The Best Cinnamon Rolls (Easy, One Rise)

These Cinnamon Rolls are the ultimate cinnamon rolls – they’re easy to make, only require one rise time, are ultra soft and gooey. Each cinnamon roll is filled with a buttery brown sugar cinnamon swirl that has just the right amount of cinnamon and extra brown sugar to create a delicious gooey center. These rolls freeze well, so you can make them ahead of time, making them great for special get togethers, brunches and holidays.

Okay, so this easy cinnamon roll recipe wasn’t entirely planned, and sometimes that’s where the best recipes can come from – when you are just playing around in the kitchen. Truth is, I was planning to make an updated video for my 1-hour soft cinnamon rolls. So, if you are a fan of that recipe, you will see some similarities in this recipe.

My 1-hour cinnamon rolls are quick and easy, just like these, but the 1-hour cinnamon rolls require two short rise times. As I started this recipe, I decided to go out for a run. Well, my run took a little longer than I planned and I got into doing one thing after another and before I knew it, it had been 45 minutes!

Needless to say, I decided to forgo filming my 1-hour cinnamon roll recipe, and come up with a new recipe. These easy cinnamon rolls only require one 45-minute rise. They have more buttery cinnamon sugar filling in them than my 1-hour cinnamon rolls and a bit more of that heavy cream that helps create that gooey bottom. They are soft, like ultra pillowy soft. The rolls have an unbelievably delicious gooey bottom and the velvety smooth cream cheese icing on top just makes these perfect. I made these cinnamon rolls with heavy cream, which is the key to that delicious gooey bottom

Here’s What Sets These Cinnamon Rolls Apart From the Rest

• EASY! This recipe truly is easy. These one rise cinnamon rolls only need 45 minutes of rise time. The recipe uses instant yeast, which means you don’t have to wait for the yeast to activate. You can simply add the yeast in with the rest of the ingredients.
• Gooey Bottoms – one of the keys to the gooey bottom cinnamon rolls is the cinnamon sugar filling. The filling has the perfect balance of cinnamon with a touch extra butter and brown sugar. The gooey filling combined with the heavy cream poured on top of the rolls creates a delicious gooey, caramel-like sauce on the bottom of the rolls.
• Ultra, pillowy soft – these easy cinnamon rolls are incredibly soft. The combination of all-purpose flour and the lower amount of flour contribute to the softness. When this dough is mixed, it will be very soft, but that is what you want! The rolls have just enough flour to hold the structure together and allow for the dough to rise, while yielding tender, soft rolls. All-purpose flour has a lower gluten content, and thus creates a more tender roll. Although, I do enjoy using bread flour in some cinnamon roll recipes as it can yield higher rising, taller rolls.
• Make these ahead of time! One of the things I really love about this recipe is that the rolls freeze really well. If you are planning a special brunch or get together, you can make these rolls a day or two before, or even a week ahead.

Instant vs. Active Dry Yeast

Okay, so you may be wondering what exactly is the difference between instant and active dry yeast. This recipe uses instant yeast, but you can certainly use active dry yeast if that is what you have on hand.

Instant yeast – instant yeast truly is instant. You can use this yeast directly in with the dough ingredients. You still want to make sure that the warm liquid, in this case, milk, added in is between 108-112 degrees F. Using a liquid warmer than this can kill the yeast, and using a liquid colder than this temperature can cause a slower rise time.

Active dry yeast – Active dry yeast requires an “activation” time. To do this, you will mix the yeast with the warm liquid, in this case, the milk and sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until you notice the yeast has a frothy appearance on the surface. You will also be able to smell the yeast. Once the yeast is activated you can add in the remaining ingredients. Active dry yeast also has a slower rise time. You can substitute this yeast in a 1:1 ratio in this recipe, or any recipe. Just note that you will likely need to add an extra 10-15 minutes of rise time.

How Should the Dough Look After Kneading?

This dough is VERY soft. It may not form a dough ball around the dough hook of your stand mixer and that is okay! Do not add more flour. I repeat, do not add more flour! 🙂 The extra flour will just make these rolls tougher, and we are aiming for rolls that are pillowy soft. The amount of flour in this recipe is just enough to hold the rolls together and form a nice gluten structure to trap air and allow the rolls to rise. Certainly, when you roll the rolls out, a dusting of flour on your work surface will be perfectly fine.

What if my Cinnamon Rolls Don’t Rise?

It’s happened to the best of us. We make the dough, cover it and wait patiently for it to rise, only to come back after patiently waiting and see the dough did absolutely nothing. It’s frustrating, believe me!

There are really only two reasons that your dough may not rise. The first is that the liquid was too warm. I like to aim for 108 – 112 degrees F. Technically you can even go as high as 120, but around this temperature, some yeast starts to die off. Lower than 108 and your dough rises much slower. I have found that 108 – 112 degrees F has always produced the perfect amount of rise for my dough.

The second reason is that the yeast may be expired, or it could just be a bad batch of yeast. I actually got yeast from the store and made three different recipes on different days. Each recipe did not rise. While I know I can make mistakes, the fact that this happened on different days with three different recipes, told me that the yeast was most likely at fault here. Needless to say I got rid of that yeast! The yeast wasn’t even old, but I think the batch was bad, for whatever reason.

Why do you add Heavy Cream to the Cinnamon Rolls?

Cinnamon rolls are already rich. I know you may be wondering why add even more richness to the rolls? However, cinnamon rolls with heavy cream is like the secret ingredient that takes these rolls from good to great. The heavy cream combined with that extra gooey brown sugar cinnamon filling creates an incredible gooey bottom on each of the cinnamon rolls. The heavy cream also helps keep the tops of the cinnamon rolls soft and moist while they bake.

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

Leave a Comment!

If you make these Cinnamon Rolls, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I absolutely love reading all of your comments! Also, make sure to snap a picture and tag me @simplebakingwithpep on instagram. It truly makes my day to see all of your wonderful creations.

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