Prep Time: 1 hour
Rise Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
Category: breakfast
Method: oven
Cuisine: american
Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls
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Fluffy, gooey cinnamon rolls meet buttery coffee cake crumb topping in the ultimate breakfast mashup. Topped with a vanilla icing drizzle, these rolls are pure magic!
Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls
If you thought homemade cinnamon rolls couldn’t get any better…think again. Imagine soft, pillowy cinnamon rolls, perfectly spiced and swirled with cinnamon-sugar goodness, topped with a buttery coffee cake crumble and finished with a drizzle of vanilla icing. Yep, they’re every bit as dreamy as they sound.
These rolls take everything you love about two iconic breakfast treats—fluffy cinnamon rolls and buttery coffee cake—and combine them into the ultimate morning indulgence. Whether you’re making them for a weekend brunch, a cozy morning in, or just because (which, honestly, is reason enough), I promise they’ll be an instant favorite.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you’re not already convinced that you need these in your life, let me break down exactly why these are life changing good.
- That soft, gooey cinnamon roll texture: The dough is enriched with butter and eggs, making it extra soft and tender.
- A buttery crumb topping that’s pure heaven: It’s the same streusel you’d find on top of your favorite coffee cake, but here, it adds the perfect crunch to warm, gooey cinnamon rolls.
- Easy make-ahead options: You can prep these rolls the night before, let them rise in the fridge overnight, and bake them fresh in the morning!
- That icing drizzle to tie it all together: Sweet, simple, and the perfect finishing touch.
Let’s Talk About That Crumb Topping
I truly believe that streusel topping makes any dessert better. Like, how could topping anything with thick layer of buttery crumb topping be a bad idea? It’s buttery, crumbly, and packed with brown sugar and cinnamon, adding the perfect crunchy contrast to the soft, doughy rolls underneath.
Some pro tips for getting that crumb topping just right:
- Use melted butter. This creates a sandy, easy-to-sprinkle texture rather than large clumps.
- Use a soft, finely ground brown sugar: Not all brown sugar is made equal and I’ve found that when you make this crumb topping with a grittier brown sugar the streusel doesn’t meld into the dough as seamlessly.
- Sprinkle generously. You want every single bite to have a bit of that buttery, crunchy topping.
Tips for the Best Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls
- Don’t rush the rise. The longer your dough has to rise, the softer and fluffier your rolls will be.
- Use room temperature ingredients. This helps the dough come together evenly and ensures a perfect rise.
- Slice evenly. Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife to get clean, even slices of dough.
Make-Ahead & Storage Instructions
How to make these coffee cake cinnamon rolls ahead of time:
- Overnight Prep: Once you’ve shaped your cinnamon rolls, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, let them come to room temperature and rise for about an hour before baking.
- Freezing: You can freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls after shaping. Just place them in a greased pan, cover tightly, and freeze. When ready to bake, let them thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring them to room temp before baking.
How to store these glorious rolls:
- Store baked rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerate for up to 5 days and reheat in the microwave for 15–20 seconds before serving.
- Freeze baked rolls (without icing) for up to 3 months. Thaw and warm before adding icing!
I cannot wait for you to make these Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls. They’re warm, gooey, buttery, and have that perfect crunch from the crumb topping. Plus, that vanilla icing drizzle? Absolute perfection.
Happy baking!
XXX
Units:
Ingredients
for the cinnamon rolls
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
for the brown sugar filling
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar*
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
for the crumb topping
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
for the vanilla icing
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons milk
- splash of vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- First, make the dough. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix 2 cups of the flour with the granulated sugar, yeast, and salt on low speed until combined.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the milk and butter until the mixture is warm to the touch and the butter is mostly melted, about 45 seconds (you don’t want the mixture to be steaming or too hot, as this can kill the yeast).
- Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Add in the egg. Beat everything together on low speed until combined so the flour doesn’t fly everywhere. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat for 2 minutes. The dough will look more like batter, but this is correct! This step kicks off the gluten development.
- After 2 minutes, change to the dough hook attachment. Add in an additional 1 ½ cups of flour and knead on low speed until combined. Use a silicone spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the remaining 1 cup of flour (totaling 4 ½ cups) and knead on low speed, stopping the mixer occasionally to re-disperse dough, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball around the dough hook.
- Increase to medium-low speed and knead until the dough becomes smooth and supple, about 10 minutes. If the dough gets wrapped around the hook too much, turn off the mixer, pull the dough off, flip it over, and turn on the mixer again. The dough is ready when you can stretch a quarter-sized piece of dough between your fingers and see light through it (without it breaking). This means the gluten has developed enough. If your dough breaks, knead for a few minutes more and try again.
- Transfer the dough to a large lightly-oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Turn the risen dough onto a well-floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it into a 12-inch long by 18-inch-wide rectangle, with the wider side closest to you.
- Using your hands or a silicone spatula, spread the butter for the filling all the way to the edges of the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon over the butter, then use your fingers to spread it into the butter. From the 18-inch wide side closest to you, roll the dough into a tight log. Press the dough along the outside seam to seal everything together.
- Use a very sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place the rolls into the prepared pan. Cover the pan with a dish towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise again until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough is rising, make the crumb topping. Combine all the ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and stir until it clumps together to form big and small streusel pieces.
- Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350°F. Sprinkle the crumb topping all over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Bake the rolls until they are golden brown all over, about 30 minutes. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack to cool until warm to the touch.
- While the rolls are cooling, make the vanilla icing. Combine all the icing ingredients and whisk to combine. Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls and dig in!
Notes
- We used dark brown sugar because it will give you a beautiful swirl, but light brown sugar will work just as well if that’s all you have on hand!
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