Name: Cinnamon Roll Muffins with Vanilla Icing
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 193 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour*; ¼ cup sugar; 1½ teaspoons instant yeast; ¼ teaspoon salt; ½ cup whole milk; ¼ cup unsalted butter; 1 large egg (room temperature); ½ cup salted butter (room temperature); ½ cup brown sugar (firmly packed); 2½ Tablespoons all purpose flour; 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon; ⅛ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 cups powdered sugar (sifted); 3 Tablespoons whole milk; ½ teaspoon vanilla

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Fluffy and soft Cinnamon Roll Muffins with sweet vanilla icing…the nostalgic breakfast treat we’re all craving this winter! These cinnamon roll muffins are just like the classic tear-and-share that we all know and love, but made into individual cinnamon rolls. Think, a buttery, light, and fluffy sweet dough swirled with a simple cinnamon sugar. Then, right after baking, these cute little muffins are drizzled with LOTS of vanilla icing. Every bite is sweet, soft, gooey, and just melts in your mouth! Serve warm, right out of the oven, with your favorite cup of coffee for a breakfast treat that everyone will love.

cinnamon rolls on wire cooling rack with white flowers and spoon beside, empty glasses and stack of plates behind.

About The Recipe

Even though we’re passed the holiday’s, I am still thinking about cinnamon rolls. I mean, they’re my absolute FAVORITE thing to eat!! And it’s just nice to have them every once in a while, you know?

Which is what brings us to these cinnamon roll muffins.

three stacked cinnamon rolls with spoon drizzling icing over top cinnamon roll, with more cinnamon rolls and a stack of white plates behind.

angled close up of cinnamon roll on white cupcake paper on a wire cooling rack with three more cinnamon rolls behind and two stacked on marble surface.

This recipe is essentially just our classic Gooey Cinnamon Rolls, but baked in a muffin pan!

We thought it would be a fun twist on cinnamon rolls, as sometimes it’s nice to just have one cinnamon roll occasionally. The best part? These freeze and reheat REALLY well! Which means, bake a batch now, enjoy as many as you like, and freeze the rest for later!

They’re also individual. Which means, no having to thaw-out a whole pan to just eat one or two cinnamon rolls!

Honestly, it might just be my new favorite way to bake cinnamon rolls.

seven cinnamon rolls with vanilla icing drizzled over the tops on marble surface with white flowers,

Every bite is soft, fluffy, gooey, and oh-so delicious. It’s everything a mini cinnamon roll should be! Especially when you drizzle them with lots of vanilla icing.

What Are Cinnamon Roll Muffins?

Well, our version of cinnamon roll muffins are essentially just individually baked cinnamon rolls in a muffin pan. So, a light and fluffy vanilla sweet dough, swirled with a cinnamon, butter, and brown sugar mixture, and baked until golden brown.

Then, we finished with a heavy drizzle of vanilla icing because what’s a cinnamon roll without some frosting?

Reasons You Will Love These Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Individual cinnamon rolls!!
These muffins freeze and reheat really well.
The perfect breakfast treat for any and every occasion.
Soft and fluffy sweet dough, swirled with gooey cinnamon sugar filling.
A real crowd pleaser!

three stacked cinnamon rolls on white cupcake paper with more cinnamon rolls behind and a spoon of icing beside.

Equipment Needed

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Dough:

All-Purpose Flour – No need for anything fancy! Just regular unbleached all-purpose gives these cinnamon rolls the perfect texture.
Granulated Sugar – Just enough to slightly sweeten your dough and give your yeast somethng to feed off of!
Instant Yeast – Make sure you have instant yeast! This is what makes the cinnamon rolls fluffy.
Salt – Just a dash of salt to enhance the flavors.
Unsalted Butter – For this recipe, we like to use unsalted butter, as it helps us control the amount of salt in the recipe.
Whole Milk – To ensure that you have a super soft, fluffy, melt in your mouth delicious dough, it’s best to use whole milk.
Large Egg – These cinnamon roll muffins are an enriched dough, which means the addition of eggs and milk! It’s best best to get your eggs out about an hour or so early and allow them to come to room temperature.

For The Filling:

Salted Butter – Our go-to for filling! It helps balance the sweetness, but also bring out the cinnamon flavor.
Brown Sugar – Brown sugar is that caramel-y, gooey, goodness that’s found in the center of every cinnamon roll. You can use light or dark brown sugar, but do NOT use granulated sugar!
Ground Cinnamon – Obviously! Though, you can really use any spice for the filling. Even a blend of spices like pumpkin pie spice!
Salt – A must-have addition for the filling.
All-Purpose Flour – To bind everything together and everything there. Which means, you have a gorgeous swirl every time!
Vanilla Extract – A splash of vanilla makes everything better, as well as help round out the flavors and make tis filling just standout from the rest.

brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt on marble surface.

For The Icing:

Powdered Sugar – To make your icing! It is the only sugar you can use to do this.
Whole Milk – You can also use half and half, if you prefer a bit thicker icing!
Vanilla Extract – Of course! What cinnamon roll is complete without a little bit of vanilla icing?

powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla on marble surface.

How To Make Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Step 1: Prepare the dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.

yeast, sugar, salt, and flour in mixer with dough hook.

Heat milk and butter over low heat until butter melts. Cool to between 120°F and 130°F.

Pour over flour mixture and turn mixer on low speed.

Add the egg. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes. Increase speed gradually to medium high. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Step 2: Prove

Place in a covered container that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Allow to rise at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 – 1 ½ hours.

dough in square plastic container on marble surface.

proofed dough in square plastic container.

Step 3: Make the filling

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, 1-2 minutes.

cinnamon, brown sugar, flour, salt, and butter in glass bowl.

Step 4: Roll out, fill, and cut

Roll the dough into an 10 x 18 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.

Spread filling over top of dough, going all the way to the edges.

cinnamon butter mixture spread across dough completely.

Starting with the long side of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Cut roll into 1 inch slices.

overhead shot of dough rolled jelly-roll style on marble surface.

unbaked sliced cinnamon rolls on marble surface.

Step 5: Prove and bake

Place in prepared muffin tins. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.

twelve unbaked cinnamon rolls in muffin pan.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown.

12 baked cinnamon rolls in muffin pan on marble surface.

Step 6: Make the icing

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together until smooth.

powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in glass bowl.

Drizzle over muffins.

stacked cinnamon rolls with spoon pouring icing onto the top cinnamon roll and the icing pouring off the top of the cinnamon roll and dripping down onto a white cupcake paper.

Cinnamon Roll Muffins FAQ’s

Why are these called muffins?
We thought it would be fun to make individual cinnamon rolls, as they can be more convenient! We decided to call this recipe “muffins” since they are baked in a muffin/cupcake pan.

Can more than 12 muffins be made?
Absolutely! There is a button to double and triple this recipe in the recipe card below.

How can I tell when the dough is properly kneaded?
A properly kneaded dough should be smooth and shiny. The bowl of the mixer should also be clean and the dough should lift out of the mixer in one piece, rather than ripping into two pieces.

Why didn’t my cinnamon roll dough rise?
Is your yeast in-date? If not, then you need to get new yeast and try again. If it is, did you check the temperature of the butter/milk mixture? When the mixture is over 120-130 degrees, it’ll kill your yeast! Be sure to have a thermometer on hand.

Can these rolls be made ahead of time?
Definitely! That’s one of our favorite things about this recipe. You can bake these rolls ahead of time and store in the freezer. It’s always best to make the icing fresh!

What’s the best way to cut them?
In our opinion, a very very sharp knife! But, instead of pushing down to cut the rolls, we very gently make slow slices through the dough, then wipe our knife to keep the swirls clean!

close up of cinnamon roll on white cupcake paper on a wire cooling rack with more cinnamon rolls behind.

How To Store

The best way to store these muffins is unglazed and in the freezer!

They will keep for up to 3 months. This way, you can easily reheat them in the microwave for almost-like fresh baked cinnamon roll! You can also set as many as you want out of the freezer and allow them to come to room temperature, or thaw in the fridge overnight.

If the muffins already have icing on top, no worries! You can still store them in the fridge or freezer. In the fridge, they’ll keep about 3-5 days. In the freezer, about a month or so.

Substitutions

This recipe can easily be made dairy-free by using your favorite non-dairy butter and plant-based milk.
To make this recipe vegan, use your favorite non-dairy butter, plant-based milk, and vegan egg substitute. We found that aquafaba works well in place of the egg!
A gluten-free 1:1 baking flour (also known as measure for measure) can be used to make these muffins gluten-free.
Almost any spice (or spice blend) can be used in the filling.

Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Coffee Cake Muffins, Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread, Chocolate Chip Muffins

four cinnamon rolls on wire cooling rack on marble surface with more cinnamon rolls around, with white flowers and a spoon beside.

Expert Tips

Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date.
If milk mixture does accidentally boil, don’t worry! You haven’t hurt it. It just takes longer to cool down this way. Just give it time to cool to 120-130 degrees before pouring it into the dry ingredients.
Don’t have a big enough lidded container to allow the dough to rise? You can put the dough in a glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap!
The butter for the filling needs to be room temperature.

When you make these Cinnamon Roll Muffins with Vanilla Icing, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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Cinnamon Roll Muffins with Vanilla Icing

About The Recipe

What Are Cinnamon Roll Muffins?

Reasons You Will Love These Cinnamon Roll Muffins

Equipment Needed