Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls (Makes 6)

This easy cinnamon roll recipe makes just 6 rolls - perfect for a small group! Ready from scratch in just a few hours. Perfect for holiday brunch or breakfast on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or birthdays!

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I've fallen in love with small batch baking recipes lately (Exhibit A: Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies) and this easy small batch cinnamon roll recipe is my new favorite thing. They're perfect as a cozy breakfast on Christmas or Mother's Day, but easy enough to throw together any time your sweet tooth comes a-calling.

This recipe makes just six cinnamon rolls: Perfect for a small gathering or if you're cooking for two. It's ready in just over 2 hours start-to-finish, and you can even start the dough the night before to save some time the next morning (we'll show you how!)

We're working with a simple enriched dough here, and filling it with a bit of melted butter and a quick cinnamon sugar mixture. Brush the cinnamon buns with a bit of heavy cream right before baking to help the tops stay soft, and finish with a swirl of cream cheese frosting for the ultimate brunch treat.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Pro Tip: Use a Kitchen Scale
• Our basic baking timeline
• Instructions
• Riffs and Substitutions
• Cinnamon Roll FAQs
• Have another question?
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments & Reviews

Ingredients

You can see the full ingredients list and exact amounts in the recipe card below, but we wanted to call out a few important details:

• Use high quality flour for soft, stretchy dough. We recommend King Arthur Flour or Bob's Red Mill: They have a high protein content in their all purpose flours, which works really beautifully here (you can also use bread flour instead of all purpose flour!)
• We use and recommend Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. If you use another brand of salt, you may want to reduce the amount of salt in this dough as saltiness can vary between salt styles.
• Let your egg come to room temperature if you can: Just set it on the counter for 30 minutes to an hour before you mix your dough to let some of the ice-cold-fridge-chill dissipate. A room temperature egg will mix more seamlessly into the dough, making it softer and easier to work with. (This is a useful tip, but not a dealbreaker - don't worry if you're short on time and need to skip this step!)
• We use honey in the dough to help the yeast activate more quickly (yeast loves sugar!) We love the subtle depth of flavor you get from using honey here, but you can swap the honey for sugar in the dough if you prefer.
• We prefer unsalted butter in our baking recipes (it gives you better control over the final product!) but if you only have salted butter, go ahead and use it (just use a tiny bit less kosher salt).
• Warm milk is an important component here, because it helps the yeast activate and "bloom" (which ensures our cinnamon rolls will rise). Heat milk in the microwave or a small saucepan until it's warm (but not hot!) to the touch - somewhere between 95° and 110° F. Use a kitchen thermometer to get an exact temperature if you like! If your milk is too hot, it can kill the yeast and prevent your cinnamon rolls from rising. Use whatever milk you have on hand here: 1% and 2% are our go-tos, but you can use whole milk for a richer dough if you like.
• Don't skip the heavy cream. You'll brush a bit of heavy cream over the tops of these cinnamon buns just before baking - this step is the key to keeping the tops of your cinnamon rolls soft as they bake!

Our basic baking timeline

These cinnamon rolls come together pretty quickly; most of the time is inactive (you're just letting the dough rise!) Here's a bird's-eye view of our process:

• Mix the dough (10 minutes) Proof your yeast, then stir the dough together. We like to knead the dough for a few minutes once it's mixed, but you don't have to!
• Let it rise (1 hour) Cover your dough and let it rise on the counter. The dough won't rise a ton - this step is more about developing flavor than anything.
• Shape the cinnamon buns & final rise (30 minutes) Roll out the dough, then top it with some melted butter and your cinnamon sugar filling. Roll it up into a tight coil, then slice it into rolls, pop them in a baking dish, and let them rise again while you heat the oven.
• Bake (30 minutes) Brush a bit of heavy cream over the top of your cinnamon rolls, bake until they're just barely golden brown, then mix up a quick cream cheese frosting and spread it over the rolls while they're still a little warm.

Instructions

These cinnamon rolls have a lot of steps, but we promise they're deceptively simple! Here's our basic order of operations:

Make the dough

Start by proofing your active dry yeast in a large mixing bowl. We'll mix it with a bit of honey (Image 1, above) - which helps speed the yeast activation along - and some warm milk (Image 2), then let it sit until it's foamy.

Note: Yeast that proofs in warm milk won't foam up as dramatically as it does when it proofs in water (like in our Crusty Artisan Bread recipes). It will foam up a little bit, but mostly, it will just look soft. You shouldn't see any sharp granules of yeast on the surface or around the sides of the bowl - just soft, light blobs around the bowl, with a few larger, foamier areas on the surface. If your yeast doesn't activate and soften during this step, it may be expired, or the milk may have been too hot and killed the yeast (which means your rolls may not rise).

When the yeast is active and foamy (Image 3, above), add a large egg and some melted butter. Next, stir the flour into your yeast mixture (4) until it just starts to come together (Image 5, below).

Add a bit of salt (6, above), then continue mixing until no dry flour remains (7, below).

At this point, we like to transfer the dough to a cutting board and knead it for a minute or two (8) to smooth it out: This makes it a little bit easier to roll out later (and helps keep a smoother, more uniform shape), but you can skip this step if you need to!

Let it Rise

Once your dough is mixed, cover the mixing bowl with a clean tea towel and let it rise in a warm place for an hour (I like to place my dough next to the oven or near a radiator in the winter to keep it nice and cozy).

Because this is such a small quantity of dough, and because it's enriched (weighed down by our egg and butter) you won't see a super dramatic rise here - it isn't like artisan bread recipes where you can expect the dough to double in size. The small quantity also means it can be tougher to gauge growth, especially in a large mixing bowl. Look for dough that's puffed up, smoothed out on the surface, and very soft when you press it.

Make the Filling

Stir a bit of brown sugar, white granulated sugar, and plenty of cinnamon together in a small bowl. This filling is pretty forgiving - feel free to adjust it however you like! Dial the cinnamon up or down, or add extra spices (we love it with a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, or ginger!)

Fill and Roll the Dough

When the dough has risen, roll it out into a rough rectangle. Use a rolling pin here if you have it; if you don't, just pat it into shape with your hands like it's pizza dough!

Pro Tip: You can add a bit of flour to your cutting board to make this easier if you like - although if you kneaded the dough before its first rise, we find that the extra flour usually isn't necessary! If the dough sticks at all, use a bench scraper to coax it off the cutting board.

Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle on your cinnamon brown sugar mixture. Leave a small open strip along one of the long sides - this exposed dough will help you seal the dough once it's rolled up!

Then, it's time to roll! Go slowly, and try to roll this dough as tightly as possible for best results. When you get to the end, pinch the final edge into the log to seal it up as best you can.

If the dough log looks too long and skinny once it's rolled, gently push each end in towards the center to squish it into a smaller roll. You're aiming for a thick dough roll that's about 6-8 inches long.

Cut the cinnamon rolls

Time to slice! Slide a long string of dental floss under the dough roll, then pull each end towards the opposite side (kind of like you're tying a knot) to slice the dough. You can also just slice these cinnamon rolls with a very sharp knife! Cut the dough into 6 equal portions.

Second rise

Spread some softened butter over a small baking dish (or spray it with cooking spray) then arrange the cut cinnamon rolls in the dish, leaving an inch or two of space between each roll. Cover the baking pan with a clean tea towel and let it rise for another 30 minutes while you heat the oven.

Again, you're not going to see a really dramatic rise here - that will happen once these cinnamon rolls hit the oven (thanks to a fun phenomenon known as oven spring, which we talk about in our Everyday Artisan Bread course). After this final rise, the rolls should look a bit puffy and soft, but there will likely still be a bit of space between them.

Bake and Frost

Time to bake! Brush the tops of your cinnamon rolls with a bit of heavy cream (this will keep them soft and prevent the tops from browning too much!) then slide them into the oven and bake until they're just barely golden brown.

Mix a quick cream cheese frosting while the rolls cool, then pour the frosting over the top and spread it over the rolls while they're still a little bit warm.

Riffs and Substitutions

This is a great base recipe, and it's easily adapted to suit your tastes! A few of our favorite swaps:

• Mix up the filling. We love this classic cinnamon and sugar mix, but you can also fill these rolls with homemade apple butter, nutella, or leftover cranberry sauce. You can also add extra spices to the filling: We love adding a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, or ground ginger.
• Use a different frosting. Cream cheese frosting is a classic choice for cinnamon rolls, but we also love this recipe with a thin maple frosting or simple vanilla icing on top!

Cinnamon Roll FAQs

Have another question?

Our Everyday Artisan Bread online course is an incredible resource for all things baking. We go into so much more detail about why and how doughs like this work, and we also have a private Facebook group where our team helps you out with any questions you might have!

Love this recipe? Try our small batch banana muffins →

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PS - Love this recipe? Try our small batch chocolate cupcakes next →