Quick 1 hour Mini Cinnamon Rolls- By Melissa Rose
Delicious no rise cinnamon rolls that are fluffy and taste amazing slathered with cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- Dough
- ¼ cup unsalted butter ½ stick
- 1 cup milk 1% 2%, Whole
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast 0.25 ounce packet
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter 1 stick slightly softened
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cream Cheese Frosting see notes below for non-cream cheese option
- ¼ cup unsalted butter ½ stick softened
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt butter for 45 seconds. Pour into a larger, medium-sized bowl. Using that same small bowl you just microwaved the butter in, pour in milk and microwave for 45 seconds. Once done, pour milk in with the butter. Add in yeast and 1/4 cup granulated sugar and stir with a whisk until dissolved. Cover with a clean dish towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Once your dough starter has been sitting for 10 minutes, remove cover and mix in egg, salt, and vanilla. Once combined, start adding in flour, 1 cup at a time. You should be able to mix this with a spatula until you get to the end of adding the flour. At that point, you will need to use your hands. Keeping the dough in the bowl, gently form it into a ball. If dough is sticky, sprinkle 1 tablespoon of flour to the outside. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes (while waiting, proceed to next step to make filling).
- While the dough is proofing, go ahead and mix up the cinnamon filling so it’s ready! To do so, mix together softened butter (if straight from fridge, microwave for 20-30 seconds to soften), brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. As long as your butter is soft enough, this can easily be mixed by hand with a spatula. If your butter is too cold and isn't mixing well, you can use a mixer to whip it all together. Set aside.
- Tip: You don’t want your butter to be super melted (just a little is okay!) or the filling will be more likely to seep through the bottom of the pan and crystallize.
- After 10 minutes, remove cover and place dough on a flour-covered surface. The kids used small cutting boards. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough and on the rolling pin, then roll the dough until it is approximately to cover the rectangular cutting board.
- Once rolled, spread on cinnamon sugar mixture with your hands, making sure to spread to the outside edges.
- Now it’s time to roll! Roll from the long side so that you can get 8 mini rolls out each section of dough. If you roll it the other way, they’ll be larger but fewer.
- Once rolled, use a serrated edge knife to slightly “score” the tops so you know where to cut. Start in the center, then add slits in the center of those and then divide each of those sections into two parts.
- Tip: Using a serrated edge knife and cu in one and half inches.
- Place cut cinnamon rolls in a greased 9×13 baking pan and bake at 350°F for 24-26 minutes until the tops are slightly golden brown. Allow to cool for a bit (10-15 minutes) before adding frosting to prevent the frosting from totally melting. If you plan to eat them later, wait to frost until they’re cooled for a prettier frosting presentation.
- To Make Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Add butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt to a medium-sized bowl and use a hand or stand mixer to mix until combined and smooth (about 30-60 seconds). Slather on warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!