Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Your favorite sweet rolls just got even better and more adorable! These mini cinnamon rolls pack all of the flavor you love into a miniature size, perfect for special occasions and holiday brunches.

When you have kids, especially girls, you learn to love miniature stuff real quick. And that includes mini foods.

After all, who wants a full-size stack of buttermilk pancakes when you could make tiny silver-dollar-size pancakes for your little one?

I love huge chewy chocolate chip cookies, but little kids are big fans of mini chocolate chip cookies.

A full-size pie at Thanksgiving? Mini pumpkin pies and mini pecan pies are WAY better!

And at the holidays, we love to swap out out big overnight cinnamon rolls with these adorable mini cinnamon rolls.

Mini cinnamon rolls: perfect for any holiday

These mini cinnamon rolls are fun for a special weekend breakfast, especially if you have little kids. But they’re extra perfect for holidays and special occasion brunches.

You know, those times when you want to give your guests sweet and savory options and want them to be able to try a little of everything.

When you make these mini cinnamon rolls, they can take an entire roll and still have room to try your ham and cheese quiche, hash brown casserole, winter fruit salad, and ambrosia salad, too.

If you want to make things extra fun, you can even turn them into an adorable cinnamon roll bar! 

Pop the rolls onto lollipop sticks. Instead of spreading the glaze on top of the rolls, set it out in a bowl and let your guests top their cinnamon rolls with glaze and the toppings of their choice.

Imagine bowls of toffee bits, nuts, candies, or festive sprinkles, all ready and waiting for your guests to create the cinnamon roll of their dreams. You can celebrate any occasion! Try red and pink sprinkles for Valentine’s Day, shades of green for St. Patrick’s Day, pretty gold ones for a bridal shower, or tiny snowflakes for Christmas.

After all, there’s no rule that says your food can’t be as fun as it is delicious!

How to make mini cinnamon rolls

If you’ve never made homemade cinnamon rolls before, they’re definitely not as difficult as you may be thinking. In fact, we are going to use instant yeast so you only have to let the dough rise one time, cutting down on the amount of time this recipe takes!

If you aren’t into the idea of making a yeast dough, you can still make delicious cinnamon rolls by making my cinnamon rolls with heavy cream or puff pastry cinnamon rolls. 

Ingredients you’ll need

For this mini cinnamon roll recipe, you will make a yeast dough, cinnamon-sugar filling, and vanilla glaze.

For the dough, you will need:

• 2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ cup water
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large egg

For this particular recipe, you want to make sure you grab instant yeast, sometimes called rapid rise yeast. Active dry yeast is great for homemade doughnuts or caramel apple cinnamon rolls, but we want the instant stuff for this.

For the filling, you will need:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter

Even if you already have cinnamon sugar on hand, I suggest making the mixture above because it includes a higher cinnamon-to-sugar ratio for lots and lots of flavor.

I like using a powdered sugar glaze for these mini cinnamon rolls, although you could use the cream cheese glaze from my strawberry sweet rolls instead. For the powdered sugar glaze, you will need:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons room-temperature unsalted butter
• 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Add 1-2 drops of food coloring if you want to make a colored glaze for an event or holiday.

Making mini cinnamon rolls

Make the cinnamon roll dough by combining 1 cup of the flour with the sugar, yeast, and salt in a bowl. 

In a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, microwave the butter and water until warm but not hot to the touch, about 110° to 115°F on an instant-read thermometer. Don’t worry if the butter doesn’t completely melt.

Add this mixture and the egg to the flour mixture. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Add 1 more cup of flour and beat for another 2 minutes. Finish by stirring in just enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough – you might not need all of the flour.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 6-8 minutes. You want the dough to be smooth and elastic, and it should spring back when lightly pressed with two fingers. 

Cover the dough with a clean towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. While the dough rests, whisk together the cinnamon and sugar for the filling.

Roll the dough into a long, narrow rectangle. It should be about 7×24 inches. Spread the softened butter over the dough, then sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar.

Starting from the long side, roll the dough up tightly and pinch the seams to seal. Cut the roll into 24 pieces.

Place the rolls cut-side down in a greased 9×13-inch pan or rimmed baking sheet. Cover again and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. This will take about 45-60 minutes.

Bake the rolls at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes. Let the mini cinnamon rolls cool for 5-10 minutes before mixing together the glaze and drizzling it over the warm rolls.

Make-ahead tips

If you’re making these mini cinnamon rolls for a brunch or holiday breakfast, you probably want to prep them ahead of time.

You can easily make these rolls the night before. Simply make the dough and assemble the rolls, cutting them and placing them in your pan.

Instead of letting the rolls rise in a warm place, cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator overnight.

When you’re ready to bake them the next morning, let them rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes while the oven preheats. Bake according to the recipe directions. 

Frequently asked questions