These Mini Cinnamon Rolls are super cute and easy to make. Absolutely fluffy and soft! Topped with a cream cheese frosting.
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon rolls
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Resting time 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours5 minutesminutes
Servings 14mini rolls
Calories 50kcal
Author Camila Hurst
Ingredients
Cinnamon Rolls
1/2cupwarm water, 90-100F120 grams
2 1/4tspinstant yeast7 grams
1tbsphoneyor sugar
1tbspolive oil
1 1/2cupsall-purpose flour191 grams
1/2tspfine sea salt
Cinnamon Filling
1/4cupgranulated sugar50 grams
2tbspbrown sugar25 grams
1tbspcinnamon
1/4cupunsalted buttersoftened (56 grams)
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2cupcream cheesesoftened (113 grams)
4tbspunsalted buttersoftened(56 grams)
1cuppowdered sugar125 grams
1/4cupmilk of choice
1/2tspvanilla extract
Instructions
Cinnamon Rolls
Start by making the dough. First mix the warm water, with the yeast, honey (or sugar) and olive oil.
Add the flour and salt to the bowl.
Mix until combined.
Knead the dough for 4-6 minutes with the dough hook on low speed. Or by hand for about 8 minutes.
The dough should feel smooth, and not sticky. If the dough is sticky add a couple of teaspoons of flour. Don’t go overboard with the flour so the dough doesn’t become tough and dry.
Once done kneading, shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly oiled bowl for about 1 hour. Time resting will depend on how warm the kitchen is.
Make ahead option: instead of letting the dough rise, wrap it tightly with plastic, and place it straight in the fridge. On the next day, remove from the fridge and proceed with step 11 below.
While the dough rises, make the Cinnamon Filling.
Mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, cinnamon, and the butter in a small bowl. Set aside.
Once dough has doubled in size, and you can touch the top of the dough and it springs back, remove from the bowl.
Divide the dough in half.
Work with each half at a time, leaving the other half covered meanwhile.
Roll each dough half into a 8x10” rectangle. (Or you can roll into a 10x12” if you like your dough very thin)
Spread half of the cinnamon filling on top of the dough rectangle.
Roll it tight from the widest end.
Slice the rolls, about 2” thick. I use floss to do this. Place the floss under the roll, and then cross each end, slicing the dough. Check out how to to use floss to slice the dough by looking at the pictures above. Or just use a knife or bench scraper.
Repeat the same with the other dough half. Roll it out, spread the cinnamon filling on top, roll it into a log, and slice it.
Lightly grease a 8” pan with oil spray or any oil, or butter.
Arrange the rolls around the pan, making sure they are somewhat close to each other.
Let them rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
Make ahead: instead of letting the rolls rise at this point, you can cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, and insert it in the fridge. The next morning, remove it from the fridge, pre-heat the oven, then let the rolls rise for about 1 hour until not so cold anymore, and bake as indicated below.
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.
Once the rolls are puffy, and you can touch the dough with your finger and it springs right back, you can bake.
Bake the rolls in the pre-heated oven for about 15 minutes, until they look golden on top.
Set them aside to cool.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the cream cheese and the butter for about 1 minute, until fluffy and creamy. Add the powdered sugar and cream to incorporate.
Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine. The frosting should be runny but not translucent, if it’s too runny, add more powdered sugar to thicken it.
To serve
Once the rolls have cooled down a bit, spread the frosting on top and serve.
Storage
Store any leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge (because the frosting needs to be refrigerated) for up to 2 days. The baked rolls will be best if consumed on the same day they are made.
Notes
Instant yeast: you can sub for active dry yeast, as long as you first proof the yeast. Mix the yeast, warm water, and sugar in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it blooms. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and proceed normally with the recipe. Rising time might be longer than when using instant yeast.Butter: sometimes I use melted butter for the filling, and other times I use room temperature. If I have room temperature butter sitting on the counter I will use that instead of melted butter. But if I forgot to remove the butter from the fridge to let it soften, I just melt it in the microwave. The melted butter will make a more “runny” filling that might leak out a bit once it bakes, unless you refrigerate the rolls.Make ahead: This dough is super versatile. You can make the dough ahead of time two different ways:
-Make the dough, place it in an oiled bowl, and place it in the fridge overnight. Next day, remove it from the fridge, divide it in half, proceed to shape the rolls. Let them rise until puffed, and bake. Rising time might be longer than if you hadn’t refrigerated the dough.
Make the dough, place it in an oiled bowl. Let it rise at room temperature for about 1 hour. Divide the dough in half, roll it out, shape the rolls. Place the rolls on a lightly oiled pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, place it in the fridge overnight. The next day, remove from the fridge, pre-heat the oven, and let the rolls sit at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until they aren’t cold anymore, and bake.
Freeze: you can also freeze the dough and the filling both as indicated above, but let it thaw in the fridge for a few hours before shaping or baking. The dough will freeze well for 1 to 2 months.Variations: fill the rolls with jam, instead of the cinnamon filling. For the glaze, you can add citrus zest.Rising time: to speed up rising time you can use Rapid-Rise yeast, which takes about 10 minutes each rise. Or do the following: pre-heat your oven to 200ºF for about 5 minutes. Turn it off. Cover the bowl with the dough with a damp towel. Place the bowl in the slightly warm oven. Check again in 10 to 15 minutes to see if the dough has risen.