After years of testing and perfecting I am excited to share what I can only describe at the optimal Sticky Cinnamon Rolls. They are soft, fluffy, and swirled with buttery cinnamon filling, then baked with a smooth honey caramel base topped with chopped nuts. As they bake, the honey caramel bubbles around the nuts, creating a gooey, buttery, slightly crunchy topping that coats every rolls when you flip the pan.

A hand pulling a cinnamon roll topped with almond in caramel sauce.

I have been baking sweet breads and pastries for quit some time, so when I decided to add this recipe to my private collection, I knew it had to be perfect. Extra fluffy dough, thick filling that does not ooze out, and gooey caramel sauce rich in deep natural flavor.

It wasn’t that hard, I already had the perfect Sweet Roll Dough, then I used the right ingredient for the right job and the results did not disappoint. Spoiler: you have it in you pantry.

The Right Ingredients

Potato or cornstarch. I tablespoon in the cinnamon filling is an insurance policy for the filling to stay put and not ooze out as much. Personally I like potato starch better than cornstarch because the starch are bigger and do not get that jelly like texture. But in this case, it is not very noticeable so use what you have.
Honey. To be honest, this is kind of my go-to move: mixing honey with the sugar for a smooth texture and a natural unique flavor. More so: as the rolls bake, the honey gets this deep, rich, caramelized notes.
Chopped nuts. I used almonds because I was out of pecans, so feel free to use any kind, or not at all.

Lets Get Baking

Below are step-by-step images, for making the sauce and filling, than assembling the rolls. You do need to make the dough about 90 minutes ahead of time.

Note that if you use a parchment paper, the nuts might get stuck to it as you peel it. I just peeled them off and placed them back on the rolls.
Make sure that your pan is at least 3-inches tall, or the sauce might drip out during baking.
Refrigerate the dough about 45 minutes before rolling it (after the first rise). Rolling and slicing the dough when it is cold is much easier and less messy.

Pay attention to the rolls and not the timer, your oven is different than mine and baking time can be longer, or shorter. The rolls are ready when they are light-medium golden and the inner temperature of the center roll is 180°F.

A sauce pan with butter, honey, sugar and a cinnamon stick. — Measure the sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat until smooth. About 3-5 minutes.

Pouring golden sauce into a brown pan lined with parchment paper. — Measure the sauce ingredients and cook over medium heat until smooth. About 3-5 minutes.

A large bowl with light brown sugar, potato starch, ground cinnamon, and butter. — Measure the filling ingredients into a large bowl.

A large bowl with cinnamon filling. — Measure the filling ingredients into a large bowl.

A rolled dough topped with cinnamon filling. — Roll the dough into a 16×18-inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the surface.

Unbaked cinnamon roll topped over chopped nuts in a pan. — Roll the dough into a 16×18-inch rectangle. Spread the filling over the surface.

Make The Rolls In Advance

It takes a few hours to make these rolls, and if you want them fresh in the morning make sure to assemble them the night before (so consider starting in the afternoon). Then, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8-10 hours. In the morning, remove them from the fridge and set them on the counter while you warm the oven. Bake.

Sticky cinnamon roll topped with almonds.

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