Texas Cinnamon Rolls Recipe with Cream Cheese Icing - Restless Chipotle (2024)

Everything's bigger in Texas, right?

I love most of the traditional foods found in my state but the tendency to make things bigger is what I like most of all.

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🗝️ Key takeaways

• Huge homemade cinnamon rolls that are soft and fluffy with a thick layer of icing.
• These make any day perfect but they're our traditional breakfast for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• (techniques they'll learn or some other informative fact from the post)

Make them at least once - you'll never want any other kind of cinnamon roll again.

The dough is rich and just sweet enough, buttery and soft. It's rolled around a thick, spicy filling of cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans.

Once they are baked and have a chance to cool a little you add the creamiest, tangy - sweet, gooey copycat Cinnabon icing you'll ever put in your mouth. Add it thick. In fact, you might want to double the icing recipe.

📖Variations

• Add a cup of chopped walnuts to the filling instead of pecans.
• Sprinkle some chocolate chips over the cinnamon and butter before. you roll up the dough.
• Use white sugar instead of brown sugar in the filling.
• Sprinkle some raisins or dried cranberries over the filling before rolling up the dough.
• Knead 1 cup of raisins into the dough.

🔪 Instructions: how to shape cinnamon rolls

• Knead a little, then let the dough ball rest for five minutes.
• Flatten the dough out, spread with softened butter, and sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.
• Roll the dough up like a jelly roll.
• Cut into twelve rolls and bake.

"Make ahead" cinnamon rolls

You can make the cinnamon rolls up to 24 hours before baking them. Follow the instructions as written to roll and cut the cinnamon rolls.

Then, cover the dish or cookie sheet tightly with aluminum foil and refrigerate until you're ready to bake as directed.

I love to prep the rolls in the evening so all I have to do the next morning or the next day is preheat the oven and bake!

🍴 Equipment

• Stand mixer with a dough hook
• large mixing bowl
• heavy, high-sided baking sheet
• measuring cups and spoons

🥫 How to store cinnamon rolls

Store leftover cinnamon rolls at room temperature for 2 days. Place the rolls in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers.

How to freeze cinnamon rolls

You can also freeze these Texas-sized cinnamon rolls.

I like to flash-freeze them on a large cookie sheet and then put in an airtight freezer container with parchment paper between the layers.

You could also use quart-sized freezer bags for an easy grab-n-go breakfast.

💭 Things to know

Expert Tip: Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature of the milk and the water for best results.

• If using instant yeast, you don't have to let it activate. So, just follow the recipe steps in order at a comfortable pace.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place (like near your warm oven) for the best cinnamon rolls ever! More ideas for letting the dough rise.
• Lukewarm water won't cut it—if you don't have a thermometer to test it, the water should feel comfortable enough to bathe in, but not scalding.

• Sour cream cinnamon rolls are smaller than these Texas sized rolls but they are light and fluffy and delicious!
• You may also like these humongeous overnight Texas pecan cinnamon rolls.

📞 The last word

If the pecan cinnamon rolls have cooled all the way it's best to warm them up for about 15 seconds in the microwave before you serve them. Once everyone has started to eat there will be a hushed, almost holy, silence. This is the moment to ask for anything you want - the dishes done, the house painted...

You might also like these easy cheese danish that are done in 20 minutes.

If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.

If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

📖 Recipe

First published Septemeber 2, 2014. Last updated December 22, 2023 for readability and editorial improvements.

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