No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
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This recipe for no yeast cinnamon rolls comes together in practically no time at all. You’ll be amazed how quickly you can get rich, buttery cinnamon rolls covered with caramel and topped with icing on the table without having to proof or knead any dough.
If you’ve never made homemade cinnamon rolls because you’ve been intimated about baking with yeast, here’s the recipe for you!
No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
Rich, buttery dough is filled with cinnamon and sugar, topped with caramel, and then slathered in icing for an out-of-this-world cinnamon roll experience. It doesn’t get much better than that!
Honestly, these easy cinnamon rolls are just the incentive you need to get out of bed on those cold winter mornings. Forget oatmeal; forget the eggs; get these in the oven before you jump in the shower, and when you’re done, you’ll be able to relax and indulge.
I like to make these cinnamon rolls on the weekends when we can linger over one, (okay, maybe two), and get ourselves ready to tackle the weekend. I can pretty much guarantee they’ll go over well at any brunch or potluck.
You can bake them ahead of time and just add the icing right before you are ready to serve them. These No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls even freeze well, so you can stash a few in the freezer to eat another day. (I’d recommend you freeze them without the icing and ice them just before you eat them.)
Why You Should Make This Recipe For Easy Cinnamon Rolls
- Comes together quickly – No yeast means no proofing time, no kneading, so you’ll be eating warm cinnamon rolls sooner.
- Decadently delicious – These rolls are super decadent with a caramel top and rich icing.
Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients + Tips
(Ingredients at a glance, find the full recipe in the printable card at the bottom of the post.)
Rolls:
- Flour | I used all-purpose flour to make these cinnamon rolls.
- Baking powder | Baking powder gives the rolls a nice lift instead of yeast.
- Salt | A touch of salt enhances the flavor.
- Butter | You’ll need cold butter to make the dough.
- Milk | I used regular milk, but any kind of milk will work.
Filling:
- Sugar & Cinnamon | White granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
Caramel:
- Butter | I used unsalted butter, but salted will also work.
- Brown sugar | Light or dark brown works.
- Cinnamon | I added a touch of cinnamon to the caramel mixture.
Icing:
- Powdered sugar | This is also known as confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar, which makes up the icing.
- Butter | Adds a delicious buttery, creaminess to the icing.
- Milk | Milk thins out the icing so you can spread it easily over the rolls.
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with no Yeast
1 Preheat oven to 350º Fahrenheit.
2 Make the dough: In a large bowl, stir flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk by hand or with a mixer until the dough forms a ball.
3 Add the filling: Combine filling ingredients (cinnamon sugar mixture). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a square about 14×14 inches and sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough.
4 Roll the dough and cut it into rolls: Roll the dough tightly, and slice it into nine rolls with a sharp knife. (I like to cut the ends off at about half thickness and count them as one roll because they’re always kind of funky).
5 Melt six tablespoons of butter and combine in the bottom of a 9×9 inch baking pan with brown sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon. Arrange cinnamon rolls in a pan, and place them in the center of the oven.
6 Bake for 25 minutes until the rolls begin to turn golden brown. Remove the rolls from the oven. I recommend removing them from the baking dish immediately; when the caramel begins to cool and harden, the no-yeast cinnamon rolls are more difficult to remove from the pan. I usually turn them over onto a cutting board and then immediately flip them onto the serving plate. Let cool.
7 While cinnamon rolls cool, whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, and one tablespoon of milk together in a small bowl. Add the second tablespoon of milk if needed to reach desired consistency. Spread over cinnamon rolls.
Recipe Tips
- If you find the dough too sticky or is sticking to your counter and rolling pin as you work, dust it all with more flour.
- It might seem wrong not to spread the rolled-out dough with butter before sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on, but the butter in the dough and caramel layer more than makes up for it.
- The caramel layer is optional. To omit it, grease the pan, and proceed with arranging the rolls in the pan.
- If you make the caramel layer make sure to remove the rolls from the pan while they are warm. If the caramel hardens, removing the rolls from the pan will be more difficult.
- Pour hot water into the pan as soon as you remove the rolls, making cleaning easier.
Variations
- Instead of cinnamon, use cocoa powder for a chocolate roll. Or a combination of both.
- Add raisins for a cinnamon raisin roll.
- Make the rolls even more decadent with cream cheese frosting.
- Don’t want to take the time to make homemade dough? Try using recent rolls instead. Just start from the point you add the cinnamon sugar filling.
Storage
Cover the leftover rolls tightly with plastic wrap and store them at room temperature on the counter for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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FAQs
Can I use store-bought dough to make these cinnamon rolls?
Yes, you can use store-bought dough to make these cinnamon rolls. I’ve also been known to use refrigerated pizza dough or crescent roll dough for these rolls.
How do these cinnamon rolls rise without yeast?
Instead of yeast, these cinnamon rolls have baking powder, so they rise nicely. Granted, the texture is not quite the same as using yeast, but they taste pretty similar.
Can the dough be made ahead of time?
Technically, the dough can be made ahead of time; however, that will not be as soft and fluffy because the leavening is going to go flat (the baking powder activates once it is added to the wet ingredients.
If you want to make your rolls the night before and then pop them in the oven when ready to bake, I recommend using store-bought dough or a cinnamon roll recipe with yeast.
Can these rolls be frozen?
Baked rolls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container. Thaw the rolls overnight in the fridge before reheating. You might consider whipping up a batch of fresh icing to add to the tops of your rolls once they have been reheated.
If you love everything cinnamon, try these other recipes:
Did You Try These easy Cinnamon Rolls?
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Print
No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9 rolls 1x
- Category: breakfast
- Method: oven
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 2 cups flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 5 Tablespoons cold butter
- ¾ cup milk
Filling:
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
Caramel:
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoons cinnamon
Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in milk until the dough forms a ball.
- Roll the dough out into a square about 14×14 inches.
- Combine filling ingredients and sprinkle evenly over dough.
- Roll dough tightly, and cut into 9 rolls (I like to cut the ends off at about half thickness and count them as one roll because they’re always kind of funky)
- Melt 6 tablespoons of butter, and combine in the bottom a 9×9 inch baking pan with brown sugar and a tablespoon of cinnamon.
- Arrange cinnamon rolls in a pan, and place them in the center of the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, until rolls begin to turn golden brown.
- Remove from oven, and turn over onto a cutting board or cooling grid (Remove them from the pan right away before the caramel in the bottom hardens up is a lot easier than letting them cool in the pan.) Let cool.
- While cinnamon rolls cool, whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon of milk together. Add a second tablespoon of milk if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Spread over cinnamon rolls.
Notes
It might seem wrong not to spread the rolled-out dough with butter before sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on, but the butter in the dough and caramel layer more than makes up for it.
The caramel layer is optional. To omit it, grease the pan, and proceed with arranging the rolls in the pan.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 430
- Fat: 18
- Carbohydrates: 66
- Protein: 4
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