Quick Cinnamon Rolls
Soft cinnamon rolls in about an hour — no yeast, no rising, no planning the night before.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (310g) all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling buy
- 2 tablespoons sugar buy
- 1 tablespoon baking powder buy
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 6 tablespoons (85g) cold butter, cubed buy
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk buy
- For the filling: 6 tablespoons soft butter, 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon buy
- For the glaze: 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons cream cheese, 1–2 tablespoons milk buy
Method
- Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and butter a 9-inch round pan.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Rub in the cold butter with your fingers until it looks like coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces left.
- Stir in the buttermilk until it just comes together, then turn onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times — no more.
- Roll to a rough 12x9-inch rectangle. Spread with the soft butter and scatter the brown sugar and cinnamon right to the edges.
- Roll up from a long side, pinch the seam, and cut into 8 rolls with a serrated knife or a length of dental floss.
- Arrange cut-side up in the pan and bake 22–25 minutes until golden and firm in the center.
- Beat the glaze ingredients smooth and spread over the rolls while they're still warm.
Cook's notes
- Handle the dough as little as possible — this is a scone dough, and kneading makes it tough.
- Floss cuts cleaner rolls than a knife: slide it under, cross the ends over the top and pull.
- Glaze warm, not hot, or it slides straight off.
What this costs to make
$0.18 per serving · $1.44 for the whole recipe (8 servings)
| Butter, stick | $0.73 |
|---|---|
| Flour, all-purpose | $0.37 |
| Milk, whole | $0.27 |
| Sugar, white | $0.06 |
| Total (priced items) | $1.44 |
Priced 4 of 8 ingredients using U.S. average retail prices for 2026-07, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED. Not included: baking powder, fine salt, For the filling: 6 tablespoons soft butter, For the glaze: 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar. These are national averages — not what you will pay. Store, region and week all move them.
Why this works
This is a scone dough, not a bread dough, which is why there's no rising time — baking powder does in the oven what yeast would do over two hours. That also means gluten development is the enemy here, the opposite of a yeasted roll.
If it goes wrong
Tough, dry rolls mean over-kneading or over-mixing; four or five folds is genuinely all it needs. Filling leaking out is normal and becomes the sticky bit at the bottom. Doughy centres mean the rolls were packed too tightly.
Make it your own
Cardamom in place of some of the cinnamon gives a Scandinavian character. Orange zest in the glaze cuts the sweetness. Chopped pecans in the filling add texture.
Storing and reheating
Best within hours — this is the trade-off for skipping yeast. Keep 2 days covered, and reheat 15 seconds in a microwave to soften. They freeze acceptably unglazed.
More breakfast ideas
Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes
Tall, cloud-soft pancakes with crisp golden edges. The buttermilk and a rested batter do all the heavy lifting.
Classic French Toast
Custardy in the middle, caramelized at the edges. Day-old bread is the move, and a splash of vanilla makes it sing.
The Perfect Cheese Omelette
Soft, just-set, and folded around a melty middle. Low heat and constant motion turn three eggs into something French-bistro good.