Giant Cinnamon Roll is a family-style version of this favorite breakfast pastry. Baked in a cast iron skillet with a gooey center.
Looking for the perfect family Breakfast for a holiday or special occasion? Look no further; this is the perfect fun and shareable twist on Classic Cinnamon Rolls. Making one large cinnamon roll is a fun twist on the classic recipe that looks and tastes incredible. Plus, it’s slightly quicker to prepare than rolling several individual cinnamon rolls.
Table of Contents
- Sabrina’s Giant Cinnamon Roll Recipe
- Ingredients
- Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- How to Make Giant Cinnamon Roll
- “Can Giant Cinnamon Roll be made ahead?”
- Nutritional Facts
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- What to Pair With Giant Cinnamon Roll
- How to Store
- Ideas to Serve Giant Cinnamon Roll
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Variations
- Related Recipes
Sabrina’s Giant Cinnamon Roll Recipe
This makes an amazing brunch recipe for a holiday or special occasion. For this Giant Cinnamon Roll recipe, you’ll roll the dough out and circle it into one large spiral in a cast iron skillet. Baking the oversized pastry in a skillet creates delicious, golden brown, slightly crisp edges while the center remains perfectly soft and gooey.
Ingredients
- Yeast Mixture: Use 2 packets of dry instant yeast to make the cinnamon roll dough rise. Ahead of adding the other ingredients, you’ll mix together warm milk and a bit of sugar with the instant yeast. The warm milk mixture wakes up the yeast to begin the fermentation process.
- Milk: Use 2 cups of whole milk for the base liquid ingredient in the dough recipe. Using whole milk adds fat and flavor and helps to soften the dough into a tender, elastic mixture.
- Flour: Altogether, you’ll need 6 ½ cups flour for this recipe. However, you only use 6 cups in the dough. Reserve the additional flour to prepare a floured surface to roll the dough out on. You can use all-purpose flour but bread flour, which is more protein-rich, is ideal for making a fluffy, soft dough.
- Cinnamon Sugar: To make the cinnamon sugar filling, whisk together 1 cup granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon. Cinnamon has such a strong flavor, so it’s important to balance it out with enough sweetness from the sugar. Combining them makes the perfect blend of warm and sweet flavors.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese frosting is great for this pastry recipe because its tangy flavor adds more dimension to the sweet flavors. Mix softened cream cheese with 3 cups powdered sugar and butter for a fluffy, sweet, and tangy topping to finish the Giant Cinnamon Rolls.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Stand Mixer: Using a stand mixer with a hook attachment will help bring your dough together in a cinch. You’ll use the same stand mixer with a whisk attachment to make your frosting.
- Rolling Pin: To begin working with your dough, you’ll need a classic rolling pin to shape it into a wide rectangle. Make sure to roll it as even as possible so your layers are even in the skillet.
- Cast Iron Skillet: Baking the Cinnamon Roll in a cast iron skillet allows it to brown nicely, and also encourages even baking.
How to Make Giant Cinnamon Roll
Time needed: 1 hour and 40 minutes.
- Yeast Mixture
Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until it reaches 110 degrees F (warm to the touch). Then add the warm milk mixture and dry yeast to your stand mixer. Whisk, and then let the yeast mixture sit for 1 minute.
- Mix Cinnamon Roll Dough
Add 6 cups of flour, sugar, kosher salt, and eggs to the stand mixer. Use the dough hook attachment to mix at low speed for 3-4 minutes. Continue mixing for up to 5-7 minutes, if needed, until the dough ball doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl. Add ¼ cup flour at a time to stop the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough ball from the stand mixer, and grease the stand mixer bowl. Then add the dough back into the greased bowl, and cover it with a dish towel. Let the dough sit for 10 minutes.
- Prep Dough
Preheat the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Then whisk the cinnamon sugar mixture together. Prepare a large flat surface with ½ cup of flour, and roll the rolling pin over the floured surface to coat it.
- Roll Out Dough
Roll the dough into a large 1/2-inch thick rectangle, around 12 x 18 inches. Using clean hands, spread the soft butter over the dough without tearing it. Then sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the top.
- Shape Cinnamon Roll
Cut the dough into 4 even, long strips bout 3 inches wide. Roll up one section of dough and place it at the center of a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Shape in Skillet
Then roll the additional strips of dough around the center piece to make one large, spiraling roll. Place the prepared roll in a warm place for 20 minutes.
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Add softened cream cheese, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and whole milk to your clean stand mixer. Then whisk the ingredients together until fluffy.
- Baking Time
Cover the pan in aluminum foil, then place the cast iron skillet in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Then carefully remove the foil, and bake the cinnamon roll for another 25 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the dough is baked through.
- Frosting
Use an offset spatula to spread the cream cheese frosting over the freshly baked cinnamon roll. Serve warm, slicing the Giant Cinnamon Roll into wedges.
“Can Giant Cinnamon Roll be made ahead?”
Yes. A great way to meal prep this recipe is to freeze the dough before baking it. Follow the recipe instructions to prepare the dough as normal. Then add the cinnamon filling, and roll the dough. Instead of letting the dough rise, cover it in a layer of plastic wrap and then a layer of foil. You can freeze the unbaked roll for up to 2 months. To bake premade cinnamon roll dough, put the dough in a warm place to thaw and rise for a few hours. Then bake and add fresh cream cheese frosting before serving.
Nutritional Facts
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Your homemade baked goods will turn out fantastic with these handy hints!
- Frosting Perfection
- If the cream cheese frosting seems too thick, you can add whole milk or heavy cream to thin it out as needed. If it looks too thin, add some powdered sugar until it thickens.
- Keep the Flour in the Bowl
- After you add the ingredients to the mixing bowl, cover it in a clean kitchen towel so the mixing won’t make your flour go everywhere. You can use this same towel for your dough while it rises later.
What to Pair With Giant Cinnamon Roll
This family-style treat is so great to serve on a holiday or special occasion. You can also make other crowd-pleasing, shareable dishes like Ham and Hash Brown Casserole and Candied Bacon to go with the sweet breakfast treat and serve your family for brunch.
How to Store
- Serve: Don’t leave your Giant Cinnamon Roll recipe uncovered for more than 2 hours.
- Store: To keep the breakfast recipe fresh, you can cover the pan in plastic wrap. If you just have a small amount left, transfer the cinnamon roll pieces to an airtight container. Kept sealed, the recipe will stay good at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for 1 week.
- Freeze: You can also carefully seal the cinnamon roll recipe to keep it frozen for up to 2 months. Let the dish thaw at room temperature and serve cool or reheat it in the oven to make it gooey and warm.
Ideas to Serve Giant Cinnamon Roll
When serving, cut the Giant Roll into wedges the same way you’d serve a pie. That way, everyone can have bites of the outer and center pieces for the perfect cinnamon roll experience. You can serve each slice with berries on the side. You could also set out some extra frosting for the big frosting-lovers in your life.
Frequently Asked Questions
When cinnamon rolls are done baking, the top will be shades of light to dark golden brown, while the center and inside are baked through but still soft. To check that the Giant Cinnamon Roll is done baking, you can use a fork to pull up on the center of the roll and check that there is no unbaked dough left.
There are a few reasons that your cinnamon roll dough may not be rising as it should. If the yeast you’re using is too old, it may expire. Similarly, if you heat the milk too high, the temperature will kill the yeast before it has a chance to rise. The weather can also impact how well dough rises. Put the dough in a warm area to help it grow.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/2 cup butter , room temperature
- 6 1/2 cups flour , divided
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 packets instant yeast , rapid rise
- 2 large eggs
Cinnamon Sugar Filling:
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
Cream Cheese Icing:
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter , room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter to 110 degrees (warm to touch).
- Add the yeast and milk to a stand mixer. Whisk and let sit for one minute.
- Add 6 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and eggs to the stand mixer.
- PRO TIP: COVER YOUR MIXER WITH A CLEAN DISH TOWEL.
- Attach the dough hook and turn the mixer on speed 3-4 (low to medium).
- Let it go for 5-7 minutes, you want the dough to become a ball that doesn’t stick to the walls of the bowl.
- If you find sticking, add flour ¼ cup at a time until it pulls away (no more than another cup).
- Take the dough out, grease the stand mixer bowl and put it back in.
- Cover the dough with your dish towel you used to keep the flour in the stand mixer.
- Let sit for 10 minutes while you set the oven to preheat to 350 degrees and make the filling.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.
- Using a large even surface, add ½ cup of flour and roll it out onto the surface to coat the rolling pin and the surface.
- Roll out the dough into a large rectangle about 1/2-inch thick (if your space is limited do this in two halves).
- The dough rectangle should be about 12 x 18 inches.
- Spread the butter over the dough (you can use you hands) and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar over the butter.
- Cut the dough into 4 even, long strips, about 3 inches wide.
- Start rolling one piece, then place it into the center of a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
- Roll the additional strips around the center piece making one large roll.
- Place the skillet into a warm place for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Cream Cheese Icing:
- In your stand mixer whisk all the ingredients together.
To Finish the Giant Cinnamon Roll:
- Bake the giant cinnamon roll for 35 minutes covered in foil.
- Remove the foil bake an additional 25 minutes until golden brown and baked through.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting over the rolls and serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
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Variations
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling: For a rich, caramelized flavor, you can fill your Giant Cinnamon Roll with a delicious brown sugar-cinnamon mixture. Swap out the granulated sugar in the cinnamon filling for brown sugar and sprinkle it over the rolled-out dough as usual.
- Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Rolls: For a delicious, chocolatey twist on this breakfast treat, you can sprinkle mini chocolate chips into the filling along with the cinnamon sugar.
- More Filling Add-Ins: You can experiment with other types of fillings like chopped nuts, blueberries, coconut flakes, raisins, or toffee bits to add flavor and texture to the cinnamon rolls.
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