These caramel cinnamon rolls are super soft rolls that are filled with a homemade caramel sauce, brown sugar cinnamon butter, and are topped with a salted caramel cream cheese icing and even more caramel sauce!
These caramel rolls takes a classic cinnamon roll and makes it even better with salted caramel. I used my homemade salted caramel sauce!
Not only is gooey caramel tasted in every bite, but it pairs perfectly with that cinnamon brown sugar flavor! These are one of my favorite things to bake during the fall season.
Looking for more caramel recipes? Then check out these: chocolate caramel cupcakes, no bake caramel cheesecake, and caramel apple donuts.
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Why You'll Love These Sweet Rolls
- The cinnamon roll dough is super soft and fluffy.
- They have a cinnamon filling.
- Each bite is gooey and melts in your mouth.
- Homemade caramel is tasted with every bite.
- The caramel icing on top is sweet and melts into all of the cracks of the rolls!
Regular cinnamon rolls will always be one of my favorite sweet breakfast treats, but these salted caramel cinnamon rolls are on a whole other level!
Nothing beats making caramel from scratch, and you can taste the love and flavor within these cinnamon rolls.
Expert Baking Tips
- Baking Pan: These rolls are baked in a 9x13-inch baking dish. I used a glass pan. Be sure to spray the pan with cooking spray as well.
- Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.
- Rising Method: If possible, I recommend the first rise to happen in the oven. If you can't, then the dough can rise on the counter. I prefer the oven method when I can.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: For best results, I recommend removing the butter, eggs, and cream cheese 1 hour before you want to start baking.
- Bake Time: Be careful not to over bake the dough. If over cooked, the dough will be hard and not soft.
- Icing: As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, spread the icing over the top. That way it'll melt into all of the cracks, which is the best part!
- Caramel: If you can, I recommend making your caramel ahead of time, even the night before. That way it's at room temperature and ready to use.
Ingredients Needed
Here are some notes on the ingredients we'll be using. For the full list of ingredients, look at the recipe card below.
- Caramel: Although you can certainly buy some from the store, I recommend you make my homemade caramel recipe.
- Milk: You need warm milk that has been heated to about 110 degrees fahrenheit so the yeast can rise.
- Yeast: I used active rise yeast. You could also use instant yeast or active dry yeast.
- Eggs: Two large eggs are needed for the yeast dough.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour.
- Cream Cheese: Use the block-style cream cheese, not the spreadable kind.
Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions on how to make these caramel cinnamon rolls.
Step 1: Make the caramel. Melt the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter. Then whisk in the heavy whipping cream.
Add the salt and vanilla extract and mix until combined. Cool completely.
Step 2: Prepare the milk. In a small bowl, heat the milk and cubed butter for about 30 seconds. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix in the yeast, white sugar, beaten eggs, and salt.
Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients. Using the dough hook attachment, add in the flour and mix on low speed until the dough starts to form.
Increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is soft and slightly tacky.
Step 4: Rise the dough. Place the dough into a lightly greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Step 5: Cinnamon butter. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on high speed until completely combined. Set aside.
Step 6: Roll out the dough. On a lightly floured surface using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick large rectangle.
Use a rubber spatula to spread on the cinnamon butter mixture and then the caramel sauce.
Step 7: Roll, cut the dough, and second rise. Roll the dough into a log and use a serrated knife to cut and make 12 rolls. Place into a prepared 9x13 inch baking pan, cover, and let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
Step 8: Bake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes, or just until lightly golden brown on top.
Cinnamon Roll Icing
In a large mixing bowl of an electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until combined and creamy.
Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and caramel and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Immediately frost the hot cinnamon rolls with the icing, drizzle on extra caramel sauce, and serve immediately. This helps to achieve a gooey cinnamon roll!
Storing Tips
Keep any leftover rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
To reheat, place one cinnamon roll on a plate and heat for 20-25 seconds in the microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
I used a serrated knife to gently cut through the dough. You could also use unflavored dental floss to slice the rolls as well.
You can certainly buy a premade one from the grocery store, but I highly recommend you make your own. It's so easy and tastes so much better!
This can happen if you added too much flour (be sure to properly measure your flour) or you over baked them. This dough should turn out super soft for you.
If you made this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below. I love hearing from you! Also, please tag me on Instagram and check out my Pinterest for even more recipe ideas.
It brings me so much joy to see you make my recipes. 🙂
Happy Baking!
More Fall Recipes
📖 Recipe
Caramel Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Saucepan
- 9x13 Glass Baking Pan
- Electric Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients:
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup sugar (make sure it's labeled "pure cane")
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dough
- 1 cup milk, warmed to 110°F
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 packets active rise yeast (4 ½ teaspoons)
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten room temperature preferred
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
Cinnamon Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup salted caramel sauce
Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 ounces block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon salted caramel sauce plus extra to drizzle over the top of the rolls
Instructions:
Salted Caramel Sauce
- I highly recommend you make the caramel ahead of time or even the night before, that way it has plenty of time to cool.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-heat, add the sugar. Once the sugar starts to melt and clump together, continuously whisk it until completely melted. Allow the melted sugar to sit until it starts to turn amber in color (about 10-15 seconds). Then remove it from the heat.
- Add the cubed butter and constantly whisk it until melted. Then add the heavy whipping cream, whisking constantly until incorporated. Then whisk in the salt and vanilla extract.
- Pour the hot caramel into a glass bowl, jar, or container and cool completely before using. The caramel will thicken up as it cools down.
Dough
- In a microwaveable-safe bowl, heat the milk and cubed butter for 30-40 seconds, or until around 110°F. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix in the yeast, sugar, beaten eggs, and salt with a fork or whisk.
- Using the dough hook attachment, add in the flour and mix on low speed until the dough starts to form. Once formed, increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is soft and slightly tacky (2-3 minutes). If the dough sticks to your fingers when trying to remove it, mix in 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until it doesn't.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and once preheated turn it off, place the bowl in the oven, and keep the door slightly open. Allow the dough to rise in that warm space for 1 hour.*If you can't do this in your oven, let the dough rise on the counter.
Cinnamon Filling
- In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on high speed until completely combined. Set aside.
Assemble
- After the dough has risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to ¼ inch thick and into a rectangle. Use a rubber spatula to spread the cinnamon butter all over the dough. Then spread on a ¼ cup of the salted caramel sauce.
- Starting on the long end, roll the dough up as tightly as you can into a log shape. Use a serrated knife and cut off the uneven ends. Then cut the log into 15 rolls (about 1 inch wide).
- Spray a 9x13-inch pan with non-stick spray and place the rolls inside of it. Cover with a towel and rise for 20 minutes on the counter.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes, or just until the rolls are lightly golden brown on top and the center of the rolls are cooked through.
Caramel Cream Cheese Icing
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until combined and creamy (2-3 minutes).
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and 1 tablespoon of caramel and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Spread the icing over the hot cinnamon rolls and drizzle on extra caramel sauce. Serve immediately.
- Keep any leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes:
- Baking Pan: These rolls are baked in a 9x13-inch baking dish. I used a glass pan. Be sure to spray the pan with cooking spray as well.
- Measuring Flour: To help ensure you don’t add extra flour, follow these three simple steps: 1) Fluff up the flour using a fork. 2) Spoon the flour into your measuring cup. 3) Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level out the flour.
- Rising Method: If possible, I recommend the first rise to happen in the oven. If you can't, then the dough can rise on the counter. I prefer the oven method when I can.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: For best results, I recommend removing the butter, eggs, and cream cheese 1 hour before you want to start baking.
- Bake Time: Be careful not to over bake the dough. If over cooked, the dough will be hard and not soft.
- Icing: As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, spread the icing over the top. That way it'll melt into all of the cracks, which is the best part!
- Caramel: If you can, I recommend making your caramel ahead of time, even the night before. That way it's at room temperature and ready to use.
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