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These easy cinnamon rolls are soft, Buttery, and swirled with cinnamon sugar, with a simple glaze that melts into every warm crack. The self-rising flour dough is forgiving and manageable, so you’re going to love how homemade they taste without a fussy process. They’re perfect for holiday mornings or any time the kitchen needs to smell warm and cozy.
Why You’ll Love It
- Soft, tender centers — butter and cinnamon sugar are tucked into every swirl.
- Forgiving dough — self-rising flour keeps the process manageable without fussy pastry techniques.
- Flexible filling — add pecans for nuttiness and crunch, or leave them out.
- Great leftover — a quick warm-up in the microwave brings back that soft, cozy texture.
Ingredient Notes
The yeast can be one package or 2 1/2 teaspoons, so use whichever you have. The little jars are handy and work well for keeping yeast on hand.
Warm water means warm, not hot enough to make you jerk your finger back. Yeast is alive, bless its tiny little heart, and hot water will knock it flat. Give it about five minutes to wake up and dissolve.
You can use powdered milk or buttermilk here. Powdered milk is handy and works just fine, though buttermilk gives the dough a slightly richer, old-fashioned flavor. I use powdered milk more often because it’s what I tend to have around. That sentence may or may not be true depending on the week.
Self-rising flour is important for this particular dough. Don’t swap in all-purpose flour unless you’re prepared to start fiddling with leavening and salt, and on a cinnamon-roll morning I am not prepared to fiddle with anything. The amount of flour can vary a little as you mix. I generally use about 3 1/2 cups in the bowl and keep the last 1/2 cup for kneading, which gives me a dough that’s workable but not stiff.
For the butter, you need somewhere between 1/2 stick and 1 stick, softened to room temperature. I lean toward the full stick when I’m making these for a holiday breakfast, because the full stick makes a richer batch.
Ingredients
- 1 package yeast, or 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup powdered milk or buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups self-rising flour, though you may not work every last bit into the dough
- 1/2 to 1 stick butter, at room temperature—I use more when I’m feeling festive
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, optional, and completely up to your household’s nut politics
For the confectioners’ sugar glaze:
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 teaspoons warm water, added very slowly
Instructions
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Stir it afterward to make sure the yeast is fully dissolved. This is the point where I always look at the bowl like I’m expecting a magic trick. It will get a little foamy, but it is not going to put on a show.
In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the powdered milk or buttermilk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cooking oil, and the egg. Stir it together until it looks reasonably smooth. Don’t worry if it isn’t gorgeous. Dough has a humble beginning.
Slowly work in 1 1/2 cups of the self-rising flour until smooth. Then gradually add another 2 to 2 1/2 cups of flour, just until you have a dough that is easy enough to handle. I find 3 1/2 cups total is usually about right in the bowl, with some flour left for kneading. Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Go refill your coffee. Check whether the cat is eating ribbon. Normal household business.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth. You don’t need to punish it. A few steady minutes of folding and pressing will do the job. I used to over-knead everything because I thought more effort equaled better baking. It does not. Sometimes more effort just equals sore wrists.
Put the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover it and set it in a warm place until it has doubled in size. In winter, my kitchen can be so chilly that yeast acts like it has signed a union contract. I’ll set the bowl somewhere warmer, away from drafts, and wait it out.
Once doubled, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead it again until smooth. Roll it into a large rectangle. Mine is never a perfect rectangle, despite all the glossy photos online. It’s more of a rectangle’s distant cousin. Close enough.
Spread the softened butter generously across the dough. Combine the remaining 1 cup sugar with the cinnamon in a small bowl, then sprinkle it evenly over the butter. Add the chopped pecans, if you’re using them. Try to get the filling all the way toward the edges, but leave the very far edge a little less loaded so the roll can seal. I forget this about half the time and then act surprised when cinnamon sugar tumbles out.
Starting from the widest side, roll the dough up as evenly and tightly as you can. Not so tight that the filling squeezes out everywhere, though—there’s a fine line, naturally. Cut the roll into 1-inch pieces using kitchen twine. Slide the twine under the log, cross it over the top, and pull. It makes neat little rolls without smashing them flat. A serrated knife can work in a pinch, but twine is much less aggravating.
Place the rolls in a greased baking dish or on a greased cookie sheet. Cover them and let them rise again in a warm, dry place until doubled. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re lightly golden and baked through. Start checking them around 20 minutes because ovens are liars. Mine runs hot, though I have complained about it and done absolutely nothing useful about it.
While the rolls cool just slightly, make the glaze. Put the sifted confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in a small bowl. Add warm water very slowly, one teaspoon at a time, stirring after each addition. You want a glaze loose enough to drizzle, not a watery puddle. If it gets too thin, stir in more confectioners’ sugar. This has happened to me more times than I care to admit.
Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls. Warm—not blazing hot, unless you want the glaze to disappear into the rolls entirely. Actually, sometimes I do want that, so there you go. Either way is good.
Variations
You can make these with extra pecans and a little more cinnamon for a darker, spicier filling. The full stick of butter makes a richer version every time.
You can leave the pecans out completely, and the rolls will still be lovely.
You can try adding raisins. They can roll around while cutting the dough and may burn at the edges, so the regular version is often the better choice.
Storage & Reheating
Keep leftover cinnamon rolls covered at room temperature for a day or two. If your kitchen is especially warm, I’d refrigerate them after the first day, though refrigeration can make them a little firmer. They’re still perfectly good.
To reheat, pop one in the microwave for a few seconds until warm and soft again. Don’t overdo it—there’s a narrow window between cozy and rubbery, and microwaves are not known for their emotional intelligence.
If I know we’ll have extras, I sometimes hold back a little glaze and drizzle it on after reheating. Not necessary, but nice.
Final Notes
There’s something about making yeast dough that slows the day down a little. Not in a dreamy, perfect way—there are still dishes and flour-covered hands—but it gives the morning a shape.
These rolls have shown up at our table on holidays, on rainy weekends, and on random Tuesdays when I had too much cinnamon and apparently too much confidence. The tree-decorating tradition is different now, and the ornaments have fewer broken hooks.
Still, I make the rolls. Sometimes with pecans, sometimes without. Sometimes the spirals are tidy and sometimes they look like cinnamon snails. They get eaten either way.
Easiest Ever Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients Â
- 1 package yeast or 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 cup warm water warm, not hot
- 1/4 cup powdered milk or buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups sugar divided
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups self-rising flour you may not work every last bit into the dough
- 1/2 to 1 stick butter at room temperature
- 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans optional
- 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 to 4 teaspoons warm water added very slowly
InstructionsÂ
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then stir to make sure the yeast is fully dissolved.
- In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with the powdered milk or buttermilk, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the cooking oil, and the egg, stirring until reasonably smooth.
- Slowly work in 1 1/2 cups of the self-rising flour until smooth, then gradually add another 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour just until the dough is easy enough to handle; cover the bowl and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it with steady folding and pressing until smooth.
- Place the dough in a large lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and set it in a warm place away from drafts until doubled in size.
- Once doubled, turn the dough onto a floured surface, knead it again until smooth, and roll it into a large rectangle.
- Spread the softened butter generously across the dough, combine the remaining 1 cup sugar with the cinnamon, sprinkle it evenly over the butter, and add the chopped pecans if using.
- Starting from the widest side, roll the dough up as evenly and tightly as you can without squeezing out the filling, then cut the roll into 1-inch pieces using kitchen twine or a serrated knife.
- Place the rolls in a greased baking dish or on a greased cookie sheet, cover them, and let them rise again in a warm, dry place until doubled; bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until lightly golden and baked through.
- While the rolls cool just slightly, place the sifted confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in a small bowl, then add warm water very slowly, one teaspoon at a time, stirring after each addition until the glaze is loose enough to drizzle.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls before serving.