Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns with Sweet Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Frosting
There is just something magical about waking up to the smell of warm cinnamon buns baking in the oven โ especially during the holidays or a cozy weekend morning. These Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns are soft, fluffy, buttery, and absolutely irresistible. Paired with my Sweet Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Frosting, they truly melt in your mouth and taste better than Cinnabonโฆ yes, I said it!
These are the buns you make when you want to impress your family, spoil your guests, or treat yourself to something ridiculously delicious. Theyโre classic, nostalgic, and unbelievably tender.
What Makes These Cinnamon Buns SO Good?
This recipe checks every single box:
Soft, pillowy dough made with warm milk, yeast, a touch of sugar, egg, butter, and bread flour for that perfect bakery-style texture.
A luxurious cinnamon swirl made from dark brown sugar (or light brown), butter, and cinnamon that caramelizes beautifully as it bakes.
The most luscious frosting made from cream cheese, confectioners sugar, rich vanilla bean paste, and just a splash of fat free half and half for creaminess without heaviness.
They bake up golden and gooey, then get smothered in frosting that melts into every swirl.
Itโs honestly everything you want in a cinnamon bun.
Ingredients Youโll Need
(Do not list amounts โ blog-writing format only)
For the Dough
Milk
Yeast
Sugar
Egg
Egg yolk
Butter
Bread flour
Salt
For the Cinnamon Filling
Dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar)
Cinnamon
Butter
For the Frosting
Cream cheese
Confectioners sugar
Vanilla bean paste
Fat free half and half
How to Make These Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns
Youโll start by warming your milk and activating the yeast โ this gives the buns that perfect rise. The dough comes together beautifully with bread flour, butter, egg, and just enough sugar to create that soft, stretchy, bakery-quality texture.
After the dough rises, youโll roll it out and smother it in a mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. This filling melts and caramelizes into every crevice while bakingโฆ the smell alone is enough to make everyone sprint to the kitchen.
Once sliced and nestled into your baking dish, the buns get a second rise and then bake until irresistibly golden.
Then comes the best part โ the frosting. Smooth cream cheese, vanilla bean paste, confectioners sugar, and a little half and half whip together into a silky topping that melts right into the warm buns.
Perfect for Weekends, Brunch, and the Holidays
These buns are:
Cozy
Comforting
Perfectly sweet
A guaranteed crowd-pleaser
Serve them for Thanksgiving morning, Christmas brunch, New Yearโs Day breakfast, or any weekend you feel like spoiling your family. They bring that special-occasion kind of joy, and leftovers (if you have any!) reheat beautifully.
Why Youโll Love This Recipe
Better than store-bought
Easy to make ahead
Freezer-friendly
Soft, gooey, and unbelievably flavorful
That vanilla bean frosting is next-level amazing
These buns are everything you want out of a homemade cinnamon roll โ gooey centers, soft dough, buttery cinnamon swirls, and creamy, rich frosting.
Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Buns with Sweet Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Frosting
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Oven
- Casserole dish
- Hand held electric mixer
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 3/4 cup Whole milk warm
- 2 1/2 tsp Yeast
- 1/4 cup Sugar
- 1 Egg room temperature
- 1 Egg yolk room temperature
- 1/4 cup Butter melted
- 3 cups Bread flour
- 3/4 tsp Salt
FILLING
- 1 cup Dark brown sugar or light brown
- 2 TBSP Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup Butter softened
SWEET CREAM VANILLA BEAN FROSTING
- 6 oz Cream cheese softened
- 5 TBSP Butter softened
- 1 cup Confectioners sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla bean paste
EXTRAS
- 4 TBSP Fat free half & half heavy cream or milk of choice
Instructions
- Place the warm milk in the stand mixer.
- If it isn't warm, place into the microwave for 15-20 seconds.
- Add the yeast to the mixer with the milk, mix into the milk and let sit for 5 minutes.
- After the yeast has sat for 5 minutes, add the sugar, egg, egg yolk and the melted butter.
- Mix everything together until combined.
- Once everything is combined, add the flour and salt to the mixer.
- Mix with a wooden spoon until a dough forms then add the dough hook to the stand mixer.
- Knead the dough for 8 minutes with dough hook.
- After the dough is done kneading, transfer to a well-oiled bowl and rest covered for for 1 1/2 hours in a warm spot.
- After the dough has risen after 1 1/2 hours of resting, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into 14×9
- Spread the filling over the entire surface as evenly as possible.
- Roll up the dough into a log (14" side) as tight as you can.
- Cut the log into 9 even pieces carefully with a sharp knife to prevent smashing the cinnamon buns.
- Place the cinnamon buns into a well buttered casserole dish, cover the casserole dish and let rise for another 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- After the second rise, add the half and half to the bottom of the casserole.
- Place into the oven for 20-25 minutes.
- While the cinnamon buns are in the oven, prepare the frosting.
- Add the frosting ingredients to a small bowl and whip with an electric hand mixer until nice and fluffy.
- Once the cinnamon buns are nice and golden brown, remove, top with the frosting and enjoy!
THE NEXT DAY INSTRUCTIONS
- If you want to prepare ahead of time, skip the second rise and place into the fridge.
- Once ready to bake, remove and let rise on counter covered for 45-60 minutes or in the oven on PROOF setting if you have it.
- Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes
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