Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
The tangy, silky-smooth cream cheese frosting that melts into warm cinnamon rolls and defines the bakery-style classic.
- Sweetness
- medium
- Tanginess
- high
- Consistency
- spreadable
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Makes
- ~1.25 cups
The quick answer
Beat softened cream cheese and butter until smooth, then mix in powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Spread it on rolls that are warm but not hot so it melts into the swirls without sliding off.
This is the frosting cinnamon rolls were made for. Real cream cheese gives it a gentle tang that cuts the sweetness of the brown-sugar swirl, while a little softened butter keeps it rich and spreadable instead of stiff. Beat it just until smooth and it glides over warm rolls, sinking into every crevice as it softens. Four ingredients, five minutes, and it turns a good pan of rolls into the kind people remember.
Not sure which icing to use? See the complete cinnamon roll icing guide — the simple base recipe, the sugar-to-liquid ratio, and how to choose between glaze, cream cheese, maple, and dairy-free.
Ingredients
- cream cheese, softened4 oz (113 g)
- unsalted butter, softened0.25 cup (57 g)
- powdered sugar1 cup (120 g)
- vanilla extract1 tsp
- fine saltpinch
Instructions
- 1Let the cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature until fully soft, about 30 minutes — this is the difference between silky and lumpy frosting.
- 2Beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, scraping down the bowl once.
- 3Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low until incorporated, then on medium just until fluffy and spreadable — don't overbeat or it can loosen.
- 4Spread over cinnamon rolls that are warm but not hot so the frosting softens into the swirls without melting away completely.
Apply, adjust & store
- Best applied when
- rolls are warm but not hot — about 10 minutes out of the oven
- Storage
- Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature and re-whip briefly before spreading. Frosted rolls should be refrigerated after a few hours at room temperature.
- Consistency adjustments
- For a thicker, pipeable frosting, add powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time. For a pourable glaze, thin with 1 teaspoon of milk at a time until it ribbons off the spoon.
Food safety: this frosting contains dairy. Refrigerate leftover frosting, and refrigerate frosted rolls after a couple of hours at room temperature. Bring back to room temperature before serving.
Cinnamon rolls to pair
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- Eggnog Cinnamon RollsHoliday cinnamon rolls made with eggnog in the dough and a spiced eggnog glaze, warm with nutmeg and rum flavor — Christmas morning in a pan.
- Slow-Cooker Cinnamon RollsImpossibly soft cinnamon rolls steam-baked in a Crock-Pot — no oven needed, with a foolproof towel trick for dry, fluffy tops.
- Giant Cinnamon RollOne enormous skillet-sized cinnamon roll — a single continuous spiral you slice like a cake, with gooey layers all the way to the center.
- Cinnamon Roll Bread PuddingDay-old cinnamon rolls torn into a vanilla custard and baked into a warm, custardy bread pudding with a vanilla sauce.
- Cinnamon Roll Bread (Pull-Apart Loaf)An accordion-stacked cinnamon roll bread loaf — cinnamon-sugar dough squares baked on their sides so it fans open into buttery pull-apart layers.
- Cinnamon Roll CookiesSoft pinwheel cookies with a real cinnamon-sugar swirl and a cream cheese icing drizzle — all the flavor of a cinnamon roll, no yeast and no proofing.
- Cinnamon Roll DonutsBaked cake donuts with a cinnamon-sugar swirl running through the batter and a sweet vanilla cream cheese glaze — all the cinnamon roll flavor, no yeast or frying.