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Homemade cinnamon buns are exquisitely delicious. They have the soft texture you would expect from a cinnamon bun, and are filled with butter and sugar and cinnamon and all the unhealthy stuff.
Post originally published in September 2018; updated July 2019 with more accurate ingredients and nutrition info & better pictures.
Great news, everyone! Today we are going to be discussing cinnamon buns. And not just any cinnamon buns, but homemade cinnamon buns. What could be better? Tbh I actually can’t think of anything right now. I mean, cinnamon buns. What else is there to say?
(Besides for Zuh! Bunzuh! Cinnamon bunzuh!)
(any other Animorphs fans here? Anyone else who used to randomly go up to a friend and start saying zuh! Zuh!?)
(No? Just me? I’ll see myself out)
(But I’ll take the homemade cinnamon buns with me)
Ahem. Where were we.
Right. Cinnamon buns.
I’ve always loved cinnamon buns. Soft, fluffy dough, sweet, cinnamony filling, oozy vanilla icing… just yum.
When I was in camp (over a decade ago; when did that happen????) they would sometimes give out cinnamon buns for snack. They came in a huge tray and were covered with what was basically a sheet of white icing over the entire thing, and oh my gosh they were so good. Any cinnamon buns I’ve had since then have been judged by that standard and, for the most part, found lacking.
In my experience, homemade cinnamon buns were never that good. I’d see them in different places and by different people’s houses, and always had to try them, because cinnamon buns. But they just didn’t cut it. The dough was usually too hard and more cookie-like than bun-like. I want soft homemade cinnamon buns. Is that too much to ask for? (Apparently it is.)
So when a coworker of mine (hi Tanya!) told me that her grandmother makes the best homemade cinnamon buns, I was more than a bit skeptical. But she insisted that no, they really are good, and I had to try them.
So I tried them.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
(Don’t you just love clichés?)
Homemade Cinnamon Buns Recipe
Recipe courtesy of Tanya’s grandmother, slightly tweaked by me
INGREDIENTS
Dough:
3.5 teaspoons yeast
1 cup warm water
Pinch of sugar
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
½ cup oil
Filling:
Melted butter
Sugar
Cinnamon
Icing:
Confectioners sugar
milk
METHOD
Put the yeast and pinch of sugar in the warm water and allow to sit until bubbly and frothy.
Meanwhile, mix the other dough ingredients.
Add the yeast/water mixture and knead until a smooth dough forms.
Cover and let rise until doubled in size (around three hours, if you are just leaving it out. To speed up the rising process, turn your oven onto its highest temperature for a minute or two until it gets warm, and then turn the oven off. Put the dough into an oven safe dish and put it in the warm oven.)
Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a large rectangle. I usually use a rolling pin
for this, but last time I made these, I actually just spread the dough out with my hands, and it was soft and pliable enough for me to get it to the right size.
Layer the dough generously with melted butter and then a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
Roll it up and cut into slices.
Allow the slices to sit for at least 15 minutes. This is very important, as it lets the dough continue rising and will make your cinnamon bun layers fluffier.
Bake at 350. These can overcook really quickly, so keep an eye on them.
When cooled, glaze with a mixture of confectionary sugar and a drop of milk. To prevent clumps of confectioners sugar in the glaze, mix it with a whisk
.
These can get stale really quickly but freeze very well. When I make them, I don’t even leave them out overnight. They go right in the freezer in a Ziploc bag and then I take a few out to defrost as needed. You can defrost them by either leaving them out for a bit (it won’t take that long) or putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the size of the cinnamon bun and the strength of your microwave.
Enjoy!!
Recipe grade: A+
Check out some other delicious dessert recipes:
Donut Holes
One Bowl Brownies
Easy Lemon Curd
Double peanut butter sandwich cookies
Oatmeal Cookies with Oil, not Butter
Yield: 30 buns
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Rising time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 28 minutes
Homemade cinnamon buns are exquisitely delicious. They have the soft texture you would expect from a cinnamon bun, and are filled with butter and sugar and cinnamon and all the unhealthy stuff.
Ingredients
Dough:
- 3.5 teaspoons yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 pinch sugar
- 4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup oil
Filling:
- 1/4 cup butter, melted, 1/2 stick
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
Icing:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
- Put the yeast and pinch of sugar in the warm water and allow to sit until bubbly and frothy.
- Meanwhile, mix the other dough ingredients.
- Add the yeast/water mixture and knead until a smooth dough forms.
- Cover and let rise until doubled in size (around three hours, if you are just leaving it out. To speed up the rising process, turn your oven onto its highest temperature for a minute or two until it gets warm, and then turn the oven off. Put the dough into an oven safe dish and put it in the warm oven.)
- Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a large rectangle. I usually use a rolling pin for this, but last time I made these, I actually just spread the dough out with my hands, and it was soft and pliable enough for me to get it to the right size.
- Layer the dough generously with melted butter and then a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
- Roll it up and cut into slices.Allow the slices to sit for at least 15 minutes. This is very important, as it lets the dough continue rising and will make your cinnamon bun layers fluffier.
- Bake at 350. These can overcook really quickly, so keep an eye on them. Mine take around 8 minutes - take them out when they are just barely browned.
- When cooled, glaze with a mixture of confectioners sugar and a drop of milk. To prevent clumps of confectioners sugar in the glaze, mix it with a whisk.
Notes
These can get stale really quickly but freeze very well. When I make them, I don’t even leave them out overnight. They go right in the freezer in a Ziploc bag and then I take a few out to defrost as needed. You can defrost them by either leaving them out for a bit (it won’t take that long) or putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the size of the cinnamon bun and the strength of your microwave.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 30 Serving Size: 30 buns
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 151Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 89mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 2g
Nutrition information was calculated by a third party calculator.
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