Mini 15-Minute Cinnamon Rolls are so much quicker (and cuter!) than traditional from-scratch cinnamon rolls, and they are delicious too!

Mini 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 15-MINUTE CINNAMON ROLLS

1 can crescent rolls
3 Tbsp softened butter, divided
1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar, divided
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

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. I actually prefer cinnamon rolls without frosting, but if you’d like to add frosting, here is my favorite recipe!

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING*

4 Tbsp butter, softened
1/8 cup cream cheese, softened (1 oz)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 tsp vanilla (I usually add extra because I like the flavor!)

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, mix all the 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!

*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.

Find other sweet bread and breakfast recipes here: