Gooey Date Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are everything you want in a sweet breakfast treat—soft, gooey, and filled with caramel-like dates. Plus, they’re naturally sweetened, so no one will miss the sugar!

• Sweet, sticky date filling gives them a rich caramel flavor.
• Soft, fluffy dough that’s a breeze to make from scratch.
• Perfectly balanced—sweet but not too sweet.
• Frost them with vanilla cream cheese icing for an extra decadent touch.
• Make-ahead friendly for holiday mornings or weekend brunch.

You can follow along as I show you how I make these in my Date Cinnamon Rolls video.

Tips & Tricks to Make Them Perfect

A few helpful things I’ve learned after making these rolls a bunch of times:

• Temperature Matters For The Yeast: Keep the water warm (not hot!) when activating yeast—about 100-110°F. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast.
• Knead Long Enough: Kneading activates gluten, which gives the rolls their structure. Go for at least 7 minutes, or until the dough feels soft and stretchy like a baby’s skin. If the dough is too sticky to knead, sprinkle flour on top and keep kneading. It’s perfect if it still sticks a little bit to the sides of the bowl. Be careful to not add so much flour that it becomes dry and hard to knead.
• Let It Rise Somewhere Warm: If your kitchen is cold, create a cozy space. Warm your oven slightly, turn it off, and let the dough rise inside.
• Don’t Overfill: Spread the date mixture evenly but leave a 1-inch border so the filling doesn’t ooze out when you roll.
• Don’t Cut On The Counter: If you cut the rolls on the counter, they will turn into a sticky mess. Cut them after you put them in your greased baking dish to keep the area clean.
• Check for Doneness: Use a thermometer if you have one! The centers should read about 190°F when fully baked.

Want something savory on the side? Serve these rolls with my Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties for a sweet-and-savory brunch combo!

Spread Filling & Roll Dough

Get your filling all out of the mixer, and spread it all over the rectangle shaped dough. LEAVE about an inch or so on the edges of dough uncovered by filling.

Roll your dough starting at one end (long end) and continue till the entire rectangle of dough is one big roll.

Check them at 30 minutes, they should be nice and golden on top. Perfectly baked cinnamon rolls should be about 190° degrees F inside.

Effects of Weather on Date Cinnamon Roll Recipe

The weather can affect on how you make dough in different ways! If it’s cold, it will take longer to rise. If it’s a hot day, your dough will rise much faster, so keep an eye on your dough and just let it double the first rise and the second rise.

If your dough rises too much, it will fall while baking and you’ll have a flatter cinnamon rolls that aren’t as exciting.

If you are in a humid climate, you’ll need to add more flour while kneading. Add flour 1/8 a cup at a time till dough is smooth and elastic. You may need to add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup in humid climates.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Here’s how to keep those rolls just as tasty the next day (if they last that long!):

• Storing: Once cooled, store them in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. If you refrigerate them, they may firm up—just reheat before serving.
• Reheating: Warm individual rolls in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds. For the whole batch, cover with foil and warm in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.

Make It Your Own (Fun Variations!)

Feel like mixing things up? Here are a few ideas:

• Add Nuts: Chopped pecans or walnuts add a nice crunch to the filling.
• Spice It Up: Mix ground ginger or cardamom into the date filling for extra warmth.
• Orange Zest: Add a teaspoon of orange zest to the frosting for a citrusy twist.
• Go Whole Wheat: Swap half the flour for whole wheat to make them a little heartier.

And if you love these, you might enjoy my Soft Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls—perfect for cozy mornings!

Recipe Card

If you try this recipe, I’d love if you give it a review on the recipe card, and let me know how it turned out in the comments or review! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouse_harvest with your delicious creation!

Date Cinnamon Rolls

This Date Cinnamon Roll Recipe is so sweet and delicious! No one will notice they aren’t filled with sugar, because they’re filled with carmely gooey dates and cinnamon and rolled to perfection!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Additional Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 270kcal

Author: Juliea Huffaker

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• Yields 24 date cinnamon rolls:
• 1 & 3/4 tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups of warm water 100°-110° F
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons SALT
• 1/4 cup melted butter or your favorite oil
• 5-6 cups flour.
• Filling:
• 3 eggs
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 & 1/2 package chopped dates
• Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
• 3 cups of powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

• In a small bowl dissolve 2 tsp sugar in 1 cup warm water and stir in the yeast with a plastic spoon (not metal). Allow to activate till it’s foamy on top and growing.
• In a large mixing bowl combine all other ingredients BUT hold back 1 cup of flour. And MIX to combine.
• Make a well in the middle of flour mixture, and pour in activated yeast and the second cup of warm water.
• knead your dough for at least 7 minutes till it is smooth and elastic adding the last cup of flour as needed.
• Allow to rise in warm place for about an hour.
• Punch down dough and quickly roll out into 2 10×20″ rectangles.
• Make filling by blending or using a food processor to mix 3 eggs with 1/3 cup butter and 1 1/2 packages of chopped dates.
• Spread filling on rectangle shaped dough.
• Cut into rolls and place in BUTTERED baking pan.
• Preheat your oven to 350° F.
• Let rise again for up to 30 minutes, till doubled. Do not let over rise.
• Bake at 350° F for 30 minutes till golden brown on top and 190° F inside.
• Let them cool for 10 mins and ENJOY or frost with cream cheese vanilla icing recipe below.

Frosting:

• mely 1/3 cup butter in mixing bowl.
• Add 3 cups powdered sugar + 2 tsp vanilla extract + 2 tablespoons heavy cream and 1/2 cup cream cheese and blend till smooth!
• Frost date cinnamon rolls
• ENJOY!

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 270kcal

Let me know what you think!

Share your cooking tips and feedback in the comments below. Did you add any twists to these recipes? I’d love to hear!