Growing up, one of my favorite Saturday treats was a Pillsbury Cinnamon Roll. My mom would make these for us on Saturdays and we always fought over the ones that had the most frosting. Sadly, it was such a thrill when my dad worked in the mornings because that meant that there would be two extra rolls for us to fight over. Who could resist those rolls and the simple pleasure of having a sweet treat once a week?
I still love those cinnamon rolls, but at $1.69 a roll, they are an unnecessary addition to the grocery budget. What I do have though is flour and sugar, purchased in bulk, and a bread machine that can turn out cinnamon roll dough like nobody’s business. I figured I was on to something and decided to give it a shot and figure out if I could replicate my Saturday morning experience. It took a couple of Saturdays to tweak this recipe, but I finally am satisfied with the results. Lucky for me, my family didn’t mind being the guinea pigs so I have gotten this down pat for your dining pleasure!
To make my dough, I used the recipe from the homemade hamburger buns, except that I increased the sugar to 1/3 cup. I ran the dough cycle on my bread machine and when it beeped, I had the perfect dough for rolling.
I rolled the dough out into a 12×15 rectangle and then spread it with the following filling:
Cinnamon Roll Filling
1/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Spread the softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this all over the dough and then use your hands to gently press the filling in. Take the edge of the dough and begin rolling it up. Roll it tightly and slowly, being careful to keep all the filling inside. At this point you should have a long log that you can cut your rolls from. You can wrap the dough with plastic and store in the fridge overnight or you can slice your rolls (should make ten large rolls) and put 
them on your cookie sheet or pizza stone. Store in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, pull the rolls out and preheat your oven to 400 degrees. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, immediately drop the temperature to 375 degrees and put the rolls in the oven. Cook these for approximately 13-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
While the rolls are cooking, I just make a frosting out of powdered sugar and water (I don’t measure this, but approximately 1/2 cup powdered sugar to 1-2 tablespoons water mixed together should do ya!) When the rolls are done, drizzle your frosting over the rolls and serve them warm or room temperature (although they are best warm)
Amy’s Notes-
- The first time I made these, I put them on a pizza stone and they cooked very evenly. The second time, I popped them in a 9×13″ pan and only the ones on the outside got done. I would recommend placing these either on a cookie sheet (with a nice lip) or on a pizza stone.
- When you slice the cinnamon rolls, you can slice them with a knife or you can use dental floss and cut them that way. I find the dental floss to be a little more tedious so I stuck to slicing with the knife and reshaping the dough afterwards.
- The best part about making these cinnamon rolls is that you can 
vary the sizes and I can make mini-versions of the rolls for the little kids and tuck these in the center of the batch so that they don’t get overdone. The kids love these mini versions and I control the amount of sugar they are getting. Just give them a teeny drizzle of frosting and they will be set!
- You can reheat these in the microwave for a nice snack in the evening or for breakfast the next day. Place on a microwave-safe plate and zap for about twenty seconds. Makes a great mommy snack with a cup of coffee!
Sound Off: What is a favorite Saturday morning treat in your house?
We love homemade cinnamon rolls, and when I'm feeling industrious, I use the Better Homes & Garden Cookbook version – making them up 'till putting them in the pan. Then I refrigerate overnight & pull them out to rise in the morning.
If I'm not feeling so industrious, I make Sandra Lee's super easy version – which involves a loaf of frozen bread dough with the same filling. (Of course, this only works if you have the dough in the freezer).
Either way, they're delicious – and gone much too quickly!
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Those look so good. We had the same experience at my house. It was either cinnamon rolls or mom's pull apart rolls with nuts & lots of goey goodness. Since I've been pregnant, one thing I crave is baked goods. I allow myself to splurge once a day on something…those sound like a good cheat.
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Seeing these rolls brought back memories of when I was a young mother and had the energy to make cinnamon rolls, braids and twist long before bread machines (however did we survive?). I recall this chore being just another item on my to-do list. My family loved them and this made it well worth the effort.
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We also LOVE homemade cinnamon rolls. In my family, they were really just a treat for holidays. I just recently made them…my recipe makes 2 dozen and my husband was slightly hesitant to part with any even though my family of 3 can’t (or at least shouldn’t) eat that many.
One suggestion I have is to use a sharp serrated knife when cutting the rolls. Rub the knife with a little vegetable oil and you’ll have no problem cutting through the dough and you won’t need to reshape them.
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Yum! For us it was homemade sausage balls and still a staple in my home today.
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Our favorite Saturday monring treat is ming homemade version of McDonald’s egg mcmuffin sandwiches. Fry eggs, melt cheese on them and put them on toasted English Muffins or sliced bread. Yum! Plus, my hubby makes them since Saturday morning breakfast is his domain!
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I would love homemade cinnamon rolls, but I do not have a bread maker. I can find Pillsbury Grands Rolls for less than $1 per can of six with coupons and sales. So I usually do that.
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My mom always used thread to cut her cinnamon rolls. Dental floss is a good idea–as long as it’s unflavored!
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