On my post for the Main Street Bakery’s French Toast Loaf, I professed my love for all things Disney. Well I’m continuing my love fest with their recipe for cinnamon rolls. If you’ve ever visited the Main Street Bakery, you’ll notice the cinnamon rolls the size of Mickey Mouse’s head. They are HUGE and when I say huge, I mean gigantic. The Main Street Bakery’s cinnamon rolls are ooegy, gooey and smothered in icing. Thankfully these cinnamon rolls are still available while I mourn the lose of my beloved French Toast Loaf.
Combine 1/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees), 1 package of dry active yeast and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in a large mixing bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes until it gets foamy.
Take a 3.4 ounce box of instant vanila pudding. You’ll only be using half of this for the cinnamon rolls. You know what that means? You’re just going to have to make another batch later.
In a separate bowl, add the instant vanilla pudding (remember only use half of the box!) and pour in 1 cup whole milk.
Whisk it together for 2 minutes. It should be thick, basically you’re making pudding.
Pour 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter into the pudding.
Then add in 1 lightly beaten egg and 1 teaspoon kosher salt.
Whisk it together.
Then add it to the yeast mixture and mix to combine.
Slowly add in 4 cups of all purpose flour with the mixer on low speed. (use the paddle attachment) If you don’t have a stand mixer, just combine the ingredients with a wooden spoon or spatula. But if you do have a stand mixer, I highly recommend using it.
Once it’s all combined, switch to the dough hook and knead the dough on low speed for 6 minutes. If you aren’t using a mixer, knead the dough by hand for 8 minutes.
After the dough is done mixing, sprinkle the counter with flour and knead the dough by hand for a couple of minutes
Lightly oil a large bowl and roll the dough in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area to rise for 1 hour until it’s doubled in size.
After an hour, punch the dough down. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap again and let the dough rise for 30 more minutes.
Roll the dough out into a 18 x 11 inch rectangle. Brush 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter over the dough. Combine 1 cup of packed light brown sugar and 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon. Sprinkle it over the butter and press it down. Make sure you leave a 1 inch border on the left and right sides of the dough.
Roll over the left side of the dough and the right side of the dough.
Then begin rolling up the dough starting from the bottom and roll it all the way up.
First cut off the ends with a serrated knife. (about an inch on both sides)
Then cut the dough every 2 inch. You should have about 7 or 8 cinnamon rolls. These rolls will be massive in the end. Massive = insanely delicious
Press each roll together to prevent it from falling apart during the baking process. In the photo, I’m using one hand. But I typically take both of my hands and press it together with the palms of my hands.
Place the rolls into lightly greased baking pans. I like to use circle baking pans (the ones I’m using are a 10 inch baking pan and 8 inch baking pan) but you can use square baking pans. Just make sure you space them out enough to allow them to expand while baking. They will expand A LOT! Cover the baking pans with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 20 more minutes.
Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
While the rolls are baking, begin on the frosting. Mix together 4 ounces of softened cream cheese (half a block) and 1/4 cup softened unsalted butter in a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment.
Add in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
Slowly add in 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
Add in 1 Tablespoon of whole milk and mix to combine.
Take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven and frost while they’re still wam. Enjoy!
Main Street Bakery Cinnamon Rolls
(Disney Chefs)
Dough
1/4 cup warm water (110 – 115 degrees)
1 (1/4 ounce) package dry active yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 (3.4 ounces) package instant vanilla pudding
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups all purpose flour
Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon milk
In a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Set aside for 5 minutes until it becomes foamy.
In a separate bowl, whisk together half the package of vanilla pudding and the milk for 2 minutes until it becomes thick. Add in the melted butter, lightly beaten egg and kosher salt.
Add the pudding mixture to the yeast mixture. Combine the ingredients on low speed using the paddle attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, just mix by hand.
Slowly add in the flour on low speed. Once all of the flour is added, switch to the dough hook. Knead the dough for 6 minutes using the dough hook.
If you don’t have a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand for 8 minutes.
Take the bowl out of the bowl and place it on a floured surface. Knead the dough by hand for a couple of minutes.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and roll the dough around in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, punch the dough down. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise again for 30 minutes.
Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it out into an 18 x 11 inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the melted butter but leave a 1 inch border on the left and right sides of the dough.
Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle it over the melted butter and press it down.
Roll the dough over once on the left side and once on the right side. Then begin rolling the dough up. Start at the bottom of the dough and roll it away from you.
Using a serrated knife, cut 1 inch of the dough off on the left and right sides.
Then cut the dough every 2 inches. You should have about 7 or 8 cinnamon rolls.
Using your hands, press each cinnamon roll together. This will prevent them from falling apart during the baking process.
Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased baking pan. I use a 10 and 8 inch round baking pans but you can use square pans if you like. Just make sure you space them out a lot. They will expand in the oven.
Cover the baking pans with plastic wrap and let them rise again for 20 minutes.
Bake the cinnamon rolls at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
While the cinnamon rolls are baking, begin making the frosting.
Sift the powdered sugar and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and butter. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until the frosting is smooth.
Add in the milk and mix it up.
Take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven. Frost them while they’re still warm. Enjoy!
Saliva. Dripping. From. My. Chin. Ding dang I need these, now!
How yummy!
It’s a really miserable day here but reading about these gorgeous cinnamon rolls has cheered me up! I’m intrigued by the instant pudding mix in the dough. Gonna have to try this.
Oh my god….those look so great. That pudding box is interesting…. but love it!
A trick for slicing the rolls: Slide a piece of (unflavored!) dental floss under the dough where you want to slice. Cross the floss and pull….slices off the perfect roll, pinching into the center instead of flattening like a knife. The recipe (and the finished product!) looks awesome!
Thank you! I do that too but didn’t have any on hand this time.
OMG, I can almost taste these! They sound wonderful.
Just out of curiosity, what do they charge for one of these babies at DisneyWorld?
There’s pudding in them? Oh my they must be moist and wonderful!
These look incredible! I love Disneyland (even though school has sucked some of that joy out). Clearly I need to go back and remind myself of all the treasures Main St. has to offer!
I will never tire of reading cinnamon roll recipes. I read each one of them. I like staring at the photos. There is no Jello pudding here in the UK unfortunately but I will search for a suitable alternative. I really want to eat this.
I can’t say no to a good cinnamon roll!
Oh my, these cinnamon rolls are over the top. I think that they are bigger than Mickey’s head:) Al of that ooey, gooey, frosting and cinnamon has me drooling. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my deliciousness!! There’s pudding in there?!?! Um…genius!
I love it – ‘Massive = insanely delicious’ I’d have to agree with you there! =)
They look great, not like mine hahaha
Only four rolls to a pan, yes these are insane, and ooey and gooey.
Wow, these really do look massive…and that frosting looks divine too! Yummmm.
(drool) Yum…..I am, yet again, at a loss of words…..incredible.
These look incredible, I can almost taste them!
Out of curiosity, what does Main Street Bakery charge for one of these beauties?
Yum! These look fantastic! Love!
Dude, these are insane! And there’s pudding in them! I don’t eat pudding but I like using it in different baking applications. I must be honest with you–when I saw the picture of the pudding box I actually sung out “J-E-LL-O
” Hahaha. And although I live in Orange County, about 20 minutes away from Disneyland, I’ve never actually had any of their baked goods. Yup, I’m a sinner.
There is just nothing like a fresh-baked cinnamon roll! Especially a giant one:-)
They are really big, aren’t they? I have never used instant pudding in a bread before… very interesting!
These rolls look absolutely decadent, especially with that yummy glaze! 
Thanks for sharing…
Freshly baked cinnamon rolls are so irresistible – these look amazing! I just made some last weekend for Mother’s Day and ate far more than I should have
Oh my goodness. I love cinnamon rolls and what?! Vanilla pudding mix? Wow, I need to try this stat.
Lindsey, these rolls look perfect! Soft and fluffy with a substantial amount of cinnamon and gooey frosting…everything I love about a cinnamon roll! I never would have thought to add the pudding mix, it must give a delicious vanilla flavor and improve the texture! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend
!
I’m always game to try another cinnamon roll recipe! And with your photos and endorsement, these are at the top of my list. I think my youngest would love these for his breakfast during finals week. Thanks, Lindsey!
Impressive! Love homemade cinnamon rolls – nothing quite like it. Delish!!!
Wow! Those cinnamon rolls look amazing!
These look awesome! I’ve put pudding mix into cookies before, but never thought of putting it into yeasted dough. I will have to try this out!
My mouth is watering looking at your cinnamon rolls! I’ve never made homemade cinnamon rolls before, but definitely will be trying this weekend. Yum!!!
I love cinnamon rolls and these look so delicious. The bigger the better!
Love your cinnamon rolls. I wonder what they would taste like if we mixed up the pudding mix. Say substitute chocolate for the vanilla? I bookmarked this recipe. Would you mind if I link back to you?
That’s a great idea. I would definitely try it out. I don’t mind, that’s fine.
Holy cow, Lindsey! These awesome breakfast treats put my whole wheat vegan buns to shame! hehe. Once Adam gets a glimpse of these I have no doubt what we’ll be baking on a Saturday morning in our very near future
Cinnamon roll heaven right there. The pudding in the dough is such an interesting addition. Very neat recipe.
These look fantastic. I’ve been wanting cinnamon rolls for a long time, I’m sure the pudding makes these so wonderful. I’ll keep the recipe for a indulgence at a later time. Beautiful Job
These are very naughty!
Hey Lindsey,
OMG these look amazingg! I’ve always wanted to learn how to make them. Thank you, thank you, thank you! But vanilla pudding isn’t available here (in India), what do you recommend as a substitute?
These look amazing and I really want to try making them… but one question before I do. Earlier in the recipe, when you’re going through the steps & photos, you say 1 tsp of kosher salt. But then in the ingredients list below, it’s 1/2 tsp. I have a feeling 1/2 tsp is the way to go. But I wanted to ask because I don’t want my cinnamon rolls to look amazing but be a little too salty.
Thanks!
Oops sorry about that, I’ll fix it!
. It’s 1 teaspoon.
Awesome, thank you! Making these tonight. I have cheesecake flavored pudding and am thinking about incorporating some blackberries or raspberries as well. Thanks again for this recipe, and for all of your recipes.
You’re welcome, I hope you enjoy them! Oooh blackberries and raspberries both sound so good.
Me and my boyfriend made these and theyre really good
thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that you both tried out the recipe and enjoyed them! Thanks for commenting and letting me know, I really appreciate it!
I have a question……..I made these a couple of days ago (they were YUMMY!!)……but I used a packet of dry active yeast which was 1/4 oz (comes in the pack of three…..each are 1/4 oz). Should I have only used HALF the packet? They still came out great even if I goofed on the yeast. Thanks for the recipe!!
I’m glad you liked them!
It actually should say 1/4 ounce (I have no idea why I put 1/8 ounce and why I didn’t even notice I wrote that!) so don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong. You should use the whole packet.
Can these be made the night before and refrigerated until baking the next morning?
I haven’t tried it out but yes that would work just fine.
Made these today and threw in a handful of cinnamon chips for good measure before I rolled them up. I used a plain powdered sugar glaze though since I didn’t have any cream cheese on hand. They were still excellent! Thank you for the recipe! I love all of your Disney recipes!