Post & recipe photos updated on April 20, 2020. Soft, fluffy cinnamon buns made with the tastiest homemade caramel sauce on the bottom of the pan. These are honestly the BEST Cinnamon Buns ever!! You will need my 15-Minute Caramel Sauce recipe to make these cinnamon buns.
I did it, you guys! I came up with an awesome recipe for cinnamon buns, took some pictures of them, and wrote out the instructions for baking them!
About this recipe
It was a lot of work, but these cinnamon rolls are SO worth it!! I'll bet you have never tasted cinnamon buns like these before. They are truly the best. That's a pretty bold statement, but I promise: THEY ARE SO GOOD.
What makes them so good, you ask? First of all, they start with an amazing dough. Soft, pillowy, beautiful yeast dough. This dough recipe is actually adapted from my late grandmother's recipe for buns that she used to make. The softest, yummiest buns ever! 😍 I adapted the recipe in a few ways: swapped out the margarine for butter, used honey rather than sugar to sweeten the dough and used part milk to make the dough instead of all water. This dough recipe is a family favourite.
Reason #2 why these cinnamon buns are so fantastic: they basically are baked in caramel sauce. Real homemade caramel sauce! For this recipe, we are going to use homemade caramel sauce to achieve that drippy, gooey, utterly delicious glaze on the bottoms of the cinnamon rolls! And trust me, the caramel knocks these cinnamon buns out of the park in flavour and texture! Do not skip the caramel sauce.
I am not just tooting my own horn here, my family loves these cinnamon rolls! My one brother said that they are the best he's ever eaten! I'm pretty sure you'll love them, too!!
📖 Recipe
The BEST Cinnamon Buns
Equipment
- 2 9X13-inch pan
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- heavy saucepan
- whisk
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- ½ cup warm water (110℉)
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110℉)
- 1 cup warm milk (110℉), I use whole milk
- 2 tablespoons of liquid honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
- 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
For the Filling:
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the Sauce:
- 1 batch 15-minute Caramel Sauce (link in recipe notes)
Instructions
For the Dough:
- Stir together the ½ cup of warm water and ½ teaspoon sugar. Stir in the yeast and let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture is frothy and bubbly.
- Combine the 1 cup of warm water, warm milk, honey, salt, and melted butter in a large bowl. Add 3 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time stirring between each addition. Then add the bubbly yeast mixture in and stir to combine.
- Gradually add 2 -3 more cups of flour until a loose dough is formed. Turn the mixture out onto a floured counter and start kneading, adding flour as need to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands. Knead until the dough is soft and no longer sticking to your hands or the counter.
- Place the kneaded dough into a greased bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap and a dry towel. Place the bowl in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour. (You may preheat the oven to 100℉, then turn off and place the bowl in the warm oven to rise.) After an hour, punch the dough down in the bowl and knead a few times, cover again and let rise for another 30 minutes.
For the Sauce:
- Prepare the Caramel Sauce recipe while the dough is rising. Spray two 9X13-inch pans with non-stick cooking spray. Spread ½ of the caramel sauce evenly over the bottom of each pan.
For the Filing:
- Combine the melted butter, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl to make the filling. Punch down the dough and cut into two equal pieces to make it more manageable to work with.
- Roll out the first half into a large rectangle, about 12"X18". Spread half of the filling mixture over the dough. Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the long side of the rectangle. When you get to the end, pull the loose flap up over the roll and pinch the dough together to create a seam.
- Slice the ends off and place in one of the prepared pans on top of the caramel sauce. Cut the large roll in half, then in half again, then cut each quarter into 3 equal rolls. Arrange in the pan with the ends. Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes. Repeat the last 2 steps with the other half of the dough, arranging the rolls in the second prepared pan.
Baking Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ when the rolls are rising. Bake the first pan after they have risen for 30 minutes, leaving the second pan to finish rising. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown and the sauce is bubbling up around the edges. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Follow the baking instructions to bake the second pan of cinnamon rolls as soon as the first pan comes out of the oven. Let the rolls cool slightly before serving with butter if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- 15-Minute Caramel Sauce
- These cinnamon buns are best eaten fresh but may be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Love and Cookies,
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Leah Hamaluk
My favourite thing about this recipe besides the amazing results at the end is that you put the measurements in the actual recipe so I don’t have to scroll up and down from the ingredients list to the actual recipe a hundred times. I love that!!! I wish other food bloggers would do that.
Naomi Andres
I'm so glad my recipe was helpful for you, Leah! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Naomi
Elizabeth C.
Naomi is absolutely right - these buns are delicious and a family favorite. I'll definitely return to this recipe! It was very well written and thoroughly explained every step. Yum!
Naomi Andres
I'm so happy to hear that this recipe was such a success for you, Elizabeth! Thank you for leaving a comment!
Naomi
Trish
Made these today, sooo good! A nice sweet dough and the caramel sauce makes them nice and sticky. I will definitely make these again. Great job Naomi!
Naomi
That's awesome to hear, Trish!! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Naomi
Sarah
Crazy moist and yummy! Nothing worse than dry cinnamon buns. These will complete all your dreams of a bun, my caramel sauce did a weird thing but it still worked after cooking it, so that’s just a personal error. 😉
Naomi
Thanks, Sarah! I'm glad this recipe was a success for you!
Naomi
Jess
Naomi, these look fantastic!
Naomi
Thank you, Jess! They are pretty delicious!