Surprisingly Easy 1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
When I made my first batch of cinnamon rolls and homemade vanilla cream cheese frosting I couldn’t believe how easy it was and how damn good they were in their gooey fresh glory. Seriously, THEY WERE DELICIOUS.
I’m not sure why, but making homemade cinnamon rolls used to seem like such a pain in the ass and totally not worth the time when I could run down the street and grab them from the store. Also, who wants to spend several hours prepping and making breakfast??? Yeah, not me.
Which brings me to this recipe – it’s surprisingly easy AND only takes an hour. That’s right, an hour as opposed to 2 or 3. If you haven’t tried making cinnamon rolls at home, just do it. They probably won’t look perfect your first time around, but they will taste delicious and that’s all that really matters.
Surprisingly Easy 1-Hour Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 pkg Rapid Rise Yeast
- 1/3 cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1/4 cup Vanilla Creamer (Room temperature)
Filling
- 1/3 cup Unsalted Butter (Room temperature)
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp Ground Cinnamon
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese (Room temperature)
- 1/2 cup Butter (Room temperature)
- 2-3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Filling
- In a small bowl, combine 1 cup light brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon.
Dough
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper, spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer), combine 4 cups of flour, 2 packets of rapid rise yeast, and 1 tsp salt.
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup butter. Microwave for 30 seconds or until butter is melted. Mix together an let cool.
- Once cooled (warm, not hot!), slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the flour mixture and mix together by hand or with a stand mixer on low. Add your egg and continue to mix until a sticky dough ball forms.
- Add in 2 tablespoons of flour at a time until it starts pulling away from the bowl. You still want it to be a little sticky otherwise you'll end up with dense cinnamon rolls. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough out to be about 1/4 thick and 12×16 inches.
- Using a spatula, spread 1/3 cup softened butter over dough, leaving a 1 inch strip untouched on the longer sides of dough (this will help you seal off the roll and keep it tight).
- Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon filling evenly over the butter.
- Starting with the long end, roll the dough tightly towards the untouched strip.
- Using dental floss, cut off the uneven ends (slide the floss under the roll, take both ends of the floss, cross them over the top of the roll, and pull on the ends to slice). Then continue to slice your rolls into 1 1/2 inch rounds and place on on your prepared baking sheet.
- Cover the rolls with a dish towel and let rise on top of the oven (or other warm place) for 20-25 minutes until puffy.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until they are light golden brown.
Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine your room temperature butter (1/2 cup) and cream cheese (8 oz) in a small bowl.
- Add 1 tsp vanilla extract.
- Then add in your sugar 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Once the cinnamon rolls are ready, let them cool for 5 minutes, then spoon the frosting over each cinnamon roll and serve warm.
