Quick Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast
Quick cinnamon rolls made without yeast! These cinnamon rolls are unbelievably good for so little effort. I think they're better than a lot of the more time consuming rolls.
Servings 4
Ingredients
Filling
- 5 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter melted
Dough
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 6.25 ounces***
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅝ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Icing
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon half & half or whole milk plus more as needed at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line an 8 inch square pan pan with nonstick foil or parchment paper. I find nonstick foil a little easier to work with.
- In a small bowl, stir together both sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add the melted butter and stir until mixed. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, stir the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda until uniformly mixed.
- Mix 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in with the buttermilk and add to the flour mixture, stirring to form a soft dough. Scrape the dough onto a floured work surface (I use a big cutting board) and knead a few times until it is less scraggly. Use your hands to press it into a rectangle that is 9 inches high and about 6 inches across.
- Drizzle another tablespoon of melted butter across the rectangle and spread evenly, then sprinkle filling evenly over butter.
- Starting at the short end, roll into a tight cylinder. Cut into 4 equal rounds and arrange cut side up, sides touching each other, in the pan. Spread final 1 tablespoon of melted butter over rolls, making sure to cover sides that are exposed to air.
- Bake rolls for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Carefully separate the warm rolls and transfer warm rolls to a sheet of foil or parchment to be iced.
- Make the icing. In a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup or a deep, small bowl, combine the melted butter (I just melted mine directly in the cup), powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until thick and crumbly. Add 1 tablespoon of the milk or half and half and stir until smooth, adding more milk as needed to make a smooth, spreadable icing. Spread icing over warm cinnamon rolls and allow it to melt slightly from the warmth of the rolls.
Notes
Notes: You need 6.25 ounces of flour, which means the volume measurement could be anywhere from 1 ¼ cups to a generous 1 ⅓ cups. It depends on the moisture level and protein in your flour. For best results, always weigh flour.
This icing is super simple! Just melt the butter in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup, add powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until thick, then gradually add your liquid until you have the perfect consistency for glopping onto the rolls.
TO DOUBLE:
Double the filling and dough recipe and pat the dough into a rectangle that is 9 inches tall and 12 inches across. You don’t need to double the icing. Just use 1 ½ tablespoons of butter, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, about ½ teaspoon vanilla and about 1 ½ tablespoons of milk plus more as needed.
This icing is super simple! Just melt the butter in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup, add powdered sugar and vanilla and stir until thick, then gradually add your liquid until you have the perfect consistency for glopping onto the rolls.
TO DOUBLE:
Double the filling and dough recipe and pat the dough into a rectangle that is 9 inches tall and 12 inches across. You don’t need to double the icing. Just use 1 ½ tablespoons of butter, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, about ½ teaspoon vanilla and about 1 ½ tablespoons of milk plus more as needed.