Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls . . . a cake mix in the dough makes these cinnamon rolls so soft, and so flavorful!

Several years ago a tried an awesome homemade cinnamon roll at a friends house. It was so soft and tender that I asked her for the secret. She told me the recipe called for a cake mix. I was totally surprised! I left her house with the recipe, and I have made them several times over the years. The dough is so soft and silky, I love working with it.

It had actually been a really long time since I had made them, and my boys immediately noticed that they were different than regular cinnamon rolls. The dough is sweeter, and so flavorful. Because of the sweetness in the dough, the filling needs less sugar, and I add extra cinnamon to balance it out. They are scrumptious!

Of course a cinnamon roll is not complete without frosting oozing into all the cracks. I love to use buttermilk or sour cream in my cinnamon roll frosting. It gives a little bit of a tang, which is perfect for offsetting the sweetness. Similar to cream cheese frosting, but without the cream cheese. But if all you have is milk, trust me, these will still be good enough that you will want to lick your fingers! 🙂

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

Yield: 2 dozen

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

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Extra soft cinnamon rolls that start with a cake mix.

Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 Tbsp instant yeast
• 1 17 oz. box white cake mix
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp salt
• 6-7 cups flour
• Filling:
• 6 Tbsp melted butter
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• Frosting:
• 1/4 cup very soft butter
• dash salt
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
• 3-4 Tbsp buttermilk, sour cream, or milk

Instructions

Dissolve yeast in water in a large mixing bowl. Add the cake mix, oil, eggs, salt, and 1 cup of the flour. Beat till smooth. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead a few times on a floured surface. Return to bowl, cover, and let rest for 15-20 minutes.

Roll out into a large rectangle on a counter that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Spread butter over entire surface. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the top. Roll up and pinch the seam together to seal. Cut into 24 1" slices and place into 2 greased 9x13" pans. Let rise till doubled, 30-60 minutes.

Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, or till lightly browned on the top and bottom. Let cool for about 15 minutes, then drizzle with frosting.

For frosting: Beat all ingredients in a small bowl, adding enough buttermilk to make a thin frosting that you can drizzle.

Notes

The extra sugar in the dough makes these cinnamon rolls raise pretty quickly, so make sure you check on them often. I forgot and let mine raise too much. They were still delicious, but not as pretty.

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I have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser for this cake mix cinnamon roll recipe. All opinions are mine.