Soft And Gooey Cinnamon Rolls (No Mixer!)

Zoha Malik

by Zoha Malik

Updated:

Rated 4.90 out of 5

284 Comments
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These are the *perfect* cinnamon rolls by every definition – and that’s coming from a very picky cinnamon roll lover. Pillowy soft, melt-in-your-mouth tender, with a gooey cinnamon sugar filling and a luscious cream cheese frosting. I’ve developed this recipe to be as easy and fuss-free as possible: all purpose flour only (no bread flour!), no mixer (though you can use one), no overnight rises, and with my favorite cut-and-roll technique for the perfect swirl every time.

A cinnamon roll with white icing sits on a cream-colored plate. A gold fork rests in the roll, ready for a bite. A cinnamon stick is visible in the background. The roll looks soft and gooey with a cinnamon filling

I have been baking for 38 years and cinnamon rolls are my favorite thing to make. I have 4 recipes I use and I’m getting rid of all of them. These are by far the softest, most delicious cinnamon rolls!
– Liv, ★★★★★

What I’ve learned from a dozen trials

I’ve tested no less than a dozen variations of this recipe to develop the perfect cinnamon rolls, and there have been some surprising learnings along the way. Here are my hot takes about cinnamon rolls, and what I believe makes this recipe perfect:

  1. All purpose flour is better than bread flour. Not only is all purpose flour easier to find (and already stocked in most pantries), I actually think it’s better than bread flour for cinnamon rolls. Bread flour has a higher gluten content and creates a light and chewy texture which is great for breads like sourdough or french loaves – but cinnamon rolls should be soft and tender. All purpose flour helps achieve that
  2. The floss cutting technique actually kind of sucks. Most recipes tell you to roll up the dough into a log, and cut it using a floss. In my tests, I learned that this actually gets pretty messy. Instead, I prefer the cut-and-roll technique to get the perfect, even swirl every time – more on this below!
  3. Drizzled heavy cream is not optional. The trick of pouring heavy cream on top of cinnamon rolls before baking, introduced by Tastes of Lizzy T, is a must. It creates steam in the oven and ensures the rolls are extra tender, moist and gooey
A hand is picking up a frosted cinnamon roll from a tray filled with other cinnamon rolls, all covered in white icing.

2 options to knead the dough

Kneading activates and strengthens the gluten in the dough, which helps the cinnamon rolls rise and develop the soft and flexible texture we want. Under-kneaded dough will result in dense, tough rolls which don’t rise properly. Here’s how you knead the dough properly:

Option 1: Knead by hand (15 minutes)

Bring together the ingredients into a rough dough using a spoon, then start kneading on a clean counter using a push-pull motion with your palms. The dough will be very sticky at first and this will take time – don’t panic, don’t add more flour, and just keep going! After ~5 minutes, the dough should feel significantly less sticky. If not, add just 1-2 tablespoons of flour and continue. After 15 minutes, the dough should be very smooth and stretchy, and pass the window-pane test. You should be able to stretch a piece between your fingers until it’s thin enough that light passes through it without ripping

A hand kneads a ball of dough on a lightly floured surface
A hand kneads a ball of dough on a light-colored, lightly floured surface. the dough looks smoother than before
A hand with red nail polish kneads a soft, yellowish dough on a lightly floured, textured surface
Two hands with red nail polish stretch the top edge of a ball of dough on a light countertop, revealing its elasticity

Option 2: Use a stand mixer (10 minutes)

Use the dough hook on a stand mixer to knead on medium-high speed. The dough will start sticky and wet, but over time will pull away from the edges of the bowl and come together into one smooth, stretchy mass that passes the window-pane test.

The “cut-and-roll” swirl technique

Perhaps it’s superficial of me, but I think a cinnamon roll has to look as good as it tastes, and that comes down to the perfect swirl. I know most recipes will tell you to roll the dough into one log, and then cut it with a sharp knife or floss. But this can be messy, the log is almost never perfectly even, and the filling often starts to ooze out.

What I recommend instead is the cut-and-roll technique:

  • After spreading the filling, divide the rectangle into equal long strips using a sharp knife or pizza cutter (I prefer the latter). A long clear ruler makes this easier
  • Roll each strip individually into a cinnamon roll, maintaining even pressure as you go

That’s it. You have more control and get a tight, even swirl every time. Once you try this technique, you won’t go back!

hand rolling a strip of dough into a cinnamon roll
hand holding a rolled cinnamon roll above the dough cut into strips

Step by step photos

Let’s put everything together with these step by step photos:

A glass bowl with a small amount of foamy, off-white liquid sits on a tan, speckled countertop
Stir together the warm milk and yeast.
A hand holding a spoon stirs a mixture of yeast, milk, and sugar in a large clear glass bowl on a beige countertop
Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes until frothy.
A hand stirs flour and liquid in a glass bowl with a metal spoon, beginning to mix dough on a beige countertop
Add all the other ingredients for the dough.
A glass bowl with partially mixed dough and a spoon on a light, flour-dusted surface.
Use a large spoon to bring the ingredients together into a loose, shaggy dough.
A ball of bread dough rests in a black mixing bowl on a light-colored surface, ready to rise
Now knead the dough using your hands or a stand mixer until smooth, soft and stretchy.
A smooth, risen ball of dough sits in a black mixing bowl on a light-colored countertop.
Cover the dough and let rise until it at least doubles in size.
A glass bowl with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt on a light countertop, seen from above
In the meanwhile, add the ingredients for the filling to a bowl
A glass bowl with a cinnamon sugar mixture being mixed by a white spatula with a wooden handle on a beige countertop
Mix together until combined into a paste-like mixture.
cinnamon roll dough rolled out into a large rectangle with a spatula spreading cinnamon sugar filling on it
Roll the dough into an even rectangle.
cinnamon roll dough rolled out into a large rectangle, covered in cinnamon sugar filling
Spread on the filling evenly.
12 cinnamon rolls assembled and placed in a baking pan before being proofed
Shape the cinnamon rolls using the cut-and-swirl technique and place in a 9×13″ pan. Let them rise again for 30 minutes.
12 raw cinnamon rolls drenched in heavy cream
Drizzle heavy cream on top of the rolls, and bake.
A glass bowl filled with partially mixed butter and a mound of powdered sugar, sitting on a beige countertop
For the cream cheese icing, add all ingredients to a bowl.
A glass bowl filled with smooth, creamy, whipped frosting or batter
Whisk until a smooth, creamy mixture forms.

Once baked, wait 10 minutes then coat the rolls generously with the icing. Serve & enjoy! You can also elevate this recipe further by adding a pecan topping like my sticky pecan cinnamon buns, or make a chocolate variation like my decadent chocolate espresso rolls.

A cinnamon roll topped with icing sits on a white plate with a bite taken out. It looks soft and gooey with a cinnamon filling. A gold fork rests nearby, and the scene is bright and inviting.

A few last tips before you make them

Here are some tips to get this recipe just right:

  1. Weigh out the ingredients with a scale instead of using measuring cups. It’s common to stuff too much flour into a measuring cup, which will make the rolls dry. If you must use a measuring cup, fluff up the flour and transfer it into the cup one spoon at a time, and don’t pack it tightly
  2. Make sure your yeast isn’t expired. Yeast expires quickly, especially if left open at room temperature
  3. Don’t make the milk too hot! If it goes over 110F, you risk killing the yeast right at the beginning. Go for lukewarm to touch
  4. Let the dough rise properly. Make sure the dough has proofed properly before shaping, and again after shaping before baking. Under-risen dough will result in dense or tough cinnamon rolls
  5. Be wary of room temperature. If it is colder, the dough will need longer to rise. If it is hot, it will rise quickly and the filling might leak out. A warm 75-80F temperature is ideal
  6. Don’t over-bake. A light golden color on the rolls is what you need, and the rolls should spring back when gently poked. Over-baking can cause them to dry out
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A close-up of one of a cinnamon roll with white icing drizzled on top, placed on a cream-colored plate. The roll looks soft and partially eaten, with a fork nearby.

Soft & Gooey Cinnamon Rolls (No Mixer)

by Zoha Malik

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.90 stars from 108 reviews

Foolproof, pillowy soft cinnamon rolls: no mixer, no bread flour, and a unique rolling technique for the perfect swirl every time!

Yield:12 rolls

Prep Time:
35 mins
Cook Time:
25 mins
Rest Time:
90 mins
Total Time:
2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1 1/3 cup whole milk (320g)
  • 4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
  • 5 cups all purpose flour (650g)
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113g)

Filling:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (113g)
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (200g)
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt

Assembly & baking:

  • 1/2 cup heavy cream (120g), room temp

Cream cheese icing:

  • 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature (113g)
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (56g)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream (60g)
  • 1 cup icing sugar (100g)

Instructions

Dough:

  1. Microwave milk for 20-30 seconds until it is warm to touch (~100-110F). Add it to a bowl with the yeast and whisk. If using active dry yeast, rest for 10 minutes or until the mixture looks foamy. If using instant yeast, proceed without waiting
  2. Kneading by hand: Add the rest of the dough ingredients (sugar, flour, eggs, salt, and room temperature butter) to the same bowl. Use a large wooden spoon to mix everything and bring it into a shaggy dough. Tip out onto a clean work surface, then use clean hands to knead the dough with a push-pull motion. The dough will be sticky to begin with, but don’t add more flour at this point. After 5 minutes, clean your hands to remove sticky dough bits from them. If the dough still feels too sticky, add just 1-2 tbsp flour and keep kneading. After about 15 minutes of kneading, the dough will become soft, smooth and very stretchy, and pass the window-pane test
  3. Kneading with a stand mixer: Transfer the milk and yeast to the bowl of your stand mixer (or use that bowl to begin with), and add the rest of the dough ingredients. Knead using the dough hook attachment on medium high speed for 7-10 minutes, until the dough becomes smooth, pulls away from the edges of the bowl, and is stretchy enough to pass the window-pane test
  4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl sprayed with oil, cover with cling wrap and rest in a warm place (75-80F) for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough has at least doubled in size and springs back partly when gently poked with a finger

Filling:

  1. While the dough is rising, prepare the filling by mixing softened butter with cinnamon, sugar and salt. If it feels hard to mix, microwave for a few seconds and mix again. It should be a soft, spreadable consistency

Assembly & baking:

  1. Line a 9×13″ baking pan with parchment paper
  2. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and transfer it to a clean surface dusted lightly with flour. Using your hands and a rolling pin, roll it into a 12×18″ rectangle as neatly and evenly as possible. The dough will be really soft so won’t need much pressure
  3. Use a spatula to spread the filling evenly across the rectangle
  4. With the 12″ side towards you, divide the dough into 12 strips (each strip will be 1″ wide and 18″ long). This is easiest done if you use a long acrylic ruler and a pizza cutter
  5. Roll each strip tightly into a cinnamon roll, and carefully transfer to the baking pan. You will arrange the rolls in a 4×3 formation
  6. Once all rolls are shaped, let them rest in a warm spot for another ~30 minutes until they look puffed up, and spring back partly when gently poked
  7. In the last 20 minutes of the second rise, preheat your oven to 350F (conventional / no fan)
  8. Right before putting the rolls in the oven, pour the 1/2 cup heavy cream over them carefully, dividing evenly between each roll. The cream will get soaked up as the rolls bake
  9. Transfer to the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes until the rolls develop a light golden color and feel firm to touch. If in doubt, I think it’s better to slightly underbake for a gooey texture, vs overbaking and having dry rolls!
  10. Remove from oven and let the rolls rest for 10 minutes

Cream cheese icing:

  1. Whisk together the cream cheese, butter, cream and icing sugar until creamy to make the cream cheese icing
  2. Spread generously onto warm rolls
  3. Serve & enjoy!

Video Tutorial

Notes

  • Egg substitute: You can replace the 2 eggs with 1/2 cup (120g) of full fat yogurt in this recipe
  • Make ahead and storage: Although these rolls are best eaten fresh, you can make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time, and keep them covered at room temperature for 1 day, or in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for ~30 seconds before serving so they’re warm and soft.
  • Overnight rise:  If you want to split the work between 2 days, you can do the first rise in the fridge overnight. Then shape the rolls the next day, and give the rolls their second rise at room temperature for about 1 hour before baking (longer because the dough will be cold to start with)
  • Scaling down the recipe: If you want to make a small batch of cinnamon rolls, you can divide all quantities by 2 and make 6 cinnamon rolls in an eighth sheet pan (~10″x7″)

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Comments

  1. Gul

    Hands down the best cinnamon rolls recipe. I bake a lot and try a lot of recipes. But I cannot make another cinnamon roll recipe because it doesn’t come close to yours.

    1. Zoha

      Haha, I totally relate! Thank you!

  2. Mukti

    Like all your recipes this one also turned out delicious! The dough definitely took its time to kneed and I felt like I had got it wrong and it wasn’t going to turn out as good but despite some of my mistakes, it still turned out so yumm! Thanks again for a great recipe and the detailed blog 🙂

    1. Zoha

      HI Mukti! So glad you stuck with it. The dough does take a while to come together but it is so worth it 🙂

  3. Marin

    Absolutely delicious & simple to make! So soft, fluffy & not too sweet (which is rare these days-every recipe is too sweet). The only addition i made was i added 1 TBS of Vanilla Extract to the dough & 1 tsp in the icing (in Australia our cinnamon rolls usually have vanilla). I also just sliced the dough with a sharp knife & used my fingers to even out their shape, as i like things to look homemade & not so perfect. Once they proved & baked, they looked plump & beautiful. Thanks for a delicious recipe! I would love a hamburger bun recipe next Zoha ☺️

    1. Zoha

      Aww I am so so pleased you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you!

  4. Tasleema

    I wanted to eat cinnamon rolls so bad one day. I came across with Bake with Zoha. It was an easy recipe to follow.
    This came out soooo soooo good. I swear it’s better than buying.
    I honestly cannot wait to make it again.

    1. Zoha

      Awwm, thank you so much, Tasleema!!

  5. Kenia

    I made it and turned amazing delicious

  6. Tori

    Truly the best cinnamon rolls I’ve made! This is now my go-to recipe and everyone loves it!

  7. Rabia Mazhar

    Loved this – probably one of the very few internet recipes I’ve made that turned out SO good with zero changes needed

  8. Tee

    I have tried soooo many recipes and THIS ONE! THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY THE BEST I HAVE TRIED! My whole family devoured it in one sitting. This will now be my new GO-TO recipe. Thank you so much.

  9. stella

    Hi — the filling tasts a little salty before baking. Is that normal?

    1. Zahra Sabir

      Yup most probably the butter was salted but it is fine. I had the same thing

  10. Hibaa

    These turned out so so goodd! I can’t believe how pillowy soft they were i’m so so gladd i found your recipes. I tried your cheesecake and this is your second recipe that i attempted. Thank you for the efforts wishing you more and moree success! 🥹💖💗💌🌷

  11. Raquel Araujo

    I made it and they were perfect!! The full description of all steps was essencial as I dont have much practice. Thank you very much for your work ❤️

  12. Maryam Waqas

    I have been trying many cinnamon rolls recipes since ages and was never ok with the dough tbh. And yesterday i tried your recipe Zoha and simply blown away !
    What a soft dough and the filling when you mix everything with butter is such a simple solution of the filling spill..the 1 inch cutting method and what not… LOVED THEM! So so good
    I had 3 in one go and it still wasnt enough ! ❤️

  13. Susan

    We had a winter storm and were shut in. I decided to make cinnamon rolls and am so glad I found this recipe. These REALLY are the best cinnamon rolls ever! No changes needed. I wish I had taken a photo, but they disappeared so quickly. Thank you!

  14. Heather

    Can these be made then refrigerated overnight?
    If so do I take them out and let them get to room temperature or anything before baking?

    1. Nida

      I’ve made them and I was able to refrigerate them for 5 days now and I still have some in there.

      I think they taste better heated up though.

  15. Rachel F.

    These were absolutely fabulous!!!! I made two pans of rolls. Wanted to try a stacking and twisting method I’d seen. Did that in a 9″ springform pan with half the dough, and made 9 or 10 more traditional rolls in a regular 9″ cake pan. The dough was SO soft and stretchy. I cheated on the icing and used canned cream cheese frosting, thinned down with a little heavy whipping cream and a dash of vanilla. SO SO SO good! Ready for another batch on Christmas morning. Thank you for sharing your recipe!

  16. Liz

    This was my first time making cinnamon rolls and the recipe was so easy to follow! The rolls came out so fluffy and delicious, my fiance is obsessed!

  17. Tamora

    Do they need to be stored in fridge or is on the counter ok!? Wasn’t sure due to cream and cream cheese?!? They came out great. Best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever made!!!

  18. Jennifer Hall

    I made these by following he instructions perfectly and weighing out all ingredients and if you do that, they’re AMAZING! I used a kitchen aid mixer for the kneading which is recommend. These were so delicious my friends and boyfriend loved them.

  19. Arwa

    This is hands down the best cinnamon roll recipe I’ve ever tried! The rolls turned out so soft, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. Everyone loved them, and they disappeared within minutes. Definitely a keeper!
    THANK YOU!

  20. deeba

    Omg probably one of the nicest cinnamon buns I’ve made and had. I’ve attempted these in the passed but they
    Were on the dry side and didn’t taste anything like the bakery ones. All that changed today. Just make sure your milk is around 100-110 in temperature and the yeast will activate properly (it failed first time round so had to go online to find out why). This will definitely be in my recipe book. Had soo many compliment. Thank you Zoha xxx

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