1-Hour Cinnamon Roll Recipe

4.08 from 116 votes

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This 1-hour Cinnamon Roll Recipe is the quick version of my ultimate Cinnabon clone. You’ll never need another recipe for Cinnamon Rolls!

In case you need a crazy-delicious {and seriously so fast} cinnamon roll recipe, I’ve got you covered. I decided to take matters into my own hands, tweak my original cinnamon roll recipe and post a 1-hour version that is *nearly* as fabulous. Obviously, there is a slight difference, but not much. Also, it’s really hard to go wrong with sugar, cinnamon and bread products. Just sayin’.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe goes so quickly and works so wonderfully because I use super-fast acting yeast and lots of it.

I also cut these rolls a little thinner than the original Cinnabon ones so the centers cook as evenly as the edges and the entire thing puffs up evenly.

The same frosting recipe is used and nearly everything stayed the same within the context of the dough as well.

Sooooo, yeah. Basically, I’ve got this roll recipe for you to use and enjoy…. 🙂

Cinnamon Roll Recipe Ingredients

Okay, get your shopping list ready because there are a lot of ingredients that go into this recipe. Most ingredients you probably already have because they are baking staples. Others you might have to shop around for (like corn syrup).

For the dough, you’ll need warm milk, active dry yeast (use the fast acting kind), salt, granulated sugar, egg, canola oil (or vegetable oil), and all-purpose flour.

For the cinnamon filling, you’ll need softened butter (or margarine), light brown sugar, and ground cinnamon.

For the cinnamon roll icing, you’ll need cream cheese (at room temperature), softened butter (or margarine), vanilla extract, corn syrup, fresh lemon juice, and powdered sugar.

Once you have all of these ingredients, you are ready to make these fast and easy Cinnamon Rolls!

Unfrosted Cinnamon Rolls

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls

  1. In a large liquid measuring cup, stir warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar together to dissolve. Stir and proof 5 minutes. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, measure out 3 cups of flour, the remaining sugar, and salt.
  2. Once yeast mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour into the stand mixer with dry ingredients. Start to stir on low. Add in the egg and the oil. Scrape edges of the bowl to stir flour in evenly. Knead 5 minutes on low.
  3. If the dough seems a bit sticky, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour at a time until it starts pulling away from the bowl. {You still want it to be tacky, but not sticky enough to stick to your hands!} Rest dough 5 minutes.
  4. 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.
Cinnamon Rolls

Filling and Rolling

  1. Sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough to be about 18×24 inches. Spread with softened butter over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough.
  2. Dump brown sugar and cinnamon mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the butter, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. If you have any filling that falls off the sides of the dough, use a bench scraper to replace. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the butter using a rolling pin.
  3. Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Slice your rolls into 1 1/2 inch rounds and place on prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until tops start to brown lightly.

Cinnamon Roll Icing

  1. While the rolls are baking, whip cream cheese and butter together. Stir in vanilla, corn syrup and lemon juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Pour in powdered sugar and stir slowly until it starts to incorporate. Then mix on high for 5 minutes or until frosting starts to lighten in color. Scrape sides and mix again briefly.
  2. Once rolls have been removed from the oven, frost using half the amount made. Then after they have cooled a few more minutes, frost again with remaining frosting. The first frosting will melt down into the rolls and the second layer should stay put. Serve warm.
Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Cinnamon Roll Recipe Tips and Tricks

(some affiliate links below)

Original Recipe. These cinnamon rolls are based on my original Cinnamon Rolls recipe. If you have a little extra time on your hands, give the originals a whirl. If not, these are GREAT!

Thickness. You can cut these rolls to be thin or thick. Either is tasty; you’ll just have to cook the bigger ones longer.

Overkneading. Kneading dough in a stand mixer is a great way to make this dough, however, there is a tendency to add in too much flour. Be sure it’s sticky, but not sticky enough to stick to your fingers. Knead by hand is a great way to ensure the dough doesn’t get over kneaded.

Roulpat. I love my Roulpat for pie crusts, biscuits, cookie dough, and cinnamon roll dough too! It’s like the cousin of the Silpat. A silicone mat meant for doughs, not baking in the oven. It works amazingly well 🙂 I’ve been converted for a few years now and won’t go back. YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!

Food Processor. If you happen to have one of these on hand, it makes whipping the cream cheese frosting together a cinch! Seriously, if you have one, give it a try!!

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Can I Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead of Time?

Absolutely! Follow the recipe as directed but stop before baking! At this point, you can cover your rolls with plastic wrap and set them in the fridge overnight. When ready to bake, bring them to room temperature and then pick up where the directions left off and bake. You can even make the frosting ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use.

Do I Have to use corn syrup?

No! The corn syrup adds a nice shine to the frosting and brings sweetness to it as well.

More Cinnamon Roll Recipes to Try!

Swoon is my middle name. Make sure you save this recipe, especially if you don’t have enough time to make the original Cinnamon Roll Recipe. Have a wonderful day!

xoxo-Lauren

Cinnamon Rolls
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4.08 from 116 votes

1-Hour Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

This 1-hour Cinnamon Roll Recipe is the quick version of my ultimate Cinnabon clone. You'll never need another recipe for Cinnamon Rolls!
servings 16 Rolls
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

for the dough-

for the filling-

  • 1/3 cup salted butter softened
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

for the frosting-

  • 2 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
  • 1/4 cup salted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Making the Dough

  • In a large liquid measuring cup, stir warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar together to dissolve. Stir and proof 5 minutes. Into the bowl of a stand mixer, measure out 3 cups of flour, the remaining sugar and salt.
  • Once yeast mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour into stand mixer with dry ingredients. Start to stir on low. Add in the egg and the oil. Scrape edges of bowl to stir flour in evenly. Knead 5 minutes on low.
  • If dough seems a bit sticky, stir in 2 tablespoons of flour at a time until it starts pulling away from the bowl. {You still want it to be tacky, but not sticky enough to stick to your hands!} Rest dough 5 minutes.
  • 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.

Filling and Rolling

  • Sprinkle counter with flour and roll dough to be about 18x24. Spread with softened butter over dough, being sure to go right to the edges leaving a 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough.
  • Dump brown sugar and cinnamon mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the butter, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched. If you have any filling that falls off the sides of the dough, use a bench scraper to replace. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the butter using a rolling pin.
  • Roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Slice your rolls into 1 1/2 inch rounds and place on prepared pan. Bake about 20 minutes or until tops start to brown lightly.

For the Frosting

  • While the rolls are baking, whip cream cheese and butter together. Stir in vanilla, corn syrup and lemon juice. Scrape sides and mix again. Pour in powdered sugar and stir slowly until it starts to incorporate. Then mix on high for 5 minutes or until frosting starts to lighten in color. Scrape sides and mix again briefly.
  • Once rolls have been removed from the oven, frost using half the amount made. Then after they have cooled a few more minutes, frost again with remaining frosting. The first frosting will melt down into the rolls and the second layer should stay put. Serve warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 233mg | Potassium: 121mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 295IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 52mg | Iron: 1.9mg
Course: Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cinnamon roll recipe, cinnamon rolls, how to make cinnamon rolls

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Recipe Rating




186 Responses
  1. Kerstin

    I tried the recipe too. i only made half of the recipe and like the others mentioned, the dough was tough and super dry, I had to add more milk to fix it. I think it worked.

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  4. Chele Haynes

    Hi Lauren
    I am trying to find out if I can make the Cinnabon cinnamon rolls the day before Christmas and give then as a gift so they can bake them and have them fresh Christmas morning .. Any suggestions on how I might do this so they can have them warm for Christmas morning .. Many thanks .. Love your site 🙂

  5. Kris

    5 stars
    Holy cow, these were FANTASTIC!!! I did let them rest a little while longer in the bowl and then let them rise for about 20 minutes after putting them in the pan, but my son who is a cinnamon roll freak said these were WAY better than any we had previously purchased for Christmas morning. Using this recipe to feed 25 hungry swimmers later this week. Thanks for the great recipe!

  6. Rick

    4 1/2 teaspoons of yeast. Dough rises? Nope.
    Roll the dough and cut rolls. Let rise? Nope.
    What???
    You. Never let the yeast do its work.
    Color me stumped 🙂

  7. Stephanie

    I need to make these gluten free, any variations I need to make? I use the gf flour : Better Batter. Their website says a cup for a cup but I’m always leary

  8. Angela

    These are baking now!! My first attempt at cinnamon rolls. My little hand held electric mixer did a great job at mixing the dough til the end! Thanks for sharing.

  9. Elizabeth

    I am not sure if you’ll get this, but I have bread machine yeast. Do you think that it will work just as well?

  10. Janaina

    5 stars
    hi Lauren! I have made those last night and they came our perfectly!! Thank you! To the person who mentioned that the dough was too dough for the mixer, you cannot use the paddle, rather use the dough attachment.

    This is one of my favorite desserts – I will be making it again soon!!

  11. Amy

    Just tried making these. The tough was so thick my kitchen aid mixer could not turn it and started to burn up the motor. I could not roll it out it was so thick and dry. Used all the measurements above with only 4 cups of flour. Any idea why this happened?

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  13. Jen

    One question – what exact kind of yeast did you use? I’ve seen ‘active dry,’ ‘instant,’ and ‘rapid-rise,’ but none that say both ‘active dry’ and either instant or rapid-rise. Just want to make sure I use the right kind! I have SAF instant and Fleischmann active-dry, but am definitely willing to buy a new kind if it means I can have those amazing-looking cinnamon buns in 1 hour!

  14. Joy

    I have just made the dough for these Cinnabon Cinnamon rolls. However, they are for 12/30 am so I am going to let the dough set until later today. They are to be for my daughters work brunch. Can’t imagine if/how this would mess up the texture of the roll but just want to make sure they are light/fluffy and not like an Indian rubber ball. I am also going to make the topping with caramel and not the listed and might even put some apricot jam with the filling. I love to experiment with foods/pastries so here goes. thank you for the easy recipe. Happy New Year to you and yours.

  15. Lauren at Keep It Sweet

    I’ve been wanting to make your Cinnabon recipe forever! Maybe I’ll finally settle on this one hour version. Hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas!

  16. Meriem @ Culinary Couture

    This recipe is the answer to all my prayers. I’m obsessed with your cinnabon cinnamon rolls and a 1 hour version is just what I need!

  17. Emily @ Life on Food

    I love cinnamon rolls. They are my one true baked good I cannot resist. I love that these are extra fast. Waiting is the worst!

  18. Jessica @ Golden Brown and Delicious

    UGH. More sugar is the last thing I need right now, but I want these so bad! They look amazing! Enjoy your holiday 🙂

  19. Sara

    Is there a substitute for corn syrup? I never use it so hate to buy a whole bottle for one tablespoon. Otherwise they look delicious and I’m definitely pinning these!

  20. Karen @ On the Banks of Salt Creek

    You should get a little something extra in your stocking for this one. Planning on making. Everyone will be very happy.

  21. Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness

    Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls in 1 HOUR? OHMAHGASH.
    I want to marry these.
    OR, at least make them for Christmas morning. 😉 Pinned!

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