My Favorite Giant Cinnamon Rolls
There’s just nothing in my house that says “special breakfast” quite like my favorite Giant Cinnamon Rolls. They’re the ultimate indulgence and the kind of soft, gooey, oversized rolls everyone requests for Christmas morning, birthdays, or honestly any day we feel like celebrating. And the best part? They look impressive, taste incredible, and yet… they’re really not that hard to make.
Prep Time30 minutes mins
Cook Time25 minutes mins
Total Time55 minutes mins
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: giant cinnamon rolls
Servings: 12 cinnamon rolls
Calories: 501kcal
Author: Lillie
For the Rolls:
- 2 cups whole milk any milk will work
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 Tbsp. instant yeast
- 2 eggs
- 6 cups flour
For the Filling
- 1/2 cup +2 tbs softened butter
- 1¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1¼ Tbsp. ground cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 2¼ cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp. melted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2-3 Tbsp. milk
- 2 oz. cream cheese or greek yogurt cream cheese works great!
Microwave milk for 2-3 minutes until it's bubbling. Pour the milk into the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
Add the butter, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed until the butter is melted. Let the mixture cool until warm but not hot. Add the yeast and eggs and mix until combined.
Gradually add about half of the flour. Switch to dough hook attachment and add the rest until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Knead for 2-3 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a large bowl sprayed with nonstick spray. I like to spray a fine mist on the top of the dough too so I can cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled, about one hour.
Roll the dough into a large rectangle, (horizontal in relation to your body) about 18×12 inches. Spread softened butter over the dough.
Stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the dough. Pat it in slightly with the palms of your hands.
Starting with a long end, roll up the dough as tightly as possible, pinching the seam lightly to seal.
Using a serrated knife, cut a shallow slit in the roll at the half point, then cut a slit in the center of each half so you've got 4 equal portions, and cut slits for 3 cinnamon rolls in each of those portions ... until you've got 12 cinnamon rolls. I like to do shallow slits to make sure they're even before I cut all the way through. Cut with a gentle sawing motion.
Place the rolls evenly spaced on a large, parchment-lined, rimmed sheet pan (13x18). Cover and let rise until double.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 24-26 minutes until light golden brown.
For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, milk, and cream cheese until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls. It almost seems like it won't be enough but it's perfect!
Make Ahead Options
Option 1: Make cinnamon rolls days ahead and freeze to halt the rise
Make them in advance, even days ahead. Get them to the point where you’ve got them cut into rolls and placed on the pan. Cover and freeze them before you let the rolls rise. If your freezer can’t fit your sheet pan, you’ll need to break them into a couple of different pans at this point.
Remove from the freezer the night before you want to bake them, place the pan of frozen rolls on the counter, and let them thaw and rise overnight. From my experience, they needed at least 8 to 10 hours to rise from frozen, but you might want to check on them a little before that to be sure! When you can tell they’ve risen substantially and are nice and puffy and touching each other, pop them in the oven and bake!
I have also used this freezer method but pulled them out of the freezer in the morning to let thaw on the counter and they were ready to bake within 4 1/2 hours. So it can really depend on the temperature in your home, etc.. but generally speaking I think it’s safe to thaw the frozen rolls on the counter overnight.
If they look like they’re not rising fast enough in the morning, you can place them in a barely warm oven (heat to 200 and then turn OFF) to help get them going.
Option 2: Make cinnamon rolls the night before and pop in the fridge to slow the rise
I’ve also made them Christmas Eve and then placed the whole pan, before letting them rise, in the refrigerator overnight. Pull them out the next morning and let them rise longer on the counter if needed. Or preheat the oven right away for baking if they’re already puffy! The only risk here is I don’t know how long they will last in the fridge before they rise too much and fall. I’ve only done this when I made them late at night and got them in the fridge after 10 pm. I pulled them out around seven and preheated the oven, and they were ready shortly after to bake!
Nutrition:
Serving size: 1 giant cinnamon roll with 1/12 of the glaze
Per serving: 501 cal, 71.1c, 22.7f, 5.8p
Search: Lillie Eats and Tells My Favorite Giant Cinnamon Rolls
*The nutrition facts include 1/12 of the glaze... but I usually choose mine and drizzle and weigh out my own glaze. I used to think I wanted thick cream cheese frosting, but with these big soft warm beauties, a little glaze is plenty, and by halving your portion, you can save yourself 10 carbs and 2 fat.
Recipe adapted from letsdishrecipes.com.
Serving: 1roll with 1/12 of the glaze | Calories: 501kcal | Carbohydrates: 71.1g | Protein: 5.8g | Fat: 22.7g