Cinnamon Rolls
Updated December 24, 2020
These homemade cinnamon rolls are the BEST! Everyone that makes them falls in love! They are great for breakfast, brunch, and holidays.
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Pin ItThis cinnamon roll recipe is a family favorite. It was my grandmother’s recipe, but my dad has perfected it over the years. We refer to them as “Parry Rolls.” Everyone knows about these rolls and they are the most often requested. My dad likes to share the recipe, but he would rather just bake up a big batch for anyone and everyone. His are the BEST!
I shared this recipe when I first started my blog, before I even knew it would be a food blog and the cinnamon rolls have been the most popular recipe on our site since day one! I have updated the photos and I am sharing some additional tips! These really are the BEST cinnamon rolls! You HAVE to make them!
Yeast
A lot of people are intimidated by baking with yeast but I’m here to tell you that you CAN do it. It isn’t hard, I promise!
- First, check the date on your yeast to make sure it hasn’t expired. You always want to start with fresh yeast.
- We use active dry yeast, which needs to be mixed with water. Sprinkle the yeast over lukewarm water and wait. Your yeast will start to activate. It will get frothy and start to smell…well, yeasty! Pro tip-if you want to give the yeast a little help, you can add a pinch of sugar to help it grow.
- If you want to use instant yeast, you can. My dad always uses it the same way, but you can add it with the dry ingredients and just add the warm water separately.
- Your water should be right at 110* for yeast to activate. Water at this temperature feels hot, but it won’t burn your hand if you hold it under the stream. If the water is too hot it will kill your yeast, so be careful.
Shortening or Butter?
The original recipe calls for shortening, but we have started using unsalted butter and both ingredients work well. Use your favorite!
Mixing the Dough
I like to use a KitchenAid Stand Mixer to mix together the dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand, it will just take longer. You will get a good arm workout:)
First Rise
The cinnamon roll dough has to rise twice. Once after you form the dough and once after you cut the dough into cinnamon rolls. Find a warm place in your house so the dough can rise nicely and cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel.
Rolling Out the Dough
This recipe makes two 9×13 pans of cinnamon rolls and that may sound like a lot but I guarantee they won’t last long. If you want to half the recipe, you can, but if you are going to go to all the trouble to make cinnamon rolls, make a bunch and share with family and friends.
Divide the dough in half and roll half of the dough into a rectangle, about 22×13-inches, on a lightly floured surface. Make sure you flour the area before rolling or the dough will stick.
The Filling
When you spread the “goods” onto the dough, make sure you go all out. My dad never holds back! You want the cinnamon rolls to have lots of flavor and the flavor comes from the filling. So be very generous with the:
- Softened Butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Raisins
If you don’t care for raisins, you can leave them out, but our family loves them.
Cutting
Once the filling is spread on the dough, carefully roll the dough into a long log. Now, it’s time to cut the log into cinnamon rolls.
My dad uses unflavored floss to cut the dough into rolls! This is the secret to perfectly sliced rolls that hold their shape. Pull up the ends of the floss and loop them together as though you were going to tie a knot. Tightly pull the floss until it slices through the dough. You can also use a sharp knife to cut them.
Second Rise
Place the cut cinnamon rolls in greased 9×13-inch pans, leaving about 2 inches in between each roll. The rolls will get bigger when they rise so you want to make sure you leave room for them to expand.
Cover the pans with clean kitchen towels and place in a warm place to rise.
Let the cinnamon rolls rise until doubled in size. This will take about one hour or 1.5 hours.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 to 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the centers are soft, but not gooey. Every oven is different so check at 20 minutes. Ours usually take right around 30 minutes to bake. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before frosting.
Icing
Making my dad’s cinnamon roll icing is as easy as beating the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and whole milk together! Just make sure your butter is softened. Drizzle generously over warm cinnamon rolls and ENJOY.
If you prefer a cream cheese frosting, you can make a cream cheese frosting for the cinnamon buns.
Making in Advance
You can refrigerate the rolls overnight and bake in the morning. Don’t let the dough rise a second time if you are going to do this. Put the rolls in pans and cover with plastic wrap, then refrigerate overnight. In the morning, let them come to room temperature and give them time to rise. This will take 2-3 hours, depending on the temperature of your house. Then bake as directed!
How to Freeze
Cinnamon rolls freeze beautifully and you can freeze them a few different ways.
- You can freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls. If I am going to freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls, I like to put them in aluminum foil disposable pans so I can put them in the freezer. After the second rise, bake the cinnamon rolls for 12 minutes. You want them to be raised and set, but not golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Cover the pans tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, remove the pans from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to defrost. Once thawed, finish baking for 10 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown and frost.
- Baked cinnamon rolls can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place completely cooled cinnamon rolls in a freezer container or bag. Remove from the freezer the night before and thaw in the refrigerator. Warm up the cinnamon rolls in the microwave or oven. You can freeze frosted or unfrosted cinnamon rolls.
More Sweet Roll Recipes:
- Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls
- Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Parry Rolls
These are a few of the original photos of my dad, Parry, making cinnamon rolls. He is the master! I am so glad he shared his famous cinnamon roll recipe with our family and the world:) I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! They really are the BEST cinnamon rolls!
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Video
Best Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Rolls:
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packets)
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, to proof the yeast
- 6 tablespoons shortening or unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 9 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (more if the dough is sticky, up to 10 cups)
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup softened butter, divided
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, divided
- 1 cup raisins, optional
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, divided
For the frosting:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons milk, more if necessary
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the yeast and a pinch of the
granulated sugar with the lukewarm water and set aside for 5 minutes or until
the yeast bubbles up. It will smell “yeasty.” - In the bowl of a stand mixer, add shortening or butter, sugar, and salt to the 2 cups of hot water and beat for 30 seconds, using the beater blade. Let cool to lukewarm temperature. Stir in 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture and mix until well combined. Mix in the beaten eggs.
- Gradually stir in the remaining flour and mix with the dough hook for about 2 minutes. Remove dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured counter. Knead by hand, add a little flour if the dough is still sticky. Knead until dough feels satiny and smooth.
- Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. After the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and divide it in half. With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough into a rectangular shape, about 22 X 13 inches. Spread dough evenly with half of the softened butter, about ¼ cup. Sprinkle dough with half of the brown sugar, raisins, and cinnamon. You can omit the raisins, but my family loves them.
- Roll up dough into one long roll. Cut rolls, using a piece of dental floss or thread, about two inches thick. Place rolls in greased 9X13-inch baking pans, leaving about 2-inches between the rolls so they have room to rise. Now follow the exact same steps with the other half of the dough.
- Cover the pans with a clean kitchen towel. Let the rolls rise until double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until cinnamon rolls are golden brown on top and cooked in the middle. Every oven is different so check at 20 minutes to be safe, but it might take longer. You don't want them to be doughy in the middle. Time will also vary based on how big they get during the second rise. Ours take closer to 28-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the rolls cool to room temperature.
- While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Frost the cooled cinnamon rolls generously!
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Thanks for Sharing!
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My go-to recipe! I just had to make a random batch just out of pure selfishness….needed a taste to get my Monday going!
Thank you for sharing your family recipe. My family LOVES these! I now will be making them a lot!
You are welcome!
The ingredients are for 24 rolls, which in mu opinion should be warned … 24 are too many. Ingredients and quantities for less would be more convenient.
You can half the recipe.
When you go to print the recipe there is a toggle that lets you select 12 rolls instead of 24. It will take all your measurements down by half. Then just print the recipe!
I know adjusting recipes for less/more servings can sometimes be tricky – is it reasonable for THIS recipe if I only wanted to make 12 (rather than 24) to just halve all the ingredients?
nevermind! I just saw above where you mentioned you can just halve the recipe! thank you!!!
Recipe is great, but I used way less flour
I also use more butter and 1 more egg.
Definitely keep this recipe for later rolls. Thank you for sharing
I love the large recipe! Often cooking and baking for our large church family. This recipe makes it easy to make a few hundred rolls in a short amount of time. This is a great cinnamon roll!! Thanks for sharing!!!!
You are welcome! They are our favorite.
please can you tell me how big 22×13 is
This has been my go to recipe for yearsssss! The amount of people that demand these are unreal. So soft and fluffy. I do sub their frosting for cream cheese frosting though. Mmmm, thank you!
They are the best! So glad you love them.
These really are the BEST cinnamon buns! I’ve been making cinnamon buns for 30 years. These are far the best! Love how they are so high!
I am glad you love them as much as we do!
These have become a Christmas morning staple in my house. I’m currently making them now while the rest of the house is still asleep! There are never any leftover! So delicious!
Yay!! Glad you love them too!
This is a wonderfully delicious recipe and I am going to try the other flavors of rolls as well, but I am having one problem I hope you can help me with and that is that my rolls, after baking 30 minutes are very raw and doughy in the middle and extra baking time does not change this.
The rolls rise very high and crowd each other in the pan and this is the reason why they are doughy. I used Fleischmannn’s Rapid Rise Instant Yeast Fast Acting, is that not good to use? Should I use the regular yeast? Should I use less yeast? Use a larger pan? Thank you!
I have made your Dads roll many times over the years. They are the Best! I tried others and they aren’t as good as these. They are so Yummy!
I am so glad you love them.
How do you know when the rolls are done?
I have made these many many times. They are always delicious!! I usually only make half, because 24 is too much. I have gotten many compliments and will keep this as my go to recipe.
So glad you love them.
Love this recipe. It makes a lot, but I share with the neighbors. I do use chopped pecans instead of raisins.
The brown sugar gives so much more flavor than white sugar.
These are absolutely the best cinnamon rolls. They turn out perfect every time! Thanks for sharing your dad’s recipe!
You are welcome! So glad you love them too!
The best ever! Wondering if you have ever left them at room temp overnight for the second rise to avoid waiting for them to come up to room temp from the fridge?
I always put them in the fridge.
I have been making these for Christmas morning for years. My husband’s coworkers ask for these at every potluck. I love this recipe and the story behind it. Thank you so much for sharing!
Glad you love them too!
When I make cinnamon rolls, I always use this recipe. It works perfectly and they are absolutely delicious. I usually make them the night before, and do the second raise in the morning before I bake them off. My family loves them!
Perfect!! Glad your family loves them.
We made your recipe for Thanksgiving and again on Christmas eve day. The teen members of the family gobbled them down and gave a thumbs up.
Thanks for sharing them recipe.
So happy you love them.
Delicious! So doughy and delightful. Did 1/2 a batch of dough, but then used 75% of the cinnamon/brown sugar innards. Def could have doubled the brown sugar mix. Not a huge fan of the frosting, but lordy that dough was peeeeerfect!! Saving for next time!
It’s true! These are the best! I’ve made them a few times and about to make this week for New Year’s Day breakfast for a new crowd. My family now compares them to restaurant cinnamon rolls and claim these are the best! We are going to make one half with bacon pieces instead of raisins and maybe sprinkle some bacon on top!
I’ve been making these for 5 + years. They are absolutely amazing. You may think 24 rolls are too many, but we have no problem making them disappear when served on a cold day w/ chili… plus they are great to give to family if you think 24 are too many. Share! Everyone loves food!! Especially when it’s as good as they are. Thank you for the recipe! XOXO Angie Lincoln, Ne.
I am so glad you love the cinnamon rolls as much as we do.
The cinnamon rolls were so awesome! Fluffy and gooey. BEST one I’ve tried.
They are the best!
Hello… looking forward to trying these. I have been looking for the best cinnamon roll recipe. This one looks like a winner.
Question:
What brand is your favorite all purpose flour to use?
Do you have a good cream cheese frosting recipe to use on these?
My First try at cinnamon rolls! Delicious recipe and easy! My kids loved them.
Way to go!
I have made these at LEAST a dozen times over the years. They are amazing and turn out so good every time! Best recipe! Please never take it away!
So happy you love them!
I made these for Easter one year and delivered them to our friends. They’re really easy to make and soooooo good!! Making them again this Easter!
Yay!
I do not normally have great success working with yeast but I have made these cinnamon buns several times and they are amazing. So big, so fluffy, so good!! They freeze well. I love that I can make 30+ cinnamon buns and freeze them and then pull out one or two as needed, toss them in the microwave and they are so good. If I am going to spend three hours making cinnamon buns I want to make lots of them at once. This recipe was a great find!
So glad you found the recipe and love them!
Hi! I saw the recipe says 1 tablespoon of salt? Is this correct or should it be 1 teaspoon? Just wanted to check since 1 tablespoon seems like a lot! Thanks!!
I have tried sooooo many cinnamon roll recipes over the years! This one is hands down the best. No need to look any further. I made the raspberry version, too. Simply delicious, and still soft the next day. Thank you for sharing your family recipe!
They really are the best!
I love this recipe! I have made it a few times now and they are always a big hit. I have noticed that the filling does come out of wome batches more than others. Do you happen to know why this would be? Is there something I can do to try and avoid this from happening with future batches? I am going to be making a double batch for my class next week and I would love for them to be as perfect as possible haha! Thank you for sharing your recipe with the world!
Are you rolling them tight enough?
I made this recipe a month ago. My first time making them myself. I don’t care what anyone else says… 24 is NEVER TOO MANY!!! I have a spine injury which has changed my life dramatically. Sometimes, I don’t sleep at night. So, I decided to search for a recipe, found this one and read all the reviews. This is definitely my go to recipe now! They were just BEAUTIFUL, nice and warm for my honey to take to his job. So, from myself, my family and his co-workers: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Speaking of which, I’m making another batch this morning! I will also be trying more of your recipes!
I agree, more is always a good idea:)
I’ve made these in the past and I LOVE them!
Is there any way I can use this dough and combine it with the filling from the pumpkin cinnamon rolls you have posted?
Also, I’m reading that bread flour is really good in cinnamon rolls! Have you ever made these with bread flour? Is it worth a try?
I haven’t tried it, but you can play around! Bread flour will work!
One of the easiest great tasting cinnamon rolls.Will share the recipe with friends
Thank you!
THESE LOOK AWESOME AND I CAN’T WAIT TO MAKE THEM. CAN I ADD NUTS TO THEM ALSO? I HAD A FRIEND THAT USE TO MAKE HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS FROM SCRATCH AND I BELIEVE HE ADDED PECANS. SOOOOO GOOD! THANK YOU (AND YOUR DAD) FOR SHARING THIS. HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR! JULIE
Sure, you can add nuts! Enjoy!
I have been wanting to make these for a while. But, I have been intimidated to make them even though I am experienced in the kitchen. I am so glad I finally just did it. They are delicious and worth the effort!’
Yay! So glad you tried them and loved them.
I am an American living in France and decided I wanted to make some Cinnamon rolls this holiday season. This a great recipe! They turned out great. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I am so glad you loved our family recipe!
These are amazing! I found the dough easy to work and roll out. The taste and texture of these rolls make them stand out from others I have tried over the years. Usually, I tolerate eating the outer layer of a cinnamon roll until I can finally reach the center. I enjoyed every bite of these perfect rolls, even before I made it to the center! Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome! They are our favorite!
I literally make these for my whole neighborhood during the holidays. This recipe makes a lot but it’s great because it is so good.
Can I freeze
Yes!
So I love this recipe, but I get busy especially in your Christmas and I’d like to know how the best way to freeze them is. I tried to ask before but I haven’t gotten an answer. Thank you very much.
See above in the post, there is a section on how to freeze. I am glad you like the recipe.