Copycat Cinnabon Cinnamon Buns (Community Fan-Favorite Recipe)
Photo by Genius Kitchen | Total Time: 2 Hours 30 Minutes | Yields: 12 servings
Ingredients
For the Dough
2 packages active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (105–115°F / 40–46°C)
1 teaspoon + ⅔ cup granulated sugar (separated)
1 cup warmed milk
⅔ cup melted butter
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
7–8 cups all-purpose flour (add up to 1 extra cup if needed)
For the Filling
1 cup melted butter (divided for use)
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar (divided for use)
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts (optional)
1 ½ cups raisins (optional)
Pro tip: For a flavor identical to original Cinnabon buns, use Makara Cinnamon (available at Cinnabon stands) instead of standard grocery store ground cinnamon.
For the Creamy Glaze
⅔ cup melted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4–8 tablespoons hot water
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the dough: In a small cup, mix yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Stir gently and set aside 5–10 minutes to activate until foamy.
In a large mixing bowl, combine warmed milk, remaining ⅔ cup sugar, melted butter, salt, and beaten eggs. Mix well, then stir in the activated yeast mixture.
Add half the flour and beat until completely smooth. Gradually stir in remaining flour until you get a slightly stiff, sticky dough.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured board and knead for 5–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
Place the kneaded dough in a lightly buttered glass or plastic bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size (about 1 to 1 ½ hours).
Once doubled, punch down the dough to release air and let rest 5 minutes. Roll it out on a floured surface into a 15x20 inch rectangle.
Assemble the rolls: Spread ½ cup of the melted filling butter evenly over the rolled dough.
Mix 1 ½ cups granulated sugar with cinnamon, then sprinkle the mixture over the buttered dough. Add walnuts and raisins if using.
Roll the dough tightly into a jelly-roll log, then pinch the open edge to seal. Cut the log into 12 even slices.
Coat the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking pan and an 8-inch square pan with the remaining ½ cup melted butter, then sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup sugar over the butter.
Place the cut roll slices close together in the prepared pans. Cover and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk (about 45 minutes).
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake rolls for 25–30 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. Let cool slightly while you make the glaze.
Make the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches your desired spreadable consistency.
Spread glaze over the slightly cooled rolls and serve warm.
Community Reviews
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The dough was fabulous and so easy to work with, and the final buns turned out amazing. I cut back on butter in the filling and skipped the icing after checking the nutrition info, but it was still incredibly tasty. I’m a huge cinnamon fan, and this hit the spot.
The flavor and texture were absolutely perfect. The dough was so easy to work with, and next time I’ll cut the log into 18 smaller slices instead of 12. I brought these to brunch and everyone left with a copy of the recipe!
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I love the Cinnabon buns from mall locations, and these actually taste better than the store-bought version. They’re super tasty and so easy to make. The only changes I made were swapping half the white sugar for brown sugar, and using my favorite cream cheese icing instead of the glaze here. Thank you for this great recipe — my family is already asking when I’ll bake these again!
Oh my gosh, these are sooooo good! I’ve made cinnamon buns before that were good, but nothing compares to these. I didn’t have enough butter for the full recipe so I halved it, and still got 20 incredibly indulgent buns. I used brown sugar instead of white for the filling, and accidentally used 2 eggs instead of 1 after halving, and you’d never tell! I will definitely make these again, and I’m not sharing the recipe — it’s my little secret!
I rate this 5 stars all the way. I used all the same core ingredients but cut melted butter to ¼ cup, sugar to ½ cup, salt to 1 ½ tsp, and flour to 6 cups, then followed the instructions exactly. I mixed my filling together in a bowl before spreading, and used 1 cup brown sugar plus ¾ cup white sugar. I skip glaze entirely because they’re sweet enough already. They rise beautifully and have a nice light flavor. I’m going to try chilling them overnight and baking in the morning next time, as another baker suggested. Thanks for posting this!
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Popular Bakers' Tweaks
Home bakers share their favorite adjustments for this recipe:
This recipe was great, and the cinnamon rolls came out huge! I also used less butter than the original calls for, and made my glaze with skim milk instead of butter. It tasted just as good — thanks for sharing!
I’ve baked for decades and even worked in a professional bakery, and these are the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever eaten or made. This recipe is definitely a keeper! I halved the recipe, used dried mixed fruit instead of raisins and nuts, and swapped brown sugar for white in the filling. My husband insisted I add glaze, so I caved — calories be damned! 😉
AWESOME! I’ve made my mom’s cinnamon buns my whole life and always thought they were the best, until I tried this. I doubled the recipe, brushed the dough with a little melted butter before the first rise for extra expansion, used margarine instead of butter, swapped brown sugar for white, and added a light sprinkle of allspice. I got 26 massive, soft, gooey buns from the doubled batch, and topped them with homemade cream cheese icing (1 package cream cheese, 2 tbsp milk, 2–3 cups powdered sugar). They were devoured in minutes! This is my go-to recipe from now on — thank you for sharing!
YUM! This was my first attempt at any kind of bread baking, and it went perfectly. The dough was easy to work with, and the buns turned out so soft. I used 1 cup brown sugar for the filling instead of 1 ½ cups white sugar, and it’s absolutely delicious. Thanks for the great recipe!
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I love Cinnabon from the mall, and these taste better than the store-bought version. Very tasty and very easy to make. The only changes I made were using half white, half brown sugar for the filling, and swapping the suggested glaze for my favorite cream cheese icing. My family will definitely be asking for these again soon!
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