One Hour Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
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Easy one hour cream cheese cinnamon rolls have cream cheese IN the DOUGH to make them extra soft, super fluffy, and more flavorful!
After enjoying this recipe try these cinnamon roll inspired recipes! Cinnamon Roll Pound Cake, Cinnamon Roll Crepes, and Cinnamon Roll Sugar Cookies.
I have had breakfast on the mind all week. When it comes to Christmas, breakfast is absolutely my favorite meal of the day. Maybe it’s because I’ve recently overdosed on holiday dishes between Thanksgiving (takes weeks to recover really) and all the parties and get togethers… by the time Christmas day rolls around I’m just not craving turkey and ham and potatoes quite as intensely as I was at the beginning of November.
Okay that’s a lie. I’m always craving potatoes.
But you get what I’m saying right? Come Christmas day it’s the breakfast-slash-brunch happenings that really have me excited. This year we’re hanging at home in our cozy jammies on Christmas morning instead of rushing out the door to meet up with extended family, and that means I am making a special breakfast for the four of us. Enter: one hour cream cheese cinnamon rolls.
Also known as the fluffiest, richest, BEST cinnamon rolls to ever be tasted by this cinnamon roll lovin’ mouth of mine.
I’ve always had a soft spot for cream cheese in my frostings, particularly where cinnamon rolls are involved, but recently I had the idea to add cream cheese to the actual cinnamon roll dough. The result? The fluffiest, richest cinnamon rolls I’ve ever eaten. SO good I’m not sure I can ever make them any other way after this.
Adding cream cheese to the dough only creates one little extra step in making your cinnamon rolls and they will still be done in about an hour. From scratch! Kind of unbelievable right?? It’s pretty magical. Just magical enough in fact to make the perfect Christmas morning breakfast.
If you’re a beginner to cinnamon roll making or working with yeast, this easy recipe is a great place to dive in. You can make them with or without a stand mixer, the rise time is only 30 minutes, and the recipe is really forgiving so if you get distracted or jump the gun by a few minutes on one of the steps, the cinnamon rolls will still come out amazing. Topped with my very favorite, easy 5 ingredient BEST cinnamon roll icing, these are unbeatable!
What people are saying about these One Hour Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
“These are the BEST, MOST DELICIOUS CINNAMON ROLLS! THEY’VE EDGED OUT EVERY OTHER RECIPE I HAVE AND I’M NEVER LOOKING BACK. YUM!” – Lisa
“Oh wow! I stumbled on your blog looking for an easy but from scratch, fast rising cinnamon roll RECIPE to use on Christmas morning. These were easy and INDESCRIBABLY delicious. PROBABLY the best cinnamon roll I’ve had in my life, and I’ve had a lot of cinnamon rolls! I want to add these to my go to list for gifts, meal trains, etc.” – Jami
“Made these for CHRISTMAS Eve. Loved them!” – Ashley
One Hour Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk, divided
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into several chunks
- 3 ¼ – 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 (.25 ounce) instant or rapid-rise yeast , (about 2 ¼ tsp)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Frosting/Icing
- click here https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/best-cinnamon-roll-icing/ for my favorite easy 5 ingredient BEST cinnamon roll icing
Instructions
- In a microwave safe bowl, combine 3/4 cup milk and 4 tablespoons butter. Heat on high for 1 1/2 minutes. (Butter should be partly melted.) Stir in remaining 1/4 cup cold milk and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer with paddle attachment) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
- Add milk mixture and egg to the flour mixture while the beater (or paddle) is running. Beat for about 1 minute until ingredients are completely incorporated.
- Switch to your dough hook attachment and add remaining flour only until dough barely pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (It should still be very soft and slightly sticky – do not add too much flour!.) Knead for 5 minutes (if using stand mixer, continue to use dough hook, if using a hand mixer transfer dough to a floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes).
- Transfer dough out onto a floured surface, roll one or twice to lightly coat in flour, and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.
- Roll dough out into a large rectangle (about 12×14 inches). Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread cream cheese all over the top surface of the dough. Fold dough in thirds (like a letter) and then in thirds again. Turn dough once or twice to lightly coat in flour again and smooth out the folds. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
- Roll dough out into a rectangle again (about 12×14 inches). Spread softened butter over the dough. Whisk together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle buttered dough with cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Roll tightly starting and ending with the longer ends. Cut dough log into 12 equal sized pieces (see note) and place side-by-side in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap or drape a towel over the top and place in warm place for 20-30 minutes.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until golden brown around the edges and on top. Top with the https://www.lecremedelacrumb.com/best-cinnamon-roll-icing/ ever.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi! I love these cinnamon rolls! I’ve made them several times and they are so delicious. This time, I wanted to ask if I can place them in the fridge overnight at the end of step 8?
That should work! 🙂
Hi I notice there is no proofing time for these. Is it ok to proof them? Most recipes I’ve used proof twice. I like them to come out jumbo size!!
You let the dough rest for 10 minutes in step 5, for 5-10 minutes, again in step 6, and then in step 8 you cover the dough and put it in a warm place for 20-30 minutes. 🙂
Can I make these ahead and freeze before baking?
Yes, I would recommend par-baking them by baking for 10-15 minutes (just until they rise) then removing from oven, allowing to cool, then wrapping and freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking at 350 for the remaining time.
These are the best cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had. I love the texture. Not too “bready.”. The icing is spot on!
Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi. This recipe is amazing, and turned out as well as you said it would. The icing recipe produced too much icing, but it tasted great too., Can they be frozen unglazed? Thasnks,
Thank you! Yes, I recommend freezing them before frosting them.
I tried for years to find the perfect cinnamon roll recipe. This is it. My family loves them!
I recently tried substituting the cinnamon mixture with a can of cherry pie filling. Rolling the dough log was messy, but the cherry rolls were delicious! They also took a little longer to bake.
Wow you’re so sweet, thank you! And what a great idea! I’m glad you love this recipe as much as I do! 🙂
Is there a way to freeze these and bake them days or more later? Or does it need to cook right away?
Yes, they can be frozen. I would recommend par-baking them by baking for 10-15 minutes (just until they rise) then removing from oven, allowing to cool, then wrapping and freezing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking at 350 for the remaining time.
Thank you!!!
Can I bake these two inches apart instead of having them touch?
The rolls don’t need to be touching, just placed side by side in a row in the pan.
Taste really amazing with all different types of icing. Just make sure you don’t take them out until their golden brown-ish, possibly slightly brighter than golden. I actually had to give it double the amount of time that the recipe used. It tasted so good though. For the icing, the link didn’t work, so I used a different recipe. I’m giving 5 stars, just make sure to have some extra icing/glaze. It makes it better.