Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet, tender, and perfectly sized, these mini cinnamon rolls with vanilla cream cheese icing are the perfect bite of deliciousness. And they only take about an hour to make, start to finish, which make them perfect for when that sweet craving hits.

Serve with Homemade Hot Chocolate and Link 2 for a great meal.

This recipe for mini cinnamon rolls has been slightly adapted from my 1 hour cinnamon rolls, which have been a long time favorite recipe in our house, and a reader favorite too. Everyone loves the fluffy, tender, flavorful dough, and caramely, cinnamon-y, delicious filling, as well as the sweet, cream cheese frosting. And in mini size, and with the addition of Madagascar vanilla essential oil to flavor them, you get the perfect sweet bite.

What You Need to Make Mini Cinnamon Rolls

The dough for these cinnamon rolls is easy to make, and uses pantry staples.

Dough

Sugar: Just plain old granulated sugar works great here!
Oil: A little vegetable oil
Active dry yeast: Doesn’t need to be instant yeast, but remember you have to use warm water to help activate the yeast.
Salt: A staple in baking
Eggs: Large eggs at room temp are best.
All purpose flour: A good quality flour will make for better cinnamon rolls.

Filling

Sugars: Brown and white
Cinnamon: Yes please!
Butter: Unsalted or salted

Icing

Cream Cheese
Madagascar Vanilla Essential Oil
Powdered Sugar
Milk

DoTerra Madagascar Vanilla Oil

Ok, so I am sure you noticed how the Madagascar Vanilla in this recipe. It adds a subtle, and deliciously warm vanilla flavor to the icing. The DoTERRA Madagascar Vanilla is a brand new oil, which as the name suggests is sourced straight from Madagascar in a painstaking process that helps insure the highest quality and best flavor.

Primary benefits include:

Provides a rich, warm, sweet, inviting aroma and flavor
Creates a comforting and relaxing atmosphere
Makes a delightful addition to beverages, icings, and more.

How to Make Mini Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Icing

In the bowl of a stand mixer, or large mixing bowl, combine warm water, sugar, oil, and active dry yeast.
Stir it a few times, then let it sit for a full 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Check to make sure the yeast has foamed. Then add the salt and eggs and flour to the yeast mixture. Start with about half the flour, and gradually adding the last 2 1/2-3 cups.
Once all the flour is added, turn mixer on to a low setting and knead for 10 total minutes.
Climb up the mixer some, keep an eye on it, and push it down if you need to.
Once it has mixed for 10 minutes, touch the dough, it should stick to your finger, but your finger should still pull away cleanly.
If not, mix it a few minutes longer.
Cover and let the dough sit for 10 minutes. It should double in size.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the filling mix. Combine the sugars and cinnamon, then stir into softened butter to form a paste.
Check your dough, after it has doubled in size, flour your countertop.
Divide the dough in half, and use a rolling pin to roll out the first half of the dough into a rectangle.
Spread half the butter mixture over the dough, leaving the long edges without the paste covering it to make it easier to roll. But spreading the butter paste clear to the edges of the other two sides.
Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough down the center, so you can roll these into smaller, mini cinnamon rolls.
Tightly roll into a log and cut into 12 even sized pieces.
Repeat with the other side.
Place mini cinnamon rolls in a baking dish, or muffin tin sprayed with non-stick spray.
Let rise 5 more minutes. They will continue to rise in the oven.
Bake 10-12 minutes until top is lightly browned.
While the rolls bake, mix all of the ingredients for the cream cheese frosting together using a hand mixer, in a medium sized bowl, mix until nice and smooth. Taste the frosting, and add more DoTerra Madagascar Vanilla if needed. Add a little salt to enhance the flavors.
When oven timer goes off, pull the rolls out of the oven, let them sit for a minute or two, then slather frosting over the top and let it melt into the rolls.

Tips and Tricks

Making this recipe is Eazy Peazy…

Tip One: Don’t kill your yeast. Too hot of water can kill your yeast. Try to have the water about 110 degrees F. If you kill your yeast (it dose not foam), then pour it out and start again. Wait to add the other stuff until the water and yeast are combined and you can see foam.
Tip Two: Taste as you go. The filling and icing are a delicious and important part of the overall results. Tasting as you go, and adjusting to your preference can help a lot. So taste the filling. Would a little salt help? More cinnamon? Adjust slightly.
Tip Three: Measure the flour, but also pay attention to the dough and kneading. The measurements work great, but sometimes the air is moist, or your eggs are large, or you don’t measure perfectly, so it is good to also test the dough. Stick your finger on it, and pull away. If it sticks a little, but pulls away clean it is good. If it is super sticky, knead it a little longer, and add more flour a tablespoon or so at a time.
Tip Four: Let rise. These are 1 hour cinnamon rolls, but they can take longer if you are working in a cold kitchen. So rather than go by time, go by the dough. Has it doubled in size? Are the rolls bigger?
Tip Five: Use floss (unflavored) to cut rolls for a cleaner, prettier roll.

Make Ahead and Storage

How to make this recipe ahead of time:

The dough can be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge before the first rise. Or you can roll the dough out and get to the stage just before allowing to bake before rising, and refrigerate overnight. The only thing is, sometimes the dough will rise in the fridge, slowly, but can over-proof. So best to make, bake, and refrigerate or freeze the finished rolls after they cool.

Keep in mind, that you want to package in an airtight container before they dry out. And reheat just a little before serving so they are soft and tender again. About 10 seconds in the microwave.

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