Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl. Mix together with a mixer.
- Add lemon juice, vanilla, and blend well.
- Slowly add in the powdered sugar, beating with a mixer, until all powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Spread the frosting on the cinnamon rolls when they have cooled slightly.
paul
made twice in the last week . they are delicious. Got compliments from everyone.
Carla
Can I use regular AP flour instead of bread flour?
Karen Pollard
Bread flour is milled from hard spring wheat, which has a higher protein content than the hard winter wheat used in all-purpose flour. Protein adds strength to dough and enables loaves of bread to rise high.
Janbrown58
The trick to getting these REALLY tender is to STEAM bake them… cook as usual but put a pan of water in the oven on the bottom rack. This is how the cinnabon people cook their rolls, in a “special steam oven”.
Peters893062
This is one awesome recipe!! Made this for the first time yesterday to take to our family new years eve gathering and it was a hit! Thanks for posting the cream cheese icing recipe Deborah. It was absolutely awesome!!!
Theresa
I have been using this recipe for years, and without fail, this is always a huge hit with everyone who tries them. I have even had people offer to pay me to make these for them, and a lot of suggestions to start a business selling cinnamon rolls. I use this same recipe, without the cinnamon filing and frosting, as plain dinner rolls – the little sugar and vanilla pudding mix do not give the dough enough of a sweet taste to be obvious.
Deborah
I have been using this recipe and only this recipe for Cinnabon’s since 1999! They are to die for and not for those who are counting their calories! Live a little and enjoy the cinnamon”y” ooey gooey goodness and compliments that will come your !
The closest recipe to Cinnabons for the icing is super simple and makes enough for a quick slather when the buns first come out of the oven and then a heavier slather once the buns are a bit cooler
1/2# butter (room temp)
1/2 # cream cheese (room temp)
1#’ powdered sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat butter & cream cheese with a mixer. Slowly add in all the powdered sugar. Once sugar is all in beat for an additional 12 minutes. Add in the vanilla & lemon juice. Re-beat until; fluffy… Enjoy!!
The leftover icing freezes well ~ that’s if you actually have any left over LOL
Andy
Does the “#” stand for “cup?”
Meredith Ribeiro
pound
Deborah Harvey
Sorry, I just now saw you question.. # stands for pound..
Violet
I make a variation of these from frozen bread dough in a bundt pan for a Christmas morning treat. I always get asked about the vanilla pudding addition. It’s strange but it seems to be a necessary ingredient.
These look amazing and I need to try them.
Btw, your site is awesome – total food porn! 🙂 I feel the pounds packing on just by looking at all the pictures.
valerie
i tried these from a girl at work, and they were VERY good!!! however the recipie calls for a bread machine. i would love to make them for my family, was wondering if there is another method for making this recipie?
It isn’t the same recipe but https://copykat.com/cinnabons-buns-from-heaven/ may work well for you. ~ Stephanie
mespold
These are to die for! Tastes exactly like the real thing. There are other good cinnamon roll recipes out there but this one with the pudding mix is perfect. And it makes the dough much easier to work with. I made 3 batches of these over the weekend since we were snowed in. Shared them with neighbors. They said they are ruined now. Can never eat canned rolls again.