Improve your subsequent batch of home made cinnamon rolls with pecans and tangy lemon cream cheese frosting. These sticky buns are gooey and buttery as ever, with a crunchy, zesty twist!
In case you’re as obsessive about cinnamon rolls as I’m, strive my pumpkin cinnamon rolls and these chocolate cinnamon rolls subsequent. You may also love these cinnamon scones.

PSA: Buttery, gentle, sticky pecan cinnamon rolls are out-of-this-world scrumptious. I all the time made these with my mother, who loves cinnamon rolls and was all the time recreation to roll up her sleeves for a gooey, sugary trigger. I’ve tailored the recipe over time, swapping conventional icing for a creamy, tangy lemon frosting and including crunchy pecans to the filling.
Why You’ll Fall In Love With Ooey-Gooey Pecan Cinnamon Rolls
- A traditional with crunch! There’s all that ooey-gooey goodness and heat cinnamon spice you crave in a pillowy cinnamon roll, with a touch of crunch from the pecans. In case you’d favor a nut-free model, nonetheless, go forward and make your rolls with out. They’re scrumptious both approach.
- Straightforward technique. Sure, home made cinnamon rolls take a while and persistence. However the course of is tremendous easy, and these are price each minute!
- Creamy lemon frosting. I frost the rolls after they’re heat from the oven, so the tangy cream cheese frosting melts into each nook and cranny. It’s flavored with lemon extract for a zesty spin.




What You’ll Want
Including pecans to my favourite traditional cinnamon rolls recipe was undoubtedly a great determination. The substances listed below are principally pantry staples, and I’ve included some notes to get you began. Scroll to the recipe card for the printable pecan cinnamon rolls recipe, adopted by step-by-step pictures.
- Milk – This may be any dairy or non-dairy milk you’d like.
- Oil – Vegetable oil makes these cinnamon rolls extremely tender. Select a neutral-flavored oil, like canola.
- Dry substances – These are your baking staples like flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Butter – Melted. You should utilize salted or unsalted butter.
- Cinnamon – I don’t give an quantity for the cinnamon within the cinnamon sugar filling (a tip impressed by the Pioneer Girl, Ree Drummond). On the subject of cinnamon, we measure with our hearts. 😉 However about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of floor cinnamon is an efficient begin.
- Pecans – Finely chopped. You may additionally use almonds or walnuts. Put aside a number of the crushed nuts for sprinkling on prime of the frosted rolls!
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese – Dropped at room temperature.
- Butter – Additionally softened in order that it’s simpler to combine.
- Powdered Sugar and Vanilla
- Lemon Extract – You may additionally use freshly squeezed lemon juice (or bottled), although you might want so as to add extra to get the identical quantity of taste. You’ll additionally doubtless want so as to add extra powdered sugar for the reason that juice will skinny out the frosting.


Ideas for the Greatest Do-it-yourself Cinnamon Rolls
- Grease the baking pans. A well-greased pan is vital for cinnamon rolls that don’t stick! I like to make use of a little bit of melted butter and swirl it all around the backside of the pan. You may additionally use cooking spray or shortening, or line the pan with parchment paper.
- Let the dough rise someplace heat. In case your kitchen is on the colder aspect, place the cinnamon roll dough into the oven with the sunshine on to assist the dough rise.
- Lower clear slices. Use a pointy knife, and even higher, a serrated knife, to chop the dough into rolls. A serrated knife works greatest for clear edges. I’ve additionally seen some bakers use the dental floss technique, the place you wrap (unflavored) dental floss across the dough, and pull so the floss cuts via.
- Not a lemon frosting fan? In case you’d favor a extra conventional vanilla icing in your rolls, borrow the home made vanilla glaze from my cinnamon donuts.
When (and How) to Serve Them
Wealthy, decadent sticky pecan cinnamon rolls are good for a vacation brunch like Thanksgiving and Christmas, or a weekend breakfast. Serve them with a comfy cortado espresso, tea, matcha, or one thing extra indulgent, like a cinnamon dolce latte. I particularly love these gooey buns paired with a pumpkin spice latte. The extra spice, the merrier!


Continuously Requested Questions
The key to fluffy cinnamon rolls is to present the dough loads of time to relaxation and rise. In case you rush the rise, you’ll find yourself with dense, unhappy cinnamon rolls. My different tip can be to examine that your baking soda and powder are as recent as doable!
You’ll be able to swap the nuts on this recipe with chocolate chips, and use Nutella or chocolate unfold rather than butter contained in the rolls. Or, make soiled cinnamon rolls (impressed by a soiled chai latte) and swap the cinnamon for chai spice!
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Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
For the Cinnamon Rolls
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Dissolve the sugar within the milk. In a big saucepan, mix the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar. Warmth the milk combination over medium warmth, however don’t boil. Put aside and let cool.
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Add yeast. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk combination and let sit for a minute.
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Add flour. Add 8 cups of flour to the yeast combination; stir to mix.
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Relaxation. Cowl the bowl with a clear towel and let it sit in a heat place for one hour.
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Add leavening. Add within the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 cup flour. Stir to mix.
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Chill the dough. Chill the dough for one hour within the fridge.
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Prep. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
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Roll out the dough. Evenly flour your working floor. Take half of the dough from the bowl or pan and switch it to your working space. Roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thickness and form right into a rectangle.
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Add the filling. Pour about 1 cup of the melted butter over the formed dough; unfold it evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup of the sugar over the butter, then a beneficiant quantity of cinnamon. Add 1 cup of the chopped pecans on prime of the cinnamon combination.
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Roll it up. Starting on the finish farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly in direction of you right into a log. Work slowly, and preserve the roll tight. On the finish, pinch the seam collectively and flip the roll in order that the seam is face down.
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Lower the cinnamon rolls. Pour slightly little bit of the melted butter into 5 baking pans and swirl. Take the log and minimize 1/2-inch slices. Organize the rolls within the ready baking pans, about 6 or 7 slices per pan. Brush every roll with a little bit of butter, and add sugar and cinnamon on prime of every roll.
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Rise. Cowl with towels and let sit for 20 minutes.
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Roll and minimize the remaining dough. Take the opposite half of the dough and repeat the above steps.
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Bake. Take away the towels and bake the rolls for 15 to 18 minutes, or till golden brown. After baking, instantly brush every roll with frosting (see beneath) and sprinkle with remaining chopped pecans.
For the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
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Put together the icing. Place the cream cheese and the butter in a mixing bowl. Beat till creamy. Regularly add within the powdered sugar; beat till clean, about 4 minutes. Pour within the vanilla extract and lemon extract. Proceed to combine till properly included.
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Frost the rolls. Drizzle the frosting over the nice and cozy cinnamon rolls.
- Butter for the cinnamon rolls: You’ll want 4 sticks of butter, which equals 2 cups or 32 tablespoons. Soften the butter earlier than utilizing it.
- Butter for the frosting: You’ll want 2 sticks of softened butter, which equals 1 cup or 16 tablespoons.
- Floor cinnamon: You should utilize 1½ to 2 tablespoons of floor cinnamon for the filling. That’ll give it a powerful however balanced cinnamon taste. That quantity spreads properly with the sugar and butter with out overpowering.
Tailored from The Pioneer Girl
Energy: 204kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fats: 2g | Saturated Fats: 1g | Ldl cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values could fluctuate in accordance with the substances and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
Make Cinnamon Rolls With Pecans
Do-it-yourself sticky cinnamon rolls loaded with pecans are the most effective labor of affection! I’ll go over the steps to make them beneath, together with some pictures, so you already know what to anticipate.
Make the Dough






- Heat the milk. First, mix the milk, oil, and sugar in a saucepan over medium warmth. Heat it up simply sufficient to dissolve the sugar, however don’t let it boil.
- Add yeast and flour. Now, sprinkle the yeast over the milk combination. Let it relaxation for a minute, then stir within the first 8 cups of flour. Cowl and go away the bowl to relaxation someplace heat for about 1 hour.
- Add the leavening. Subsequent, stir within the baking powder, baking soda, and salt together with one other cup of flour. This time, place the dough into the fridge to relax.
Fill, Lower, and Bake the Cinnamon Rolls






- Roll out the dough. Whereas the oven preheats to 375ºF, take out the chilled dough and divide it in half. Flip one half out on a floured floor and roll it out right into a rectangle. Goal for about ¼-inch in thickness.
- Add the filling. Soften butter within the microwave, and unfold the melted butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle sugar over prime, adopted by the cinnamon (I’m all the time beneficiant right here). Lastly, sprinkle a couple of cup of crushed pecans on prime of the cinnamon sugar.
- Roll it up. Now, roll the dough up tightly across the cinnamon pecan filling to make a log. Pinch the dough closed and place it seam aspect down.
- Lower the cinnamon rolls. Grease your baking pans with melted butter. Then, minimize your first log into slices, about ½-inch thick, and prepare them within the pan. I normally match about 6-7 cinnamon rolls per pan.
- Relaxation. Brush the rolls with butter and sprinkle over slightly extra cinnamon sugar. Cowl the pan and go away the cinnamon rolls to relaxation for 20 minutes. Within the meantime, repeat these steps with the remaining cinnamon roll dough.
- Bake. Now, it’s time to uncover your rolls and bake them at 375ºF for 15-18 minutes, till they’re golden. As quickly because the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, you’ll brush them with frosting (see beneath).


Storing and Reheating Cinnamon Rolls
- Refrigerate. These pecan cinnamon rolls might be saved hermetic at room temperature for 1-2 days. After that, I like to recommend transferring them to the fridge.
- Reheat leftovers. Heat up the cinnamon rolls within the oven at 350ºF for a couple of minutes, or within the microwave for a number of seconds.
- Freeze. For longer-term storage, freeze the cinnamon rolls for as much as 2 months. Thaw them at room temperature while you’re able to reheat and serve.