Fluffy Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls

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This recipe produces 6 soft and fluffy enriched cinnamon rolls that are filled with a buttery cinnamon filling and topped with a smooth cream cheese frosting. These cinnamon rolls only require one rise or can be made ahead of time to bake later or the next day.

When it comes to writing and developing recipes, I sometimes find myself testing half batches of my recipes, especially cookies and cupcakes, because I don’t want to wind up with too many things to give away to neighbors and taste-testers.

The same thing goes for my cinnamon roll cravings. When I started perfecting my recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls, I always knew that alongside it, I wanted to share a small batch recipe as well as a mini version, because sometimes you want 12. Sometimes you only want 6. And sometimes, you just want bite-size ones (here are my mini cinnamon rolls!).

So here we are: my beloved and trusted homemade cinnamon roll recipe that has wow’ed folks all over, but half as many on the other side of the process. It really is as simple as halving the recipe for my full batch of cinnamon rolls, with a different size of rectangle and half as many slices of the log.

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

For the filling, you’ll need:
• melted butter
• granulated sugar
• brown sugar
• ground cinnamon

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.

I find doing things like making cinnamon roll dough by hand gives me more control and helps me understand better exactly what my yeast dough needs, but especially if you’re a beginner, there’s nothing wrong with using a stand mixer.

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 has been cut into slices, to the dough. This might seem odd and lead to a strange texture, but just like we cut fat into homemade pie crust and buttermilk biscuits to create flaky layers, we’re doing the same here with our small batch cinnamon rolls, so just trust the process.

When the butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining 1 and ¼ cups of flour and continue to blend until the dough has mostly come together. It may 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. You want this to 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 this homemade 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 long time to be kneading. Take short breaks when you need to!

Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done.

Your dough will only need about 10 minutes to rest, so fill the time by getting 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 cinnamon-sugar mixture. I also used to be afraid of too much ground cinnamon, but there is no shortage of it here, that’s for sure!

Use a rolling pin and your hands to gently stretch the dough into a large rectangle that is about 9″ by 12″ in size.

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 9″ by 12″ so that we have enough surface to work with when rolling and cutting into equal pieces.

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

Spread as far as you spread the butter, again, taking care 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 smush 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!

You can really use any small baking dish that will contain 6 rolls nicely.

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 2 hours 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.

Use an offset spatula, silicone spatula, or the back of a spoon to spread the cream cheese frosting into every crevice. You won’t regret that.

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 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 the cinnamon rolls rise for about 1 hour before baking them.

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 18-22 minutes before frosting and enjoying. 

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.