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Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe with Variations

These homemade cinnamon rolls are one of the breakfasts that my family lives for! They are so good! I’ve made them so many times, that now, I feel very confident substituting ingredients to see how well they turn out.
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 5 tbsp butter at room temperature
  • 1 egg or 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed soaked in 3 tbsp of water
  • 3 cups flour I like THIS kind
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons instant powdered milk
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • Ingredients for filling:
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar I use coconut sugar instead

Instructions
 

  • Add the dry ingredients and turn it on in the “Dough” setting.
  • Set the timer for 20 minutes and let it do its thing.
  • When time is up, take the dough out and roll it out to an oblong shape (see image above).
  • Add a layer of softened butter all over the surface.
  • Then add a layer of sugar (I use coconut sugar).
  • Top it off with a layer of ground cinnamon. Optional: add a 4th layer, which could be ground or crushed nuts like almonds, pecans or walnuts.
  • Roll up the dough the long way so the roll is longer than fatter.
  • Cut the roll in half. Cut each half into halves. You should have 4 small rolls now.
  • Cut each small roll into thirds to have a total of 12 cinnamon rolls.
  • Place them on a greased or lined cookie sheet or tray.
  • Cover them with a rag and set the timer to let them rise for 45 minutes.
  • Once they 45 minutes are up, they should be about double in size.
  • Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and put the cinnamon rolls in the oven (without the rag that was covering them).
  • Set the timer to 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes are done, keep an eye on them. They should be golden brown, but not too doughy and not too dark.
  • Remove from oven and cool for 5-10 minutes.
  • If desired, butter or maple syrup or cream cheese frosting can be slathered on top. For the Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe {Free Printable}, click on the link.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Variation 1: Follow the exact instructions, nd use store-bought cream cheese frosting. I know, it’s fattening, etc, but it is easy to use, it isn’t used often, and it’s pretty delicious.
Variation 2: Instead of using 3 cups of white flour, I use 1 cup of oat flour (throw one cup of old fashioned oats in the blender), 1 cup white flour, and one cup white wheat.
Variation 3: Use 1 cup oat flour, 1.5 cups white flour, and .5 cup coconut flour. Instead of an egg, soak 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseeds in 3 tablespoons of water until it gels and throw it in the mix like you would an egg.*
Variation 4 (haven’t tried this yet, so I’m not sure how it would turn out): GLUTEN FREE Use 1 cup oat flour, 1.5 cup ground gluten free rice chex cereal (or corn chex cereal), and .5 cup coconut flour. Same egg substitution for egg as variation 3.
*Variation 3 is the closest to making this recipe VEGAN, but I still have to figure out how to substitute the powdered milk to make it completely vegan.