Mini Cinnamon Rolls are so much quicker (and cuter!) than traditional from-scratch cinnamon rolls, and they are delicious too! Cinnamon rolls that are ready in less than 15 minutes!
15-Minute Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect solution to enjoying cinnamon rolls without having to get up at 4 am to get them ready for breakfast! My family loves homemade cinnamon rolls and I love them too, but they are pretty time-consuming to make from scratch. This version is not only delicious, but can be made in about fifteen minutes! They may not taste quite the same as the homemade variety, but my family devoured them within minutes – I’m not sure the kids even realized these weren’t the “real” thing!
Miniature treats are a win-win situation because the kids get a treat, but one that comes with a fraction of the sugar as a full-sized treat – and my kids kept commenting about how cute the “baby” cinnamon rolls were!
MINI CINNAMON ROLLS
Mini Cinnamon rolls are made with pre-made crescent roll dough. All you have to do is open the can! No kneading dough or waiting for the dough to rise. Roll out the dough into a rectangle and spread softened butter over the dough. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the butter before rolling the dough up and slicing into mini cinnamon rolls. Grease a mini muffin tin and place a little pat of butter and a little extra brown sugar in the bottom of each cup. Place each cinnamon roll separately in the mini muffin tin and bake. If you want to make frosting, a simple cream cheese frosting is absolutely delicious.
INGREDIENTS IN MINI CINNAMON ROLLS
Crescent rolls: You can find pre-made crescent rolls in a can in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
Butter: You will need three tablespoons of softened butter, some of which will be spread over the dough and some will be divided into the bottom of a muffin tin. For best results, use real butter.
Brown sugar: For best results, make sure your brown sugar is fresh and soft.
Cinnamon: Can’t make cinnamon rolls without cinnamon, so don’t leave this one out!
HOW TO MAKE MINI CINNAMON ROLLS
ROLL OUT THE DOUGH
Open the can of crescent rolls and lay the 4 small rectangles next to each other to form a large rectangle. Press the seams together and smooth out all of the perforations in the dough.
ADD THE FILLING
Use a butter knife to spread 1 Tbsp butter on the entire dough rectangle (go ahead and use a little more if you’d like). Mix 1/3 cup brown sugar with the cinnamon until well combined. Spread the cinnamon/sugar filling on the buttered dough, covering all of the dough with the filling except for about a 1 inch row across the top. Doing this makes the dough seal better when you roll it up.
FORM THE ROLLS
Starting at the bottom, roll the dough up. Cut the dough into twelve 1-inch cinnamon rolls. (I like to start by making one cut in the middle of the roll, and then placing one cut in the center of each half, dividing the dough into quarters. Then divide each of those quarters into thirds. Doing it this way helps you to space your cuts evenly across the dough and ensures that you end up with 12 equally sized rolls every time!)
Grease 12 cups in a mini muffin pan and then place a little pat of butter in the bottom of each cup. I used 2 Tbsp of butter and divided it into 12 little sections. Use the extra 2 Tbsp of brown sugar and divide it evenly amongst the twelve cups, sprinkling a little on top of each pat of butter. Doing this makes the bottoms of the rolls taste even better and it also makes the rolls easier to remove from the pan when they are done baking.
BAKE THE CINNAMON ROLLS
Place each roll into the prepared muffin tin and bake at 375° for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown on top.
FROST THE ROLLS
I love cinnamon rolls without frosting, but if you want frosting, make it while the cinnamon rolls are baking. Mix all of the frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth. As soon as the rolls are out of the oven, frost each one while they are still in the pan. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from pan – they are definitely best warm!
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING*
Butter: Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature before mixing with the other ingredients.
Cream cheese: You will need to make sure that the cream cheese is softened to room temperature. You can use any variety of cream cheese (non-fat, low-fat, or regular).
Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar gives the frosting the right amount of sweetness and smoothness.
Vanilla: The higher the quality of the vanilla, the better! I usually add a little extra too!
*Unless you like a ton frosting on your cinnamon rolls, this recipe will likely make about double the amount that you will need for one batch of mini cinnamon rolls. You can double the cinnamon roll recipe since most mini muffin pans have 24 cups anyways, or you can save the extra frosting in an airtight container for up to a week so that you can use it later.
MINI CINNAMON ROLLS
Ingredients
- 1 can crescent rolls
- 3 Tbsp softened butter divided
- ⅓ cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar divided
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 Tbsp butter softened
- ⅛ cup cream cheese softened (1 oz)
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- ¼-½ tsp vanilla I usually add extra because I like the flavor!
Instructions
- Open the can of crescent rolls and lay the 4 small rectangles next to each other to form a large rectangle. Press the seams together and smooth out all of the perforations in the dough.
- Use a butter knife to spread 1 Tbsp butter on the entire dough rectangle (go ahead and use a little more if you’d like).
- Mix 1/3 cup brown sugar with the cinnamon until well combined. Spread the cinnamon/sugar filling on the buttered dough, covering all of the dough with the filling except for about a 1 inch row across the top. Doing this makes the dough seal better when you roll it up.
- Starting at the bottom, roll the dough up. Cut the dough into twelve 1-inch cinnamon rolls. (I like to start by making one cut in the middle of the roll, and then placing one cut in the center of each half, dividing the dough into quarters. Then divide each of those quarters into thirds. Doing it this way helps you to space your cuts evenly across the dough and ensures that you end up with 12 equally sized rolls every time!)
- Grease 12 cups in a mini muffin pan and then place a little pat of butter in the bottom of each cup. I used 2 Tbsp of butter and divided it into 12 little sections. Use the extra 2 Tbsp of brown sugar and divide it evenly amongst the twelve cups, sprinkling a little on top of each pat of butter. Doing this makes the bottoms of the rolls taste even better and it also makes the rolls easier to remove from the pan when they are done baking.
- Place each roll into the prepared muffin tin and bake at 375° for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown on top.
- If you want frosting, make it while the cinnamon rolls are baking. Mix all of the frosting ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth. As soon as the rolls are out of the oven, frost each one while they are still in the pan. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from pan – they are definitely best warm!
Notes
Nutrition
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HOW TO SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE
You can soften cream cheese by simply letting it sit on the countertop for 2-3 hours, until it comes to room temperature. Using room temperature cream cheese is vital. I don’t know if you are like me but I always forget to take the cream cheese out of the fridge! An easy way to soften the cream cheese is to use the defrost function on your microwave. Place the cream cheese, unwrapped, in a bowl, then select the lowest setting on defrost. Mine usually takes about 45 seconds. That’s it! Then proceed with the recipe.
HERE ARE MORE TASTY CINNAMON ROLL RECIPES TO TRY SOON:
- CINNAMON ROLL BREAD PUDDING
- CINNAMON ROLL BREAD
- CHRISTMAS CINNAMON ROLLS
- CINNAMON ROLLS WITHOUT YEAST
- HOMEMADE CINNAMON ROLLS
- CINNAMON ROLL CAKE RECIPE
- CINNAMON ROLL FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
- CINNAMON ROLL SNICKERDOODLES
- PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS WITH CARAMEL FROSTING
- EASY CINNAMON ROLL QUICK BREAD
- MUFFIN TIN CINNAMON ROLLS
- HAWAIIAN ROLL CINNAMON ROLLS
Mini Cinnamon Rolls are so much quicker (and cuter!) than traditional from-scratch cinnamon rolls, and they are delicious too! Cinnamon rolls that are ready in less than 15 minutes!
T. says
Please clarify…the ingredients list 1/3 cup brown sugar but the body of the recipe says 1/2 cup. Which is correct? Thanks
Nellie says
Sorry about that! I just corrected the recipe, but the correct amount is 1/3 cup. I hope you enjoy them!
Lori says
Just made them and it was soo easy and soo good! Thanks for sharing
Jessica says
So glad you liked them!