Mini Cinnamon Rolls

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My very favorite and easy recipe for soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls adjusted to yield 24 mini cinnamon rolls! These rolls are filled with a buttery cinnamon filling and topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting. This recipe only requires one rise and it can be made ahead of time to bake later or the next day.

My very favorite recipe for my easy cinnamon rolls has been gracing our kitchen for years, and ever since I published that recipe, so many of you have made them in your own kitchen with rave reviews to report!

Right off the bat, I knew I wanted to include a way to scale down that beloved recipe to make just 6 regular cinnamon rolls, so I made sure my small batch cinnamon rolls recipe got a post all for itself rather than just a short note in the recipe card to tell you how to scale down.

Furthermore, I knew that if I worked it right, I could turn that small batch recipe into the perfect little cinnamon roll for “just a little something,” for kids, or when you want scratch cinnamon rolls but don’t need 12 big guys.

I’ve seen a lot of mini cinnamon roll recipes use crescent roll dough, which is totally fine. But around these parts we almost always make our bread dough from scratch (the exception is my easy garlic knots which start with pre-made pizza dough).

So here we are: my tried and true homemade cinnamon roll recipe that has satisfied tastebuds all over the world, but bite-size (or maybe two bite size, depending on how big your mouth is). It really is as simple as taking the recipe for my small batch of cinnamon rolls (which is literally just half of my regular recipe), split into two rectangles instead of one.

Just like in those other sized recipes for the best cinnamon rolls, I’ve laid everything out step-by-step with lots of pictures so you get the best results every time.

This means you will need:
• warm water
• active dry yeast
• warm milk (I prefer whole milk for this)
• granulated sugar
• salt
• vanilla extract
• an egg
• all-purpose flour
• softened butter

The key to cream cheese frosting is to get the consistency perfect, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

For the cream cheese frosting, you will need:
• full fat block cream cheese
• softened butter
• powdered sugar
• vanilla extract
• salt

Pour some warm water into a bowl (we’re looking for about 110ºF [43ºC] on an instant read thermometer). If you don’t have one of those, simply use your wrist as a guide to get the temperature just right.

Hold your wrist in a stream of warm water from the tap. If you can feel the temperature of the water, it’s either too warm or too cold. If the feeling seems to disappear into your skin, it’s perfect.

Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the water, whisk it with a fork, spatula, or wooden spoon, then allow it to activate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

You’ll start by adding just 1 cup of the 2 and ¼ cups total and allow the dough to come together.

Once together, you’re going to add the softened butter, which is in slices, to the dough. This might seem strange and lead to a weird texture, but just like we cut fat into homemade pie crust and homemade biscuits to create flaky layers, we’re doing the same here with our mini cinnamon rolls, so just go with it.

When the butter is almost totally incorporated, add the remaining 1 and ¼ cups of flour and keep blending until the dough has mostly come together. It will likely still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.

Next, turn the dough out dough on a well-floured surface. This should be “well-floured” because the dough will still be pretty sticky, and you may feel as if you need to add more flour as you knead, which is fine.

I’ve built wiggle room into my mini cinnamon roll recipe for adding more flour, but kneading by hand in this step is where you will become the most familiar and comfortable with what the texture of enriched yeast dough should feel like.

You’ll want to knead your dough for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until it smooth and elastic.

I know. That’s a quite some time to be kneading. Take short breaks when you need to!

You will know your dough is done when the surface texture resembles that of PlayDoh.

Split your dough into two equal parts, then let the dough rest for about 10 minutes. While you wait, get the filling ingredients ready to go.

I’ve found that the best cinnamon filling is done in two parts: a butter layer and a separate scattering of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. I also used to be afraid of too much ground cinnamon, but there is plenty of it here, that’s for sure!

Use a rolling pin and your hands to gently stretch each ball of dough into a large rectangle that is about 7″ by 12″ in size. You will now have two equally sized rectangles.

While this measurement doesn’t need to be perfectly exact, I always use a tape measure, ruler, or ruled rolling mat. The size should be pretty close to 7″ by 12″ so there is enough surface to work with when rolling and cutting the logs into equal pieces.

It will feel like a lot of butter, but again, trust the process. Use a pastry brush to brush the butter almost to the edges of each rectangle, leaving about a ½” border.

Spread as far as you spread the butter, again, being sure to maintain that ½” border.

Starting with the 12″ long side, slowly and carefully roll the dough over itself to form a log, doing your best to keep the seam side down. I like to use my fingers or palms on either end of the log to gently squeeze the log to “contain” the uneven ends.

It’s important to use a sharp knife so you don’t squash the rolls, but don’t worry if you ruin the shape. They will still bake perfectly and, most importantly, still taste delicious.

Also, don’t worry if filling spills out. We’ll use it in a second!

Gather any cinnamon-sugar that fell out, sprinkle that over the rolls, then press gently on the tops of the rolls to slightly flatten. Cover the rolls loosely with foil or a clean dish towel.

If your kitchen is particularly cold, you may need to allow them to rise for 1 hour or sit them near a heat source.

With a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth. Next, turn the mixer speed to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the salt continue mixing until smooth. 

If you feel like you want it to be thinner, add some liquid like milk, cream, or even water. Just remember that when you spread it onto the warm rolls, the heat from the rolls will start to melt the frosting, so it will naturally thin out.

I actually find it easiest to use a mini cookie scoop (I use this #110 scoop which is about 1 teaspoon in size) to drop mounds of icing onto the rolls and then use an offset spatula, silicone spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the cream cheese frosting into every crevice.

Also, I have been known to keep a small bowl of extra cream cheese frosting on hand to spread onto individual bites, but… That’s just me. Highly encouraged for you, of course.

This is a great option if you’re making homemade mini cinnamon rolls for a holiday– you can spend a bit of time bringing the dough together, then have glorious rolls the next morning with very little hands on time.

You’ll just need to allow for about 1 hour of rising time before baking these mini cinnamon rolls.

You can also make the cream cheese frosting and store it at room temperature up to 18 hours in advance.

If you want to freeze unbaked rolls, you’ll need to parbake the rolls for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking them the next day for the remaining 8-12 minutes before frosting and enjoying. 

Since these mini rolls are a tad bigger than the wells, it’s likely they would puff up and out and be pretty messy.

There are so many ways to enjoy my favorite homemade cinnamon roll recipe, and I hope that they will become your family favorite, just like they have ours over the years.