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Six cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting in a white baking dish.

Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls

  • Author: Jessie
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Inactive Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
  • Yield: Makes 6
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This easy small batch cinnamon roll recipe makes just 6 portions - perfect for a small group!


Ingredients

Scale

For the dough: 

  • 4 grams active dry yeast (1 teaspoon)
  • 50 grams warm milk (1/4 cup), see recipe notes
  • 40 grams honey (2 Tablespoons)
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (43 grams)
  • 180 grams flour (about 1 ½ cups when measured correctly by scooping and leveling)
  • 1 gram kosher salt (¼ teaspoon)

For the filling: 

  •  2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
  • 45 grams brown sugar (3 Tablespoons)
  • 45 grams sugar (3 Tablespoons)
  • 9 grams ground cinnamon (2 Tablespoons)

To bake:

  • 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, softened, for greasing the baking pan (you can use cooking spray if you prefer)
  • 2 Tablespoons heavy cream

For the frosting: 

  • 110 grams powdered sugar (about 1 cup)
  • 2 grams vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)
  • 20 grams cream cheese (about 2 Tablespoons)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons milk
  • Pinch of kosher salt  

Instructions

Make the dough and first rise

Make the filling

Shape the rolls and second rise

Bake

Make the icing 


Notes

Additions and Substitutions. Use more or less cinnamon in the filling to suit your tastes. Use additional brown sugar in place of the white sugar if you prefer. Use apple butter, nutella, or cranberry sauce in place of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Add a pinch of ground cloves, nutmeg, or ground ginger to the cinnamon sugar mixture if you like. Swap the cream cheese frosting for a bit of maple frosting or plain vanilla icing. Use granulated sugar or brown sugar in place of honey for the dough if you need to. Add chopped toasted walnuts or pecans to the filling for extra texture. 

How warm should my milk be? Heat milk in the microwave or a small saucepan until it is warm to the touch - between 95° and 110° Fahrenheit. Use a kitchen thermometer to take an exact temperature if you'd like. 

Please use a kitchen scale for best results. Measuring ingredients - especially flour - by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable. For best results, use a kitchen scale and follow the gram measurements in the recipe above to measure your ingredients by weight!

Be sure to read the full post above for plenty of notes, tips, and step-by-step photos!

Keywords: breakfast, brunch, christmas