Easy cinnamon rolls are made with no-need-to-knead dough. Despite the short cut, these rolls come out ultra-fluffy and perfectly sweet.
Easy cinnamon rolls are your new go-to when you have a sweet tooth but are short on time. Literally, you can whip these rolls up in minutes!
This recipe is perfect for meal-prepping. That’s right — not all meal-preppers are stowing away boiled chicken and broccoli for the week! I like to have something naughty on hand too. That way I know that when a craving for junk food strikes, I have something less processed to turn to.
Making Cinnamon Rolls
The road to perfect cinnamon rolls is paved with easy steps. Here’s an overview:
- Dough: Prepare your dough and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
- Filling: Butter, sugar and cinnamon — that’s all you need!
- Forming: Dust a countertop with flour. Then, place your dough on top and roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle shape.
- Topping: Spread the filling over the top of the rectangular dough shape in as even a layer as possible. Then, starting with the longer side, roll the dough up into a cylinder shape. Cut into nine even pieces.
- Baking: Place nine rolls into a baking dish. Cover with a towel and let rush for an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 ℉ for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
Cinnamon Roll Icing
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Using a hand mixer, whip together the ingredients until they turn luscious and fluffy. Just like that, you have the perfect cinnamon roll icing! Gotta love the tasty simplicity of cinnamon rolls…
Hot tip: Add in a little orange zest if you like! This will add a wonderful pop of citrus to your icing.
Make Cinnamon Rolls In Advance
Whether you are hosting Sunday brunch or just like to have a dozen on hand for your kids on the weekend, cinnamon rolls can be made in advance to make your life that much easier (and sweeter).
Do all the heavy lifting and roll them up the night before. Then, all you have to do is pop them in the oven right before serving. Baked cinnamon rolls can be refrigerated for several days. Reheat them in the oven for a few minutes. Just make sure to only add the icing right before you serve to prevent them from getting soggy. They will taste just like fresh!
Hot Tip: Feel free to make your dough a couple of days in advance.. So long as you keep your dough covered (but not airtight), it will keep in the fridge for up to four days.
A Few Other Variations of Rolls
Cinnamon rolls are just one way to enjoy this classic treat. Try these other variations:
- Sugar Buns: This recipe is a copy-cat of Starbucks’ beloved Morning Buns. Made with the same no-knead dough, you can whip them up super quick.
- Poppy Seed Rolls: Our family favorite poppy seed filling makes for an AMAZING breakfast treat.
- Nutella Rolls: Spread nutella on top of the no-knead dough for a chocolate-hazelnut spin on classic cinnamon rolls.
- Nuts: Add some finely chopped walnuts or pecans to the cinnamon, sugar and butter mixture for that extra crunch.
Other Pastries to Try
Love our cinnamon rolls? Try your hand at making some of our other favorite sweet treats:
- Fruit Piroshki Recipe – Stuffed with puckery jam, these piroshki were one of the best parts of my childhood.
- Blueberry Scones – These scones taste straight-out-of-the-bakery.
- Apple Turnovers – Puff pastry is delicately wrapped around stewed, spiced apples in this classic turnover recipe.
Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs slightly beaten
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 3/4 cup flour
Filling
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Topping
- 16 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients, leaving flower for later. Whisk together to combine.
- Add in the flour. Stir until you don’t see any more of the dry bits of flour. The dough doesn't need to look perfect, as it will do it's magic while standing for 12 hours.
- Cover (not airtight) and place it in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 4 days. The longer you let it sit around in the refrigerator, the better tasting the dough will be.
- For the filling, combine sugar and cinnamon together. Melt butter in a separate jar.
- Dust the counter with flour and roll out the dough into a rectangular shape using a rolling pin.
- Spread the filling evenly on the surface. Roll it up, starting with the long side.
- Flour knife and cut unto 12 even pieces. Place the rolls onto to buttered baking pan, cover with a towel and let it rest for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350 °F and let it bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown.
- Combine powdered sugar with softened cream cheese and vanilla extract. Whisk until the topping is fully smooth and creamy.
- Apply the topping over the cinnamon rolls and serve right away.
How many rolls does this recipe make TIA?
Hey Helen, this makes 12 cinnamon rolls. Enjoy!
These cinnamon rolls were perfectly fluffy with a perfectly balanced cinnamon and sugar filling. Our family devoured them within hours. I've made them multiple times and they always turn out perfect.
Diana, thank you for sharing that. I am so happy that your family loved them!
Cinnamon Rolls are my weakness and these ones are so easy to make! You'll love them
I am in on the weakness 🙂 Glad you like this recipe!
This is so awesome!! So easy to make and so good!
Toni, thank you for sharing. I am so happy to hear this!
This is a recipe I will make again and again! These rolls are incredible!
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you for sharing!