Cinnamon Roll Icing

Whether you bake cinnamon rolls from scratch or start with store-bought dough, they’re not ready until smothered in a creamy cinnamon roll icing. We’re believers in a thick and creamy consistency over a runny one. Our icing is built with butter, confectioners’ sugar and milk—all classic ingredients from the American type of buttercream frosting. Then, we mix in cream cheese for a rich texture, as well as vanilla and salt for flavor. These six ingredients become fluffy as they are beaten, and then spread onto warm rolls as a soft and silky icing.

This tangy cream cheese icing pairs beautifully with our favorite cinnamon roll recipe. Spread it generously over the entire pan of rolls as they come out of the oven. Or, hold a little of the icing back so you can give leftover pastries a fresh coating after reheating so they taste as if they’re fresh from the oven.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Icing

Icing is quite simple to make if you use a handheld mixer and room-temperature ingredients. Getting the extra help from a mixer (as opposed to beating the mixture by hand) will guarantee the smoothest, creamiest results. And using room-temperature cream cheese and butter (over cold ingredients straight from the fridge) means they’ll meld together much more easily in the bowl. Keep the hand mixer plugged in after beating the cream cheese and butter together because the confectioners’ sugar, milk, vanilla and salt will also need mixing. With all the time spent under the beaters, this cream cheese icing recipe for cinnamon rolls will be airy, fluffy and perfect.

Cinnamon Roll Icing Ingredients

• Butter: Fridge-cold butter can be hard on your electric mixer—hard butter requires quite a lot of effort to make it soft and smooth. Set the butter on the counter about an hour before you plan to bake (or earlier if your kitchen is chilly). If you’re starting with a cube of frozen butter, budget a few hours of softening time at room temperature. You’ll know the butter is ready when you poke it and a small indentation is left.
• Cream cheese: Picking up a tub of whipped cream cheese might seem like a mixing shortcut, but it already has milk and other ingredients in it that could affect the icing’s texture. For thick, even icing, soften a partial block of regular cream cheese to room temperature.
• Confectioners’ sugar: This pantry staple is also called powdered sugar or icing sugar. Many brands mix in cornstarch as an anti-caking agent, but this can leave a chalky taste and texture in icing and in other uncooked recipes. For a smoother result, choose a non-GMO or organic brand that uses tapioca instead to minimize caking. Or, consider making confectioners’ sugar at home.
• Milk: The milk in this recipe thins out the butter and cream cheese until the icing spreads easily. The fat content of whole milk balances these rich ingredients, but any type of milk or even cream will do the job.
• Vanilla extract: The biggest vanilla mistake you can make is using imitation vanilla in a recipe (like this one) where its aroma and flavor stand out. Buy pure vanilla extract. Or, for an easy DIY project, make homemade vanilla extract.
• Salt: A little salt brings out the other flavors in this icing. Among all the types of salt available, finely ground table salt or a flaky variety like kosher salt blends in best.

Directions

Step 1: Beat the softened ingredients

In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth, three to four minutes.

Step 2: Mix in the sugar

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low. Add the confectioners’ sugar and beat until incorporated, one to two minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Clumpy confectioners’ sugar might stay that way in the icing, so sift it through a fine mesh sieve if necessary. Once the sugar is in your bowl, the lower speed should keep the powder from flying out. Stop the mixer occasionally and scrape back into the icing any sugar that coats the bowl’s walls.

Step 3: Add the milk and flavoring

Increase the mixer’s speed to medium. Beat in the milk, vanilla extract and salt until fluffy, three to four minutes.

Taste Recipes

How to Ice Cinnamon Rolls

If you like gooey icing that sneaks into and pools under the layers of pastry, ice the cinnamon rolls in the pan while they’re piping hot. Drizzle the icing or pipe it on through a pastry bag. Then, spread it over the rolls using an offset spatula, silicone spatula or the back of a metal spoon. Once coated, let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes before serving so that the icing sets up.

Alternatively, let the cinnamon rolls cool to warm (not hot) before you coat them—that way, they’ll hold more icing on their top surface. The cooler the rolls get before you frost them, the stiffer the icing will be.

Cinnamon Roll Icing Variations

• Change the flavor: Substitute a little almond, orange or lemon extract for the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. However, know that these extracts have a stronger flavor than vanilla, so you might not need as much. You could also add orange or lemon zest instead if you want to give the icing a citrusy flavor with fresh ingredients. Give the icing some maple flavor with a tablespoon of maple syrup or a boozy flavor with the same amount of rum.
• Cut back the sweetness: If you don’t like things to be overly sweet, we have a solution for you. Simply add the confectioners’ sugar in stages instead of all at once. Taste the icing each time you stop the mixer to scrape down the bowl. Once you hit your desired sweetness, stop adding sugar. Then, move on to the next step, using only as much milk as needed for your ideal consistency. Taste the icing again when all ingredients have been incorporated. If it’s still overly sweet, beat in another pinch of salt or a splash of lemon juice.
• Leave out the cream cheese: Although it sounds slightly scandalous to say it, you can glaze cinnamon rolls with a basic vanilla icing without cream cheese. Beat all the other ingredients as directed, but use 1/2 cup butter and add enough milk to be able to drizzle the icing over the warm rolls.

How to Store Cinnamon Roll Icing

Store cinnamon roll icing in the refrigerator for the best texture. Seal it in an airtight container so that it doesn’t harden on top or in the piping bag. When you’re ready to use it, bring the icing to room temperature and then beat it again until fluffy.

Keep extra iced cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator in their own well-sealed container. If you like, refresh the topping on the baked cinnamon rolls with extra stored icing after you reheat the rolls.

How long does cinnamon roll icing last?

This cream cheese icing recipe for cinnamon rolls lasts for up to one week when packed in an airtight container and refrigerated. If you mix the icing ingredients while the rolls are proofing and baking, it’s fine to leave the cream cheese icing at room temperature for a couple of hours. Any longer than that and it’s safer to move it to the refrigerator.

Can you freeze cinnamon roll icing?

Our homemade cream cheese icing recipe for cinnamon rolls keeps well for about a month in the freezer when sealed as tightly as possible so moisture doesn’t alter the texture. Pack it firmly in an airtight container or use a vacuum sealer to pull as much air as possible from the freezer container or bag. Let frozen icing thaw overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, let the icing come to room temperature. Then, beat it again to remove any graininess caused by freezing and thawing.

Cinnamon Roll Icing Tips

Taste Recipes

What’s the best way to thin out cinnamon roll icing?

Icing thins out naturally when you spread it over warm cinnamon rolls. Expect it to be stiffer when it’s still in the bowl—especially when fridge-cold. If it seems too stiff to beat evenly, add 1 tablespoon milk or whipping cream at a time until it becomes workable.

How else can you use cinnamon roll icing?

Drizzle or spread cinnamon roll icing over all sorts of pastries and all kinds of cinnamon roll recipes, from the classic yeasty buns to red velvet cinnamon rolls. Use the icing to mark the signature shape atop hot cross buns. Spread it over French crescent rolls. Slather it on slices of a gingerbread loaf. Use it like frosting on carrot cake or pumpkin bars. Pipe it onto one of our favorite cupcake recipes. Or, add a little extra milk to drizzle it over one of these sweet scone recipes.