Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls

Rich and unapologetically laden with brown sugar and butter, small batch cinnamon rolls are what cool weather dreams are made of!

The hardest part of making small batch cinnamon rolls is the time spent waiting for the dough to rise! These rolls are soft, squishy, and fluffy, reminiscent of that familiar cinnamon bun retailer at the malls. The filling is dark, sweet, and deeply spiced with cinnamon. When assembling the rolls, it may seem like there’s too much filling but trust me, it’s the perfect amount! You can go lighter on the cinnamon, which I have, but I swear it’s not as good.

Keep in mind, this recipe uses yeast, meaning you have to account for the time the dough spends rising. With two rises of two hours each, for a total of four hours, this is not a quick roll and bake recipe. As much as I love a basic no-yeast cinnamon roll, if you have the time, these yeasted small batch cinnamon rolls are on a completely different level and are totally worth every second! If you have time, slather them with this whipped cream cheese frosting when they’re cool. Heavenly!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Step-By-Step Instructions
• Notes & Tips
• Substitutions
• Recipe

Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top of the post, or scroll to the bottom of the post, to see the full recipe card with ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

For The Dough

• all-purpose flour
• brown sugar
• instant yeast (also called rapid rise)
• salt
• butter
• buttermilk
• 1 egg

For The Filling

• brown sugar
• ground cinnamon
• butter

For The Glaze

• powdered sugar (also called icing or confectioner’s sugar), sifted
• vanilla
• milk

If you own a digital scale that measures in grams, I recommend using it for this recipe. The consistency and accuracy you can achieve by using a scale for baking is amazing!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Make The Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, brown sugar, yeast, and salt on low until well mixed.

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Add the butter to the flour. Again, mix on low with the paddle attachment until the butter has broken up and the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Stop the mixer halfway and scrape any large chunks of butter and flour from the paddle.

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Make a well in the middle of the flour and butter mixture.

Pour in the buttermilk, and crack in the egg.

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Mix on low with the paddle until a soft dough forms, and all dry bits are incorporated.

Remove the dough from the mixing bowl onto a work surface. Do not flour the surface. Gather the dough together, and knead it until smooth.

Shape the dough into a ball.

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Flip the dough ball over and pinch the bottom seams together to seal.

Place the dough, seam side down, back in the mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and top it with a plate that fits snugly on the bowl like a lid. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free spot (I use my oven with the lightbulb on) and let the dough rise for two hours.

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Shape The Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls

When the two hours are up, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together for the filling.

Uncover the dough and gently deflate it with your fist inside the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface. Do not flour the surface, however, lightly dust a rolling pin with flour.

Begin to roll the dough into a rectangle shape.

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Use a bench scraper or the edge of a long knife to push and straighten the sides of the dough as you roll it to get a more precise rectangle shape. If the dough seems tense and doesn’t want to roll easily, cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rest for a few minutes before trying again.

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Spread the butter for the filling evenly over the dough. Leave a tiny border along the top of the dough for pinching a smooth seam together after rolling.

Dump the brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of the butter layer. Spread the brown sugar evenly over the dough with your hands, again leaving a tiny border at the top edge that can be pinched together as a seam.

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Once the brown sugar and cinnamon is spread out, use your hands to gently press and flatten the brown sugar into the butter layer.

Beginning at the corner of one of the long sides, start to roll the dough into a log.

Use your hands to both hold the log together and shape it. The dough must be rolled snug in order for the filling to stay inside the rolls while baking. That being said, you don’t want the dough so tight the rolls under-bake in the middle.

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Once the log is rolled, turn it over so the seam is facing up. Pinch the edges of the seam together to seal, then smooth the seam down by gently pressing with your fingers.

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This is an optional step, but I like to use a bench scraper to press and shore up the ends of the rolled log. I find it makes the end rolls more uniform and even.

Using a serrated knife, slice the log gently in half using a back and forth sawing motion. Slice each of the cut halves in half, and then slice each quarter log in half, for a total of eight cinnamon rolls.

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Line a square glass baking dish with parchment paper. Arrange the eight cinnamon rolls evenly inside the pan. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and return it to the warm, draft-free spot to rise for two hours.

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Bake The Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat the oven. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and brush the top of each cinnamon roll evenly until all of the butter is gone.

Place the small batch cinnamon rolls in the pre-heated oven and bake until lightly golden. You can serve the cinnamon rolls warm, as is, or continue on and make a simple powdered sugar glaze.

Make The Glaze

Cool the small batch cinnamon rolls completely on a wire rack. Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla together. Add milk in small amounts until you can stir the glaze but it’s not runny. It should be fairly thick, like the consistency of honey. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the cooled small batch cinnamon rolls and serve.

Notes & Tips

If you don’t own a stand mixer you can make small batch cinnamon rolls by hand. When doing so, I like to mix the dough ingredients gently together with a fork to prevent over-mixing.

A serrated knife gently saws through the small batch cinnamon rolls rather than pressing down and squishing them the way a flat blade would.

Any warm, draft-free spot will work to rise dough. My favourite spot is the oven with only the lightbulb on.

I prefer using a glass baking dish because when covering the rolls with plastic wrap for the second rise, the plastic adheres easily to the outside glass of the dish. It does not stick to metal.

Using parchment paper inside the baking dish makes cleaning the dish much easier.

For the second rise you can cover the rolls with a tea towel rather than plastic wrap, however, the tops may dry out.

For the dough’s second rise, you can place the small batch cinnamon rolls in the fridge for four hours, and up to overnight, if you don’t want to bake them right away. If using a glass baking dish, remove them from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking to prevent shattering.

The cinnamon rolls will leak butter and brown sugar while baking. Don’t be alarmed if the butter is bubbling and puddling around the rolls when you remove them from the oven! It will settle down after a few minutes of cooling and merge with the brown sugar into a sticky bottom layer.

If you like more of a sticky bun, let the cinnamon rolls sit for 10 minutes in the baking dish after removing them from the oven. Lift them out of the pan using the parchment paper as handles then flip the rolls over upside down, so that the bottoms of the rolls are now on top. Serve warm or cool.

This whipped cream cheese icing would be stunning on small batch cinnamon rolls!

If you don’t plan to make glaze or icing, you could sprinkle the rolls with cinnamon sugar or coarse sugar before baking after brushing them with butter.

You can make and eat small batch cinnamon rolls in one day, with two rises of two hours. I find them best baked and eaten on the same day.

You can make small batch cinnamon rolls ahead of time the day before and let them rise in the fridge overnight. The next morning, remove the baking dish from the fridge at least 30 minutes before you want to bake them to reduce the risk of the cold glass dish shattering in the oven. Another alternative is to make them in a square metal pan which will not shatter.

After the second rise, you can freeze them for future baking. Simply wrap them tightly in a double layer of plastic or foil wrap and store in the freezer for up to one month. The day before you want to bake them, pull the small batch cinnamon rolls from the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight. In the morning, remove them from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking, then brush them with melted butter and bake as per the recipe directions.

Substitutions

Spelt or whole wheat can be substituted for all-purpose, however, the small batch cinnamon rolls could end up dry as these flours tend to absorb more moisture.

I love the tangy flavour of buttermilk in the small batch cinnamon rolls dough, however, you can swap it for regular dairy, or non-dairy milk if you want.

You can try non-dairy butter in place of dairy butter in this recipe, however, I haven’t tested this and results may vary.

Use an 8-inch (20-cm) or 9-inch (23-cm) round pan instead of square if that’s what you have.

Make a flavoured glaze instead of plain! Add homemade chai spice or homemade pumpkin spice to the powdered sugar and milk (or even mix some in with the brown sugar-cinnamon filling). Maple syrup glaze would also be a fantastic topping for small batch cinnamon rolls.

More Spiced Baking Recipes

Snickerdoodles Without Cream Of Tartar The soft, chewy, classic cookie without the acrid, metallic taste!

Chai-Spiced Rice Krispie Treats A tasty, no-bake sweet loved by kids and adults alike.

Dutch Oven Apple Crisp If you like a little more fruit than brown sugar-oat topping then this Dutch oven apple crisp is for you.

Strawberry Baked Oatmeal All you need are basic pantry items and fresh or frozen strawberries.

Did you make this recipe? If yes, I would love to know how you made out in the comments below! You can also tag me on Instagram @kellyneildotcom or use the hashtag #kellyneil.