These one hour cinnamon rolls are soft, delicious and slathered with a melt-in-your-mouth frosting. Just like a classic cinnamon roll recipe, but done in half the time!
Easy One Hour Cinnamon Rolls
One of my all-time favorite things to make around the holidays is overnight cinnamon rolls (and my sweet orange rolls). They are so fun to make with my kids and are such a yummy treat.
Let’s be honest though they just take way too long unless your making this cinnamon roll casserole or cinnamon roll pancakes. But I have finally come up with a homemade quick 1 hour cinnamon roll recipe that tastes just as yummy and is done in HALF the time!
They are perfect for my family of 6. We really don’t need more than 1 cinnamon roll each…so 8 is the perfect amount for us! Feel free to double the recipe though if you have a bigger family or want leftovers.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Recipe
- Fast: That’s right, no need to prep the night before, these quick cinnamon rolls are ready in an hour (plus a few minutes)!
- Flavorful texture: They have a soft, chewy and buttery texture with the best cinnamon sugar flavor that would rival any bakery.
- Perfect for the holidays: The best comfort food for a Christmas breakfast or Easter brunch!
How to Make 1 Hour Cinnamon Rolls
- Proof the yeast: Add warm water (bath temperature), yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar to a small bowl (I like to use a large measuring cup) and stir. Cover with paper towel and let sit until bubbly (about 5 minutes).
- Make the dough: Stir together the butter, milk, sugar and salt in a separate bowl. When the yeast mixture has bubbled, add to the bowl with the butter mixture and stir. Add one cup of flour and mix until smooth. Then add remaining flour in 1/2 cup increments.
- Knead: Knead for a few minutes. Add more flour if dough is still sticky. You want the dough to be slightly sticky, but not to the point where it covers your hands in dough. When the dough is soft, cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in warm spot. Let dough rise for about 20 minutes.
Rising tip: If you don’t have a warm spot in your house, turn on the oven to 200°F and then turn it off. Then place the dough inside to allow to rise.
- Making filling: Combine the melted butter, sugars and cinnamon to a bowl and mix.
- Roll and cut: When dough has risen, punch it down and roll the dough on a floured surface into a large rectangle that’s about 10×12 inches. Using a pastry brush, spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture onto the dough (I didn’t end up using all of the filling). Then roll the cinnamon roll dough up and cut into 1″ pieces with a large knife or dental floss.
- Bake in oven: Add dough pieces to a buttered pie dish (about 1″ apart) and let rise for 20 minutes. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes at 350°F. You want them to be golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Frosting
The creamy, thick and rich cream cheese cinnamon rolls frosting is what takes these rolls over the top. You could also make a thinner cream cheese glaze if you want a more subtle taste and texture. A tangy sour cream frosting is also a good alternative if you don’t have any cream cheese on hand.
FAQ’s
You’ll need highly active yeast (or rapid rise yeast). That’s what makes this recipe so quick. The rolls won’t rise as fast if you use traditional yeast.
You can make these up to 12 hours ahead of time. Simply roll them out and place on a baking sheet. Let sit for 30 minutes to rise and then cover tightly with foil that has been sprayed with non stick spray. Refrigerate overnight. Then in the morning, remove from the fridge and let rise about 1-2 hours before baking. Then bake as directed.
Yes, to freeze unbaked homemade cinnamon rolls place them in a pie dish and cover tightly with foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months. Remove from freezer when ready to bake and let them thaw and rise on the counter for 4 to 5 hours. I like to let them rise in the oven during the last hour. Then bake according to directions.
You can also freeze baked rolls. Let cool completely, then place in a freezer container. When ready to enjoy, set out to thaw overnight.
Want more yummy breakfast recipes? Check out these chocolate cinnamon rolls, my favorite pumpkin cinnamon rolls or this simple liege waffle!
More Cinnamon Roll Recipes
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1 Hour Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Filling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Rolls
- ⅓ cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon highly active yeast
- 5 Tablespoons granulated sugar , divided
- ¼ cup unsalted butter , melted
- ¼ cup warm milk
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , or more or less as needed
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter , at room temperature
Frosting:
- ¼ cup salted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
Filling
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Cinnamon Rolls
- In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and 1 Tablespoon sugar. Cover with a paper towel. Let sit 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a dough attachment, stir together melted butter, milk, salt, and the remaining 4 Tablespoons sugar. Stir in yeast mixture until combined. Add 1 cup flour and stir until smooth. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time. Knead 1 to 2 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour until smooth and soft..
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Let rise about 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a pie dish.
- Once your dough has risen, punch it down and roll out on a floured surface. You want to form a rectangle, approximately 10×12 inches. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Spread softened butter onto the dough with a brush and then sprinkle the filling evenly over the top. Gently press the sugar down into the butter. Roll the doll, length-side, into a swirl.
- Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces with floss or a large knife. Place rolls, swirl-side up, into pie dish, about 1 inch apart. Let rolls rise about 15 minutes.
- Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. You can add more milk or powdered sugar to reach your desired consistency. Spread over the top of the rolls.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Biscuits + Rolls, Bread, Breakfast, Christmas, Freezer-Friendly, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Sweet Breakfast, Vegetarian, Yeast Bread
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
My first attempt at cinnamon rolls and they turned out amazing!! These are delicious!
Way to go! I’m so happy to hear they turned out well!
Love this recipe! Perfect for days when you don’t have a ton of time to wait and my family can’t tell a difference!
I activated my yeast but my dough didn’t rise. Any suggestions? I did use gluten free flour. Thanks!
Hi Lauren! Was your yeast mixture nice and bubbly? With colder temperatures, my dough often takes longer to rise than normal. You can also pop it in a low temp oven to help it rise faster.
They really look good . I am going to try and make them
WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL RECIPE?! 😭😭 The recipe with the PUDDING?! I need it asap! I use this link every year to reference…and the pudding is missing now! I want to cry so bad! This is literally my go-to recipe, and now I have no amazing recipe to use for my Thanksgiving rolls! PLEASE link me to your original recipe!
Hi Sara! I’m so sorry for the delayed response. We took some time off for the holidays to spend time with family! Please email community@iheartnaptime.net and we would be happy to send you the original recipe. :)
Lost my old recipe for One Cinnamon Rolls so am hoping this works. They look delicious. And easy enough.
I hope you enjoy them!
Great recipe. I will definitely make again. The icing quantity could easily be halved. But, I have icing for the next batch! 😋
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
I didn’t realize I could make such amazing cinnamon rolls in just an hour. LOVED and will make again!
These were so good and really did come together in about an hour. Loved that they reheat so well too with just a quick zap in the microwave. Thanks!
hi are we supposed to use all purpose flour or bread flour?
I typically use all purpose, but either will work! :)
We used instant yeast, which we mixed in with the flour since it says we don’t need to activate the yeast. Our dough did not rise. Any suggestions?
Hi Helen! I always activate my yeast no matter if it is instant or active dry yeast!
Great
NEW FAVE RECIPE! These were super easy to make and came out perfect. Soft and delicious. Highly recommend.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for your comment and review Monique. :)
Are using salted or unsalted butter for the dough and frosting ? Thk you
I typically use unsalted butter for the dough and filling and then salted for the frosting :) If you only have unsalted butter for the frosting, you can add in a sprinkle of salt to give it a little more flavor.
These were delicious and super easy to make. My entire family loved them.
I’m so glad to hear they were a hit! Thanks for leaving a comment and review Karli!
This is a very easy recipe to make when your making cinnamon rolls for the first time and looks and smells delicious!
So glad you enjoyed the cinnamon rolls :)
Super easy and delicious! I added chopped pecans to the filling and sprinkled some on top!
Sounds delicious!!
These were great! My dough didn’t rise as much as I expected, but I don’t believe I had my water warm enough. Also, I only had instant yeast instead of active yeast. And I did use all the filling! I’m glad I did, too. I’m not sure how much flavor they would have had without it (apart from the icing).
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :)
What type of flour do you use( plain/all purpose, self rising , or bread flour) v
All purpose flour!