Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls – Happy Hooligans

Last updated on April 26, 2020

Making homemade cinnamon rolls can seem like a daunting task, but these delicious bread machine cinnamon rolls are fun and easy to make because your bread maker does all the hard work!

These Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing are simply to die for! They’re so much better than store-bought cinnamon rolls, and making them is really fun and easy. Promise! The reason they’re so easy is because you’re going to use the dough setting on your bread machine to do a lot of the work for you.

I’m not an expert at making dough the old fashioned way so I use my bread machine to make my dough whenever I can. It’s so much easier than making it by hand. The bread machine takes care of all the mixing, kneading, and the first rise for you.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls - Easy To-Die-For Recipe - Happy Hooligans.ca

This cinnamon roll recipe is simple but you will need to set aside a couple of hours to make your cinnamon rolls because of the rising and resting times. And while the process may look a little intimidating, fear not, making these ooey-gooey, heavenly treats is a lot of fun, and oh my goodness… SO worth your time and effort.

You may also like our cinnamon sugar tortilla shapes and edible dessert bowls.

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Before we begin, let me sing the praises of the humble bread machine. I’ve had mine for about 15 years now. I use it most often in the winter, to make these homemade dinner rolls and this honey oat bread.

I’ve had my machine so long that the model isn’t even available anymore, but you can check out these bread machines on Amazon to find a wide variety of current makes and models.

You may also like our 2-ingredient pretzels and our quick and easy pizza dough.

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1 c milk, heated 1 min in microwave
1/4 c water (110 degrees)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c butter (room temp)
2 eggs (room temp, beaten)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
5 c flour (pref bread flour, but I use all purpose)
3 tsp instant, active yeast (also known as Quick Rise)

For the Filling:

1/2 c soft butter (you want it to be totally spreadable)
1 c. brown sugar
5 tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cups chopped nuts (optional)

*Mix cinnamon/sugar/nuts together, but keep softened butter in a separate bowl. Set all of it aside until you’re ready for the filling step. (step 7, below)

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 oz cream cheese at room temp (that’s a 1/4 of a brick)
1/4 c butter
1 c icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp lemon extract or oil (optional)

* in med bowl, combine butter, cream cheese and beat until creamy. Add sugar, lemon, vanilla, and mix until creamy. You can refrigerate if you make this far enough in advance, but you want it at room temp when it’s time to use it.

Now… let’s get down to making them!

Instructions:

Add all dough ingredients to your bread machine (look in your bread machine manual to see what order they recommend adding basic dough ingredients).
Select “DOUGH” setting.
When done, turn out onto a PAM-sprayed counter and form an oval.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 mins.
Meanwhile, butter a 9x13x2 glass pan & set aside.
After it’s rested, working on your sprayed counter, stretch and roll dough into a rectangle that’s roughly 15×24 inches. (I put some tiny marks on my counter with a pencil so I know when I’ve got it right. A tape measure also comes in handy here).
Now it’s time to use the filling ingredients. Using a spatula/spreader, smear the entire rectangle, almost to the edges, with your butter.
Sprinkle with the cinnamon/sugar/nut mixture.
Starting with long edge, closest to you, roll up dough (not too tight or centers will pop up when baking). Once you have it rolled up, pinch the seam closed with your fingers.
Mark 1.5 inch sections along roll with a knife.
Now the fun begins: grab a foot-long strand of unflavoured dental floss and slide it under the roll until it’s even with one of your knife marks. Bring the ends of the floss up and cross them past each other above the roll. This will slice off a neat chunk. This makes your cuts neat and clean and doesn’t squish the roll, like cutting it with a knife would. Make your way down the roll until it’s all sliced up.
Put the rolls into the buttered pan. (there should be some room between the rolls – they’ll expand and fill the pan as they bake).

At this point, you have a few options: You can refrigerate overnight and bake your rolls tomorrow. You can freeze your rolls for a later date, or you can bake them today. Follow one of these applicable instructions:

To refrigerate overnight: Cover pan with plastic wrap and place in fridge. When you’re ready to bake, you can either pop them straight into the oven, or bring to room temperature first. (They do a slow rise overnight, so it’s not necessary to bring them to room temp first). Proceed to Baking Instructions.

To freeze: Cover with plastic wrap and place pan in freezer. Before baking, allow to thaw on counter for 10-12 hours to ensure adequate rising. Proceed to Baking Instructions.

To bake them today: Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45-60 mins. Proceed to Baking Instructions.

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Remove plastic wrap and bake in 350ºF degree oven for 20-25 mins.

baked homemade bread machine cinnamon rolls

NOTE: If you’re wondering why our cinnamon rolls look like something straight out of Dr. Suess, it’s because we crammed them into a slightly smaller baking dish than called for this time. This resulted in our bread machine cinnamon rolls expanding UP when they ran out of space to expand OUT.

For the record, I asked my Facebook followers what they thought of the finished photo, and they said “Post it!”. They felt the cinnamon rolls looked “real” and not “Pinterest perfect”, and nicely reflected that they’d been made by my young assistant. I’ll have to shoot another finished shot when I make them with the right dish again. On the upside, they tasted as amazing as always.

Cool slightly, and slather with frosting (recipe above).

child eating homemade bread machine cinnamon roll

I know it’s a lot of steps, but if you’re up to it, try these amazing bread machine cinnamon rolls!

If you have a little helper like I did, he or she will LOVE the process.

You’ll be so glad you made them. And trust me, your family will be too!

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Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Making homemade cinnamon rolls is fun and easy when you use your bread machine to make the dough!

Course: Dessert, Treat

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Servings: 20

Calories: 359kcal

Author: Happy Hooligans

Ingredients

Dough:
1 c milk heated 1 min in microwave
1/4 c water 110 degrees
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c butter room temp
2 eggs room temp, beaten
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c sugar
5 c flour preferably bread flour, but I use all purpose
3 tsp instant also known as Quick Rise, active yeast
Filling:
1/2 c softened butter
1 c . brown sugar
5 tbsp cinnamon
3/4 cups chopped nuts optional
Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 oz cream cheese 1/4 of a brick, at room temp
1/4 c butter
1 c icing sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp lemon extract/oil optional

Instructions

For the filling:
Mix cinnamon/sugar/nuts together. Set aside.
Keep softened butter in a separate bowl. Set aside.
For the Frosting:
in med bowl, combine butter, cream cheese and beat until creamy.
Add sugar, lemon, vanilla, and mix until creamy. If making ahead, refrigerate, but bring to room temperature to use it.
For the rolls:
Add all dough ingredients to your bread machine (consult your bread machine manual to see the order they should be added in).
Select “DOUGH” setting.
When done, turn out onto a PAM-sprayed counter and form an oval.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 10 mins.
Meanwhile, butter a 9x13x2 glass pan & set aside.
After dough has rested, working on your sprayed counter, stretch and roll dough into a 15×24 inch rectangle.
Using a spatula/spreader, spread with butter, almost to the edges.
Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar/nut mixture.
Starting with long edge, closest to you, roll up dough (not too tight or centers will pop up when baking).
Pinch the seam closed.
Mark 1.5 inch sections along roll with a knife.
Grab a foot-long strand of unflavoured dental floss and slide it under the roll until it’s even with one of your knife marks. Bring the ends of the floss up and cross them past each other above the roll. This will cut the roll into neat disks.
Put the rolls into the buttered pan. (there should be some room between the rolls – they’ll expand and fill the pan as they bake).
TO freeze or refrigerate for later, see post for instructions.
TO cook now:
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 45-60 mins.
Remove plastic wrap and bake at 350ºF for 20-25 mins.
Remove from oven, cool slightly, and frost.