Bake the Best Cinnamon Buns Ever (A Clone of a Cinnabon Recipe) (2024)

These rich, gooey cinnamon buns are the best cinnamon buns ever! They are very similar to the ones you might find at the mall, and they’re sweet, moist and delicious. Enjoy this “clone of a Cinnabon” recipe!

(This recipe was first published here in October 2012 and has since been updated with new photos. The buns in the aqua dish are made with 1/2 whole wheat flour.)

There are some things a person like me should only make once every few months. By “a person like me”, I mean the type of woman that tends to get addicted easily to cakey and bready things. A cakey thing with sweetness and spice? EVEN MORE ADDICTING.

This cinnamon bun recipe truly makes the best cinnamon buns I’ve ever tasted. Be warned: I recommend you bake these when you know there will be other equally-as-addicted-to-cinnamon-buns types around when they’re done so that you do not eat the majority of the pan yourself.(If you love cinnamon buns like I do, you might also love this German yeast bread treat called Streuselkuchen!)

I’m sure they are about half my recommended caloric intake for any given day, but they’re darn delicious and a tasty treat every so often!

This recipe is based off of the very popular “Clone of a Cinnabon” recipe from allrecipes.com, but I’ve altered it a little and I make them without a bread machine. Are you ready for ooey-gooey comfort food at its absolute best?

You Will Need:

(Find the exact recipe with measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.)

• milk
• yeast
• eggs
• margarine
• white sugar
• salt
• all purpose flour (whole wheat flour optional)
• dark brown sugar
• ground cinnamon
• butter
• cream cheese
• butter
• icing sugar
• vanilla
• salt

Basic Instructions

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let stand for 5-10 minutes to “proof” (yeast will bubble and float to the top – this tells you that your buns will rise later!).

Mix the eggs, margarine, sugar and salt into the milk & yeast mixture. Mix in flour a cup at a time with a spoon, then by hand.

Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth, round ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let it sit in a warm place for an hour or two until it’s almost doubled (I have a “proof” feature on my convection oven, so I just pop that on and place the dough inside to rise!).

Roll the dough out to a 17″ by 22″ rectangle. In a small bow, mix the brown sugar & cinnamon together. Spread the softened butter on it, then sprinkle it with the brown sugar & cinnamon mixture, making sure it’s spread evenly and reaches to all of the edges.

Roll the dough up (starting on one long side) tightly, patting as you go. Cut it into 12 equally(ish) sized slices and place in a greased baking dish. Let them rise again until they are about doubled, about 1 hour.

Bake them at 400 degrees F for 15-20minutes (I like to underbake them a little for the gooeyness factor). While they are baking, make the cream cheese icing by whipping together the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt.

You’ll want to ice these babies as soon as they’re out of the oven so that the icing can melt and drip down into the buns. Then, eat one right away too and tell yourself: “I’m only going to eat just this one!” *wink!*

Substitutions

• Instead of margarine, substitute with softened butter for an even richer taste
• Instant yeast can be substituted for active dry yeast in this recipe. To substitute instant (or rapid rise) yeast for active dry, use about 25 percent less yeast: about 2 tsp of instant yeast

Storage

You can store my best cinnamon buns in an airtight container for about 3 days. You can also freeze them before you ice them for about 2 weeks, and then take them out to defrost and ice when you’re ready to enjoy them.

Best Cinnamon Buns Recipe

Yield: 12 rolls

Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes

These cinnamon buns taste just like the ones you'd buy at Cinnabon. They're sweet, gooey, and so decadent!

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk
• 2 ½ tsp yeast
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• ⅓ cup margarine, melted
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 ½ cups all purpose flour (OR use 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour)
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• ⅓ cup butter, softened
• 3 oz cream cheese
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 ½ cups icing cugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and let stand for 5-10 minutes to "proof" (yeast will bubble and float to the top - this tells you that your buns will rise later!).
2. Mix the eggs, margarine, sugar and salt into the milk & yeast mixture. Mix in flour a cup at a time with a spoon, then by hand.
3. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it forms a smooth, round ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let it sit in a warm place for an hour or two until it's almost doubled (I have a "proof" feature on my convection oven, so I just pop that on and place the dough inside to rise!).
4. Roll the dough out to a 17" by 22" rectangle. In a small bow, mix the brown sugar & cinnamon together. Spread the softened butter on it, then sprinkle it with the brown sugar & cinnamon mixture, making sure it's spread evenly and reaches to all of the edges.
5. Roll the dough up (starting on one long side) tightly, patting as you go. Cut it into 12 equal sized slices and place in a greased baking dish. Let them rise again until they are about doubled, about 1 hour.
6. Bake them at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes (I like to under-bake them a little for the gooeyness factor). While they are baking, make the cream cheese icing by whipping together the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, vanilla and salt.
7. After the buns are out of the oven and cooled for 15 minutes, ice.

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If you like these, you might love my cinnamon breakfast wreath for the Holidays!