Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls (Like Cinnabon)
These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls taste just like Cinnabon, but better! Soft, fluffy layers of sweet dough is wrapped around plenty of brown sugar cinnamon filling. The extra cinnamon filling creates a gooey sauce on the bottom of the cinnamon rolls when baked. These are slathered with a melt in your mouth cream cheese frosting, that makes these divine. These jumbo cinnamon rolls are perfect for Holiday breakfasts, get togethers, or when you are just craving a big cinnamon roll.
If you’re anything like me, you love a good cinnamon roll, especially a jumbo cinnamon roll and to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like a cinnamon roll. These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls are big, just like Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, BUT they taste way better.
Cinnamon rolls were a treat in my household growing up. My mom often made cinnamon rolls on Sunday for our brunch after church. I always looked forward to eating a warm, gooey cinnamon roll after my breakfast. While my mom didn’t make them from scratch, they still were delicious. My nostalgia for cinnamon rolls always brings me back to those happy memories, where my whole family was sitting at the breakfast table together enjoying each other’s company.
I love enjoying cinnamon rolls for special occasions, especially during this time of year. They are the perfect breakfast or brunch treat for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I’m planning to make this a tradition every year on Christmas with my family. That way my kids will always have memories of eating warm, gooey cinnamon rolls in their Christmas PJ’s on Christmas morning. Is there anything better than that!?
The details
What sets these apart from Cinnabon
Here are a few things that make these jumbo cinnamon rolls stand apart from Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. First of all, the obvious, you truly can’t beat a freshly made cinnamon roll, that you just pulled out of the oven. They are warm, soft, gooey and just ultra delicious. You won’t get a cinnamon roll that fresh, except at your own home.
Secondly, these jumbo cinnamon rolls have extra brown sugar cinnamon rilling that creates a gooey sauce on the bottom of the rolls when baked. It’s good!
Thirdly, these jumbo cinnamon rolls use the heavy cream hack. Heavy cream is poured over the cinnamon rolls, which helps the cinnamon rolls stay softer when baked. It also helps to create a more delicious sauce on the bottom of the rolls. The heavy cream mixed with the extra, gooey brown sugar cinnamon filling is just sooo good!
The Ingredients
Here’s what you will need to make these cinnamon rolls.
- Dough
- warm milk (warmed to 110F) – The milk in this dough helps tenderize the crumb of the bread, making it softer and fluffier. It also sweetens the dough, which helps create that characteristic sweet cinnamon roll dough taste. The milk needs to be warmed to a temperature range of 105-115F. This helps the yeast to become active and ready for baking.
- instant dry yeast – I prefer to use instant dry yeast, because it rises faster (and with four kids, I always seem to have next to no time). The other benefit of instant yeast is that it does not need an activation time, hence why it is called instant yeast. It can work instantly! You can read more on the yeast below.
- granulated sugar – the sugar has more purpose than to just sweeten the dough. It also helps to tenderize the crumb of the bread, making it softer and it provides a food source for the yeast. This helps the bread rise.
- bread flour (or all-purpose) – Flour gives the rolls structure when baking.
- salt – salt helps to balance the flavors of the dough.
- 2 large eggs – eggs help give the bread structure and also act to moisten, tenderize and add richness the dough.
- unsalted butter – butter adds richness and softness to the dough.
- Filling:
- unsalted butter, softened/semi-melted – the butter adds richness to the filling
- brown sugar – I prefer to use brown sugar in the cinnamon filling for extra flavor
- ground cinnamon – you need cinnamon to make a cinnamon roll!
- Before Baking
- heavy cream – this helps to make the rolls richer, more tender and more indulgent.
- Icing
- powdered sugar – this provides the sweetness for the icing
- cream cheese, softened – cream cheese adds a bit of tangy flavor to the icing. Trust me, it’s good! But, if preferred, you can always sub this for butter if you don’t want cream cheese icing.
- unsalted butter, softened – this adds creaminess to the icing.
- vanilla extract – this enhances the flavor of the icing.
- milk or heavy cream – the milk or heavy cream helps to thin out the icing as well as add richness to the flavor. The heavy cream will make a bit of a richer icing. I only add enough to make the icing to my desired consistency. I like cinnamon roll icing to still be slightly spreadable. The icing will melt into the warm rolls. Some prefer the icing to be on the thinner side, so add as much milk or heavy cream to your preferred consistency.
Instant vs. Active Dry Yeast – What’s the difference?
These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls use instant yeast. I prefer using instant yeast, because it rises rolls a bit faster, and there is no activation step for the yeast.
Instant yeast can literally be added into all of the ingredients at the same time. Now, I do like to add the instant yeast to the warm liquid, in this case, the warm milk, and sugar. While I’m measuring out the flour, I let the mixture sit for 30 seconds to a minute. Honestly just however long it takes me to measure out the flour. This is completely unnecessary. I just do it that way.
If you choose to use active dry yeast, you certainly can! You can substitute for the instant yeast in a one to one ratio. The only difference is that you will have to mix the active dry yeast with the warm milk and roughly a tablespoon of sugar. Whisk together and allow this mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. The yeast should appear frothy on the surface and you should be able to smell the yeast smell.
Regardless of which yeast you use, the Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls will taste the same. The active dry yeast will take slightly longer. You’ll need to allow the rolls to rise 15-20 minutes longer for the first rise.
Should I use Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour?
In this jumbo cinnamon rolls recipe, you can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour. I used to use all-purpose flour all the time for cinnamon rolls, but recently, I discovered how wonderful bread flour works for cinnamon rolls. If you want these jumbo cinnamon rolls to truly be like cinnabon cinnamon rolls, then I recommend using bread flour.
Bread flour has a higher protein content, which means the flour is able to form a stronger gluten structure than all-purpose flour. This results in taller, softer, fluffier rolls.
With that being said, all-purpose flour will create great rolls too, and they will be just as delicious. In my opinion, if you have bread flour on hand, I recommend using that.
Can I Freeze These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls?
Yes, you definitely can freeze these rolls! After baking the cinnamon rolls, allow them to fully cool to room temperature. Once they are cool, place them in a zip-top bag and close. Place in your freezer until they are ready to use.
The night before you are ready to eat these, place them in the refrigerator to thaw. You can reheat the cinnamon rolls in your oven or in the microwave. Make the icing fresh and spread over top of the warm rolls.
What is the best way to store leftovers?
Leftovers!? You have leftovers? All kidding aside, if you think you will have leftovers, only put icing on the rolls you plan to eat, or just ice them one at a time as you eat them. Store the leftovers, WITHOUT icing, wrapped up in plastic wrap. Essentially you want to keep the air out, because the air makes the bread become dry.
After wrapping in plastic wrap, place the wrapped rolls in a zip-top bag or airtight container. Store icing in a separate airtight container.
Once you are ready to enjoy one, unwrap it and heat it in the oven or in the microwave. To reheat in the oven, turn oven on to 350F. Place cinnamon rolls in a baking dish. Sprinkle water over top of rolls, and place 1 tablespoon water in baking pan, OR place a small pat of butter on top of the rolls. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until warmed through. Frost with icing and enjoy!
Can I Make These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls Overnight?
These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls can be made overnight. For the instructions on how to do so, use this recipe Overnight Cinnamon Rolls. If you prefer to keep them as the jumbo cinnamon rolls, make sure to use the ingredients listed below. Just follow the instructions in the overnight cinnamon rolls.
Here are a few other cinnamon roll recipes you may enjoy
- 1-hour Soft Cinnamon Rolls
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Let me know what you thought!
If you make these Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls, I hope they taste to you, as good, if not loads better, than Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls. Let me know what you thought in the comments and ratings below. I always appreciate your feedback and truly enjoy reading all of your comments! If you make these, make sure you snap a picture and tag me on instagram. I LOVE to see your creations!
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Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls (Like Cinnabon)
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
These Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls taste just like Cinnabon, but better! Soft, fluffy layers of sweet dough is wrapped around plenty of brown sugar cinnamon filling. The extra cinnamon filling creates a gooey sauce on the bottom of the cinnamon rolls when baked. These are slathered with a melt in your mouth cream cheese frosting, that makes these divine. These jumbo cinnamon rolls are perfect for Holiday breakfasts, get togethers, or when you are just craving a big cinnamon roll.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 1/2 cup warm milk (warmed to 110F)
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 5 1/4 – 5 3/4 cups bread flour (or all-purpose) (please see note at bottom for correctly measuring the flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Filling:
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened/semi-melted
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Before Baking
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Icing
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1–2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, add the warm milk, yeast (if you are using active dry yeast INSTEAD of the instant, see note at bottom), sugar, 5 ¼ cups flour (see note at bottom to correctly measure the flour), salt, eggs and softened butter. Knead the dough a couple minutes at medium-low speed. The dough should be soft, slightly tacky, and not too loose. If it needs more flour, add more flour in. Knead for a total of 5 minutes on medium-low speed (please note the dough is very soft). Do not add more than 5 3/4 cups. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand. If kneading by hand, knead the dough for 10 minutes. Please note, the dough is very soft.
2. Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes (if your house is cooler, they could take up to 60 minutes to rise. The dough should be roughly doubled in size). I recommend turning your oven on. Once the temperature reaches 100F, turn your oven off. Place the covered dough in the warm oven. If you do this method with the warm oven, 45 minutes should be sufficient.
3. Make the filling. In a bowl, beat together. The butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Punch the dough down and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out into a 14×20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the dough. Roll up into a log, starting at the short end.
5. Cut the log into 8 roughly equal pieces. Place into a greased 13×9 inch pan. Cover with plastic wrap.Â
6. Allow the rolls to rise while the oven preheats. Turn oven on to 350F. Once the oven reaches temperature, uncover the cinnamon rolls. Pour heavy cream over tops of cinnamon rolls. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
7. Make the icing. Using a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and softened butter until light and fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add the milk/heavy cream according to your desired thickness for the icing.
8. Spread the icing over the cinnamon rolls while they are warm. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Measuring the flour
When measuring the flour, make sure you use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup. Gently pile it into the cup until it forms a heap at the top. Do not pack the flour in. Use the back of a knife to level off the cup of flour.Â
Instant vs. Active Dry Yeast
This recipe calls for instant yeast. Instant yeast does not need an activation time. I still like to add the yeast to the milk and sugar and let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute or so, while I’m measuring the flour. However, it does not need this activation time. That’s the benefit of instant yeast. It works instantly. Just make sure you keep the warm milk between a temperature of 108-112F.
If you have active dry yeast on hand, feel free to use this instead. Substitute in a one to one ratio. The active dry yeast, however DOES need an activation time. Add the yeast along with the milk and 1 tablespoon of the sugar to your mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the mixture is frothy in appearance. This means the yeast is active and ready to use. If it does not get frothy in appearance, it means the yeast is not working, and you will have to discard it. This could happen for two different reasons. Either the yeast was old and expired, or the warm milk was too hot. I recommend keeping the milk temperature between 108-112F. You will need to add an additional 15-20 minutes onto your first rise time as active dry yeast does rise slower than instant.
Second rise
The rolls don’t need a long second rise, because it can make them too airy. While this is great for some things like pizza dough, you don’t want large air pockets in your cinnamon rolls. The rolls will continue to rise and expand in the oven as they bake, giving them the perfect amount of softness.
Bread flour vs. all-purpose flour
In this jumbo cinnamon rolls recipe, you can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour. I used to use all-purpose flour all the time for cinnamon rolls, but recently, I discovered how wonderful bread flour works for cinnamon rolls. If you want these jumbo cinnamon rolls to truly be like cinnabon cinnamon rolls, then I recommend using bread flour.
Bread flour has a higher protein content, which means the flour is able to form a stronger gluten structure than all-purpose flour. This results in taller, softer, fluffier rolls.
With that being said, all-purpose flour will create great rolls too, and they will be just as delicious.
Can these be frozen?
Yes, they definitely can be! After baking the cinnamon rolls, allow them to fully cool to room temperature. Once they are cool, place them in a zip-top bag and close. Place in your freezer until they are ready to use. The night before you are ready to eat these, place them in the refrigerator to thaw. You can reheat the cinnamon rolls in your oven or in the microwave. Make the icing fresh and spread over top of the warm rolls.
- Prep Time: 15
- Rise Time: 45
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Can I use gluten free flour in this recipe?
Anita,
I personally have not tried gluten free flour with these, so I am not sure how they would turn out. Sorry! If you try it with gluten free flour, let me know how it turns out!
-Jolene
Do the rolls after placing in the pan need to rise? Or just put into oven when it comes to temperature?
Pamela,
The second rise happens when the oven is preheating (check out the notes at the bottom of the recipe). A longer rise actually makes the rolls too airy. Hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
Can’t wait to try these 😋
I’m so excited for you to try them too! Let me know how they turn out, Rhonda!
-Jolene
I can’t wait to try these 😋
Thanks Rhonda! I hope you enjoy them!
-Jolene
Made these cinnamon rolls today and they are the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had! My whole family loved them. I also enjoyed that they didn’t take long to make. They came out perfectly!
Ben,
I am sooo happy to hear that! Glad that you enjoyed the ease of the recipe and that they were a hit with the whole family! Thanks for making my recipe.
-Jolene
How would this need to be adjusted for high altitude?
Michelle,
To be honest I’ve not baked at high altitude but from my understanding for these rolls, everything should remain the same EXCEPT the dough rise time. Yeast dough tends to rise faster at higher altitudes, so perhaps check your dough around 30 minutes. It should be roughly double in size. When you bake the rolls the internal temperature of the rolls should be 188F when they are done. Hope this helps!
-Jolene
Can you use Lactose free dairy/ dairy free milk in this recipe?
Nancy,
Yes, you absolutely can! I hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
Hi..I’m wondering if I can make the dough in my bread maker?
Sheri,
While I personally have not used a bread machine to make these cinnamon rolls, you definitely can! Just add the ingredients in this order: milk, butter, eggs, salt, sugar, flour and yeast last. This prevents premature activation of the yeast. Select the dough cycle. After the first rise, repeat with the remaining steps, starting at step 3. I hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
I usually don’t leave reviews, but these Jumbo Cinnamon rolls are so good I just had to! They’re way better than Cinnabon and I found them very easy to make. I love that they don’t take long to make!
Louise,
I am really glad to hear that you enjoyed these rolls so much! You truly can’t beat a homemade cinnamon roll, warm, fresh out of the oven :). Thanks for trying my recipe!
-Jolene
I want to make these the day before I bake them. At what step should I put them in the refrigerator?
Nichole,
To make these as overnight cinnamon rolls, you’ll put the rolls in the refrigerator after step 5 (so after you cut the log into 8 rolls and place in the greased 13×9 inch pan). Cover the pan and place in the refrigerator. The next morning, take the rolls out of the refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before you plan to bake them (alternatively, if you want them faster, turn your oven on. Once it reaches 100F, turn the oven off. Place your covered rolls in the warm oven and allow to rise for 30 minutes. Just don’t forget to remove the rolls from the oven before you preheat it! 🙂 ). Then bake the rolls as directed in the recipe.
I hope you enjoy these!
-Jolene
Haven’t made them yet, but wanted to say thank you for all the information and tips with the ingredients! It makes it so much better to learn these things for even future recipes and making different things. I just wanted to say thank you!
Corinne,
Thank you so much for the kind words! I’m so glad you find the information helpful! I hope you enjoy these cinnamon rolls 🙂
-Jolene
How stiff will the dough be after mixing. It became so stiff that my KitchenAid stopped working and started smoking while kneading.
All measurements were to recipe specifications.
Lurline,
The dough should actually be quite soft. When you measured the flour, did you use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup? If you did not, you most likely had too much flour. The flour should not be packed into the measuring cup. The correct way to measure flour is by scooping it with a spoon into a measuring cup. Use a flat edge, like the back of a knife to level off the measuring cup.
You can also try adding in around 4 3/4 cups flour and go up from there.
I hope that will help you!
-Jolene
Same happened to my dough, became really hard after kneading. Maybe 5 3/4 flour is too much? Should I still try to bake them or make the dough again?
Gia,
Thanks so much for your feedback and I’m so sorry about that! I will modify the recipe and add a range of flour for the recipe. First things first, it’s very important to measure the flour correctly, by scooping the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon. This prevents the flour from being packed in the measuring cup, which would result in using too much flour. Secondly, the amount of flour can vary from kitchen to kitchen as it is affected by a variety of factors, one of which is humidity. I would remake the dough and start at 5 1/4 cups. I will change the recipe to include this range. Thanks again for the feedback. I’ve had many make it with the 5 3/4 cups with great success, but like I said there are a variety of factors that affect the amount of flour needed in a dough recipe.
Hope this helps.
-Jolene
Made these for our Thanksgiving breakfast and these were THE BEST cinnamon rolls we’ve EVER HAD! Everyone loved them! And they were so easy to make!
Kimberly,
That’s wonderful to hear! I am so happy all of you enjoyed these cinnamon rolls so much! Thanks for making my recipe :).
-Jolene
I froze these frosting and all and they were delicious. Just popped a frozen roll in the microwave for 20 seconds and the were ooey gooey good. Thanks!
Marnel,
That is so wonderful to hear and I’m so happy they worked out perfectly to be frozen with frosting and everything. That makes for an easy and delicious breakfast :). Thanks so much for making these!
-Jolene
Thank you for the recipe! Since I am a household of one, I am going to cut the recipe in half. Do I also cut in half the yeast or use the full 2 1/4 tsp. amount?
Melissa,
I’m so excited for you to make these and I hope you love them! I would leave the yeast at the full 2 1/4 teaspoon amount. It should actually work fine if you do cut the yeast in half, it will just rise slower. Have fun making these 🙂
-Jolene
I had trouble getting the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon mixture to spread over the dough. Any suggestions? Do I need to have very soft or almost melted butter for it to spread?
Melissa,
Yes, the butter needs to be almost melted to spread over the dough.
-Jolene