Quick & Easy Cinnamon Buns
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Make delicious, soft cinnamon buns in no time with this easy, no-yeast recipe! Perfect for a last-minute breakfast treat—no rising time required.
I love traditional cinnamon rolls and sticky buns, but they require advanced planning and hours of rising time. I don’t know about your family, but when my kids request cinnamon buns for breakfast, they want them five minutes ago—not later in the day! That’s where this quick and easy cinnamon bun recipe comes in. Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, it uses a fast buttermilk biscuit dough leavened with baking powder rather than yeast, so there’s no need to wait for the dough to rise. The result? Tender, golden, caramelized cinnamon buns that are as easy as they are delicious!
What You’ll Need To Make Quick & Easy Cinnamon Buns
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Filling
Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter and mix until the mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the Dough
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the dough. Note that it’s very important to measure the flour using the spoon and level method: spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with the back edge of a knife. If you scoop it into the measuring cup, you will have too much flour and dry cinnamon buns.
Add the buttermilk and melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed and the dough looks shaggy.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Dust the dough lightly with flour and knead until the dough is almost smooth.
Step 3: Roll the Dough
Pat the dough into a small rectangle, then roll into a larger 12-inch x 9-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter, and then sprinkle the brown sugar topping evenly over top. Press the filling firmly into the dough.
Starting at the long end, roll the dough into a log and pinch the seam. Then cut the log into nine even pieces.
Lightly flatten the rolls with your hand to pack the filling in place.
Arrange the rolls in a 9-inch cake pan lined with buttered aluminum foil, then brush the rolls with the remaining melted butter.
Step 4: Bake
Bake the cinnamon buns for about 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown.
Use the foil overhang to transfer the rolls to a cooling rack. Let them sit about 5 minutes, then pull them apart.
Step 5: Glaze
Make the buttermilk glaze by whisking the buttermilk, cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar together in a small bowl.
Drizzle the glaze liberally over the buns and enjoy warm. (These cinnamon buns are best fresh out of the oven, but they can also be stored in an air tight container and reheated with excellent results.)
Note: As mentioned, this recipe is tweaked from Cook’s Illustrated. I found their recipe to be good but tooth-achingly sweet, so I reduced the sugar significantly. I also increased the salt to balance things out a bit. This version also calls for a bit more flour than the original, making the dough easier to work with.
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Quick & Easy Cinnamon Buns
Make delicious, soft cinnamon buns in no time with this easy, no-yeast recipe! Perfect for a last-minute breakfast treat—no rising time required.
Ingredients
For the Cinnamon Buns
For the Brown Sugar Filling
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
For the dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off with knife, plus more for dusting work surface
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups low fat buttermilk
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
For the Glaze
- 1½ tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 9-inch square cake pan with aluminum foil and brush with one tablespoon butter.
- Combine the brown sugar, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Add one tablespoon of the melted butter and stir with a fork or fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining tablespoon granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Add the buttermilk and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed; the dough will be sticky and shaggy. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Knead, lightly dusting more flour as necessary, until just smooth and no longer shaggy, about 1 minute.
- Lightly dust the surface again. Pat the dough into a small rectangle, then roll into a 12x9-inch rectangle, dusting more flour sparingly if necessary so the dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin. Brush the dough with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Sprinkle the dough evenly with the brown sugar filling, leaving a ½-inch border. Using your hand, press the filling firmly into the dough. Starting at the long side, roll the dough, pressing lightly, to form a tight log. (If the dough sticks to the surface, use a sharp knife or dough scraper to release it.) Pinch the seam to seal. Roll the log seam-side down and, using a sharp knife, cut it evenly into 9 pieces. Turn the pieces over on their flat sides, and slightly flatten each piece with your hand to seal the open edges and keep the filling in place. Place the rolls in the prepared pan and brush with the remaining butter. Bake until the edges are golden brown, 23 to 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream cheese and buttermilk until thick and smooth (the mixture will look like cottage cheese at first). Add the confectioners' sugar and whisk until smooth glaze forms.
- When the buns are done, use the foil overhang to lift them out of the baking pan and onto a wire rack. Let cool for 5 minutes, then carefully separate the buns, using a knife if necessary. If you find the buns are sticking a bit to the foil, transfer them to a wire rack. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the buns. The buns are best served warm; leftovers may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (9 servings)
- Serving size: 1 bun
- Calories: 389
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 66 g
- Sugar: 33 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Sodium: 296 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I cannot wait to make these! I only have light brown sugar, not dark brown sugar as the recipe calls for. Will that work out ok?
Definitely– hope you enjoy!
Okay ~ these look crazy restaurant delicious!! I have only tried to make cinnamon buns a couple of times in the last decade with such dismal results that I gave up. But I re-energized after seeing this recipe and I’m going for it!!
I can’t remember if commented on this recipe before and frankly I don’t care because it is so worthy of another comment!!! I had a hungry crew cutting down trees over the weekend and I know this recipe is amazing from making them several times before…Well one of the comments was “These are the best cinnamon buns I have ever had!” So I made another batch the next day The consistency is amazing, the buttermilk dough and cream cheese glaze are a perfect pair! And the best part….they are in the oven, baked and ready in like 40mins!! Or maybe because I’ve made this recipe so many times….They are just so easy and come out perfect every single time! The only changes: sometimes I make six buns instead of nine… I was feeding some big guys, so I thought they’d appreciate a bigger bun! I have also used Jenn’s Toffee Glaze from the Sticky Banana Cake recipe instead of the cream cheese glaze, pure heaven! Honestly…if you haven’t tried this recipe, it is amazing, quick and you probably have the ingredients in your pantry! Perfect Christmas morning treat! Thanks again Jenn, your site is just amazing!
I love to make breads and other sweets. I do not buy any baked goods from the grocery store, when I make my own I know what goes into it.
Your cinnamon roll recipe looks delicious and I will be making it today. There was one other I found that I liked but I like to try different recipes. I have never tried to make cinnamon rolls without yeast so this is an interesting recipe. Thank you so much for sharing and I love your site. So many delicious recipes! Happy Holidays!
About to make these for the second time. I don’t have time to make yeast rolls, so glad to have this option!
This has got to be one of the best desserts, I’ve ever made!! Can’t wait till Christmas so I can make it again. It’s very fluffy, light, sweet, has a bit of sourness to it, but in the most delicious way possible!! I didn’t change anything out of the recipe.
These look amazing! I LOVE cinnamon buns! I stopped buying the canned ones bc they always hurt my tummy! I love making bread but don’t have hours before breakfast to feed my 5 hungry children with yeast cinnamon rolls so I was super excited to find this recipe! Can’t wait to make them! One question though, if I double the recipe would you recommend making 2 seperate batches and using 2 pans or do you think one batch and one pan will work? Thanks!
Hi Sara, I would use two separate pans. Hope you enjoy them!
I made these this morning and they were very tasty. I prefer a yeast cinnamon roll over the texture of these, but I do NOT prefer making them. Such a long process. This recipe is very easy to follow, has the perfect amount of sugar & cinnamon and my boys devoured them. Thanks, Jenn!
I just made these. They are extremely delicious. Everyone fell in love.
Hi Jen,
Firstly let me thank you for making my day million times better! As a cinnamon addict I was dying to finally make my own rolls and there I found it:) best recipie ever:) just happened that in the meantime I moved to Qatar and they don’t sell buttermilk over here …:( is there anything I can replace it with?
Thanks a million!
Have a lovely day!
Alexandra
Hi Alexandra, It’s easy to make your own buttermilk. To make 1 cup, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a glass measuring cup, then add low fat milk to the 1-cup line. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes until it curdles, and you’ll have buttermilk. Hope you enjoy the cinnamon buns 🙂
Hi Jen!!
It was a huge success and it’s already gone ! 🙂 thanks a million I have never eaten better ones and they are so easy to make and buttermilk was a dream:)
XXXX
Alexandra