This recipe for Mini Cinnamon Rolls is so simple to make and you don’t have to worry about kneading dough or using any type of mixer! These cini-minis are tender, sweet, bite-sized, and topped with a homemade glaze!
These delicious mini cinnamon rolls are so cute and are perfect for breakfast, dessert, or a weekend brunch! I love that there is minimal prep work! When I make Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls, I make the dough from scratch, but this recipe is so much easier because we are using refrigerated dough sheets!
Want to try something new, how about other types of cinnamon roll recipes? If you love breads and rolls, be sure to try these buttermilk scones, braided sweet bread with apricot filling, or chocolate chip banana bread. Other brunch favorites include overnight french toast casserole and cookies and cream cinnamon rolls.
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Why You’ll Love This Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe
- Because it doesn’t require active dry yeast and making homemade dough, this is our go-to cinnamon roll recipe.
- These homemade mini cinnamon rolls are ready in under 1 hour.
- Simple to make and perfect for any occasion.
- These are the best cinnamon rolls and they freeze and reheat well.
🍞 Ingredients:
- Crescent roll dough sheets – can also use crescent rolls, just pinch together the perforations
- Light brown sugar – be sure to pack when measuring
- Ground cinnamon – the main ingredient to this cinnamon roll!!
- Unsalted butter – allow time for it to come to room temperature to make it easier to work with.
- Confectioners’ sugar – to thicken and sweeten the glaze.
- Vanilla extract or maple extract – enhances the flavors in the glaze.
- Whole milk – other varieties of milk should work as well, I just like using whole milk
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Substitutions and Variations
- If you would like to change up the glaze, you can use my cream cheese icing recipe, homemade cream cheese frosting recipe or the store-bought kind.
- Try adding some raisins or dried cranberries to the cinnamon mixture!
- Tree nuts are wonderful added to the cinnamon mixture. We have tried pecans, walnuts and almonds and each are wonderful.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Before You Start, Keep the dough refrigerated until you are ready to use, so you don’t end up with sticky dough before you are finished making them.
Step 1: Unroll the crescent dough sheets onto a lightly floured surface. If needed, use a rolling pin lightly to smooth out the dough.
Step 2: With a wooden spoon, combine the softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl to form a paste.
Step 3: Spread over the dough sheet so it goes all the way to the edge.
Step 4: With a pizza cutter or sharp knife, Slice the dough into 12 equal pieces, roughly 1-inch rolls.
Step 5: Roll each 1 inch slice into mini rolls.
Step 6: In a prepared non-stick sprayed mini muffin tin, place cinnamon roll logs into the mini muffin pan and press up on the centers so they come out of the cavity.
Step 7: Bake in a preheated oven until they are light golden brown.
Step 8: Whisk together the frosting ingredients: powdered sugar, extract, and milk in a small bowl. Dip each cinnamon roll into the glaze and cool on a wire rack or a serving platter.
GARNISH/SLICE/SERVE: Serve these homemade cinnamon rolls just after they are glazed for the best flavors! You can eat right off the serving platter or on a breakfast plate with eggs and sausage/bacon!
- By pushing up on the little cinnamon rolls when placing them into the pan allows them to bake up and out versus sinking down in the pan.
- You can easily double this recipe, making it great for crowds, as it is will make 12 mini cinnamon rolls.
- Instead of using a muffin pan, you can place them in an 8×8 baking dish or pie plate. However, the cooking time may need adjusting. Or try making one giant cinnamon roll!
- You may need to prep your pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- These warm cinnamon rolls are so good, you can enjoy them directly out of the oven, even without the glaze.
Fun Fact
The idea of cinnamon rolls originated in Sweden, except they prefer a little lighter and less sweet. Also, there is no glaze, just a sprinkle of sugar on top.
Recipe FAQs
Once they have cooled, you can transfer them to a container or bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight. Heat in the microwave, in a microwave-safe bowl, for a few seconds if desired.
When stored in an airtight container on the counter or a bowl covered in plastic wrap, they are best when eaten in the first 3-4 days.
The major difference is the shape. Both are made using dough, cinnamon, and sugar. It’s obvious that cinnamon rolls are rolled into logs and then cut. Whereas, buns are more rectangular when baking and are not rolled.
More Yummy Breads and Buns
If you tried this Mini Cinnamon Rolls Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Mini Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 package crescent roll dough sheet
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract or maple
- ⅛ cup whole milk
Instructions
- Unroll the sheet of crescent dough onto a lightly floured cutting board.
- In a small bowl, mix together the softened butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon to form a paste.
- Use a spatula to spread the butter/sugar mixture over the crescent dough to the edges.
- Roll the dough up tightly into a log; rolling along the long edge so that your finished roll is about 14 inches long.
- Slice the roll into 12 even pieces.
- Place one piece of cinnamon roll into each cavity of a lightly greased mini muffin tin. As you are placing each roll into the muffin tin, press up the center of each piece gently so that the spiral of the cinnamon roll is facing up in the muffin tin rather than concave down into the muffin tin – this will help the cinnamon rolls rise up and out when they bake instead of sinking in to the bottom of the muffin tin.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cinnamon rolls are lightly browned and cooked through.
- Whisk together the glaze ingredients. Dip the top of each cinnamon roll into the glaze and set on a serving platter.
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