Lion House Cinnamon Rolls

4.64 from 11 votes
24 Comments

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This Lion House Cinnamon Rolls recipe comes directly from the Lion House Pantry on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are the best cinnamon rolls!

Lion House Cinnamon Roll on a white plate on top of a christmas table cloth.
Featured with this Recipe:
  1. Giant Cinnamon Rolls
  2. Ingredients In Lion House Cinnamon Rolls
  3. Christmas Lights on Temple Square
  4. Breakfast Ideas with Cinnamon Rolls
  5. More Cinnamon Roll Ideas
  6. Frequently Asked Questions
  7. How to Make Lion House Cinnamon Rolls
  8. Lion House Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Giant Cinnamon Rolls

I am so excited to share this recipe for the famous Lion House Cinnamon Rolls! It comes directly from the talented Executive Chef David Bench, at the Lion House Pantry on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. These cinnamon rolls are the best! They take me back to the holidays of my childhood when my mother and grandmother made big, beautiful, homemade cinnamon rolls. It is an art and it takes practice, but it is so worth it. I had the pleasure of visiting Temple Square in Salt Lake City with my family. The Christmas lights on Temple Square are magical! If you live in Utah, or will be visiting during the holidays, it is a must see!

Ingredients In Lion House Cinnamon Rolls

  • Warm water
  • Vegetable oil
  • Eggs
  • Vanilla
  • Nonfat dry milk
  • Active dry yeast
  • Granulated sugar
  • Salt
  • All-purpose flour
  • Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Butter – melted

Buttercream Frosting

  • Powdered sugar
  • Butter – softened
  • Cream (evaporated milk works too)
  • Vanilla

Christmas Lights on Temple Square

We loved the Christmas lights, the beautiful Christmas music, the lovely life-size nativity scene at Temple Square, as well as the delicious food. We stopped by the Lion House pantry for these cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate, the perfect treat after being outside looking at Christmas lights.

If you would like to learn more about what you can see and do at Temple Square during the holidays, you can see their holiday venue hours and activities here. This photo of the temple and beautiful Christmas lights on Temple Square is courtesy of Temple Square.

salt-lake-temple-christmas-lights-1091751-wallpaper


Breakfast Ideas with Cinnamon Rolls

Although these Cinnamon Rolls definitely stand on their own, it’s always nice to pair them with something else. Especially for breakfast. For example, eggs in a variety of forms seem to be the perfect balance to the sweetness and carbohydrates of a Cinnamon Roll. Like this Easy Breakfast Casserole, or the Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole.

READ NEXT: 33+ Breakfast Ideas

More Cinnamon Roll Ideas

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the actual Lion House roll recipe or just an imitation?

Yes, this is the actual recipe that they use at Lion House Pantry, directly from Executive Chef David Bench.

Why aren’t my rolls light and fluffy?

If your rolls feel dense it’s usually because you used too much flour. If you only use the seven cups of flour listed in the recipe, your rolls should come out perfect. Just make sure to use all-purpose flour and not bread flour because this could also cause them to be dense.

How do I make my cinnamon rolls less dense?

If you pour on some wheat gluten into the mix, that will usually do the trick of making your dough light and fluffy again.

How to Make Lion House Cinnamon Rolls

Lion House Cinnamon Roll on a white plate on top of a christmas table cloth.

Lion House Cinnamon Rolls

4.64 from 11 votes
This Lion House Cinnamon Rolls recipe comes directly from the Lion House Pantry on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are the best cinnamon rolls!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Rising Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 32 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 18

Equipment

  • Kitchenaid Mixer

Ingredients

Buttercream Frosting

Instructions

Cinnamon Rolls:

  • Place water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and dry milk powder in the large bowl of an electric stand mixer and stir vigorously until milk is dissolved.
  • Sprinkle yeast over liquid mixture then add the 1 cup sugar, salt, and flour.
  • Put dough hook on mixer and mix for 10-15 minutes at low speed. The dough will be very sticky.
  • Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.
  • Turn dough onto floured surface and roll out into a rectangle shape.
  • Brush with melted butter.
  • Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
  • Roll up rectangle lengthwise and cut into one-inch slices.
  • Grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
  • Place rolls on cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes.
  • After baking, let cool slightly before frosting. Frost with Buttercream Frosting.
  • Makes about 18 rolls.

Buttercream Frosting:

  • In a large bowl, blend powdered sugar, butter, and 3 Tablespoons of the cream with an electric mixer on low speed until combined well.
  • Slowly add the rest of the cream, 1 Tablespoon at a time until creamy and smooth, but not runny. Add vanilla and mix again.

Notes

Recipe Tips: 

If you  prefer a cream cheese frosting to buttercream on your cinnamon rolls, you can use this recipe instead:

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing constantly until desired consistency is reached. (You may not need ALL of the powdered sugar).

Nutrition Information

Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 8gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 513mgPotassium: 136mgFiber: 2gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 506IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 2mg

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About the author

Echo Blickenstaff

Echo lives in Pleasant Grove, Utah with her husband, Todd, who works in advertising, and her four kids: two girls and two boys. She deploys her accounting degree as the blog’s resident problem solver. In her time outside the kitchen, Echo loves to get away from the phones and busy schedules and spend quality time with the family. Anywhere’s great – but getting out into nature in the mountains or on the beach – is the best kind of getaway.

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Comments

    1. Yes! I make up the dough all the way and cut it into slices. Then I freeze them on baking sheets. Once they are frozen, you can put them in a plastic bag or Tupperware until you are ready to bake them. You can thaw them or bake them from frozen.

  1. 5 stars
    It was a rainy day and my first thought was to make Lion House rolls to go with my pot roast. But then I wondered if Lion House had a cinnamon roll recipe instead. Found these and they were delicious. I like that what I assume was the milk powder helped to mute the strong yeast taste that usually shines through in homemade cinnamon rolls. I halved the recipe (while using an extra cup of flour after reading sticky comments) and still made 12. I probably could’ve used more filling but they were still good.

  2. What a flop! A recipe that is so particular with texture should offer weight measurements and not volume measurements. 7 cups isn’t even close to making this dough workable.

  3. I’m in San Diego and I always have to add more flour to my bread recipes, sometimes a cup or more give or take of what most recipes call for. I just know if its too sticky I add the flour little by little until it reaches the consistency I need it

  4. This didn’t even kind of work. Dough was so sticky after almost 2 hours that it couldn’t be rolled. Held no shape to roll it up. Something is off with water or flour proportions here.

    1. I’m sorry these rolls didn’t turn out for you. It probably has to do with a difference in humidity and altitude. This recipe is made in Salt Lake City, Utah – a dry climate with an altitude of 4,300 feet. The dough should be sticky – but not sticky enough that it can’t be rolled. For more humid climates and higher altitudes, extra flour should be added to the dough.

      1. I had the same problem and I’m in Utah county. It is very wet, too wet to hold any shape. When you measure your flour do you scoop from to container with the measuring cup or do you spoon it into the measuring cup? ( Just trying to figure out what went wrong on my end)

        1. I measure the flour from the container with a measuring cup. The dough will be a little sticky, but if it is too wet to hold any shape, add about 1/4 cup flour at a time, mixing well after each addition. You don’t want to add too much flour or the cinnamon rolls will be dry.

      2. 5 stars
        I have made these rolls several times, always successfully. I have the Lion House Bakery cookbook. Some people on the comment thread are saying their turn out was not successful. The only problem I noticed in the recipe you list is my cookbook says 2 tablespoons active dry yeast and you list 1Tbs. Could that be the problem?

        I have question…I have never frozen the cinnamon roll dough before and I want to do that have you had success with that?

        1. I will have to try the 2 tablespoons of yeast next time I bake these. Thanks for letting me know! As far as freezing them – yes! I make up the dough all the way and cut it into slices. Then I freeze them on baking sheets. Once they are frozen, you can put them in a plastic bag or Tupperware until you are ready to bake them. You can thaw them or bake them from frozen. Hope this helps!