This small batch recipe for a single cinnamon roll uses minimal ingredients to make one epically tasty treat. If you're looking for an ooey gooey, warm and sugary, single cinnamon roll with a pillowy soft center, you're in the right place.
My small-batch cinnamon roll is a great addition to your breakfast rotation. It's perfect for satisfying those cinnamon roll cravings when you're running low on certain ingredients. I can't wait for you to give it a try!
I originally developed this mini cinnamon roll recipe early in the pandemic when grocery shortages made it hard to find a lot of crucial baking ingredients. But just because my recipe makes one single cinnamon roll doesn't necessarily mean it's a cinnamon roll for one (though it absolutely can be!). I've shared one of these mini cinnamon rolls with as many as four people!
To make this small-batch cinnamon roll, I used a simple dough that can be easily kneaded by hand. It has cinnamon in the dough as well as in the filling to really carry that cinnamon flavor throughout. It bakes up with a buttery-crisp outer crust and a delightfully soft pull-apart gooey cinnamon bun center.
While the small-batch cream cheese frosting requires a bit of patience and elbow grease, it is so worth it, imo. It melts beautifully onto the top of the cinnamon roll.
With the sneaky double cinnamon sugar swirl hidden inside, this small-batch cinnamon roll is a delight on every level. Don't get me wrong, I still love a big 'ol pan of sticky cinnamon buns, but more often than not, this cinnamon roll for one is the recipe I reach for when I'm in the mood!
I use my own cinnamon sugar blend for the cinnamon sugar filling because I love the molasses flavor the brown sugar brings to the party. If you want to use a store-bought cinnamon sugar blend, you can definitely use that instead.
During the first rise, the dough won't double in size, but it will rise slightly and should look smoother in texture.
My cinnamon sugar filling uses melted butter to hydrate the spices, melt the sugars, and make it easier to spread.
How I Shape A Double-Coiled Cinnamon Bun
Unlike your standard cinnamon roll or sticky bun, which has just one coil that gets sliced into rounds, my cinnamon roll for one is coiled twice. A coil inside a coil. Coilception.
When the dough is ready to shape, I roll it out into a rectangle about an eighth of an inch thick. I don't worry if the rectangle isn't perfect, it'll all get coiled up anyway.
Then I use a small offset spatula to spread it with about two-thirds of the cinnamon sugar filling mixture, leaving about an inch of dough at the top clear so that the roll can seal itself shut at the top.
If this were a regular cinnamon roll recipe, I'd stop here and slice the rolled rope of dough into rounds and bake them face-up. But that's not what I do here. Instead, I flatten the log out and spread it with the rest of the cinnamon sugar filling. Then, I roll it up again to make a large coil. That spiraled coil is a cinnamon roll filled with even more spiraled layers of buttery dough and cinnamon sugar filling. Epic.
I finish by turning the coil on its side and tucking the tail end underneath so it doesn't come undone. Then, I place the coiled mini cinnamon roll in a baking dish and cover the pan to let it rest again. This second rise gives the dough time to get used to its new shape and for the yeast to get to work again.
🥣 Making the Frosting
While the cinnamon roll is baking, I like to make the frosting. This is a super small batch frosting, which is actually a bit trickier to make than a larger batch of frosting.
I usually use a hand mixer for this step, and even though it's a small batch icing, I use a large mixing bowl, so I have plenty of room to work when the sugar starts flying.
The residual heat from the cinnamon roll will help melt the butter and cream cheese giving you a silky smooth, spreadable frosting. This is also why you don't want to add too much heavy cream to the frosting. A thicker frosting will be easier to spread thanks to the warmth from the cinnamon roll. A thinner frosting with too much heavy cream will melt and slide right off the top!
👩🏻🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes
- The ingredient temperatures for this recipe are SUPER IMPORTANT. The number one thing you can to to set your single cinnamon roll up for success is make sure you get the ingredients at the right temp before you start mixing.
- This dough moves slowly. Be patient with it. The rise times I've given you in the recipe are the absolute shortest you can use if your kitchen is warm and the ingredients are all at the right temperatures. If the dough needs to rise for an extra hour after kneading or after shaping, that's okay.
- Because this single cinnamon roll is so thick in the center with so many layers of dough, the outside layer bakes much faster than the inside layers. The inside layers will remain super pillowy and soft, but the outside layer of the cinnamon roll does end up with a bit of a harder crust than you might expect from most cinnamon buns.
💭 Have More Baking Questions?
I've rounded up answers to common baking questions and how-to guides, including:
- Ingredient swaps and FAQs
- Why my recipes are written in grams and not cups
- How to quickly bring eggs and butter to room temperature
- Ingredients I use (salt, flour, yeast, etc.)
- Step-by-step guides for bread and baking techniques
See my baking techniques & troubleshooting guide and ingredient swaps and FAQs for more!
Want more small-batch recipes?
My Small Batch Breads cookbook is now available for pre-order!
Featuring fifty easy-to-follow bread recipes made using 1 cup of flour.
📖 Recipe
Soft and Gooey Single Serve Cinnamon Roll
Recipe Notes
- Lukewarm milk and melted cooled butter: Ideally a temp of 95°-100°F. It should be lukewarm or warm, not hot.
- If your kitchen is 70°F or cooler, you may find you have trouble getting the dough to rise. Put it in your off oven with the oven light on to give it a warm spot to rise. If after an hour it still hasn't grown by 50-75% or more, let it sit for another hour with the oven light on.
- For an extra gooey cinnamon roll, pour 2-3 teaspoons of heavy cream over the top right before it goes in the oven!
- The first and/or second rise can also be done overnight in the fridge (8-12 hours) if that fits your schedule better. You can bake the cinnamon roll right out of the fridge, no need to let it come to room temperature first.
- Get creative with the filling! You can dress up the cinnamon sugar filling however you want. Add pinches of cayenne, ginger, cardamom, orange zest, finely chopped nuts... it's really up to you! Just remember, this is a small batch recipe so a little goes a long way when you're adding new flavors.
- If you don't have a hand mixer for the cream cheese frosting you can microwave the cream cheese until soft and the until just barely melted and whisk them together vigorously by hand. Then proceed with the recipe as written!
Ingredients
the dough
- 160 grams all-purpose flour (approx 1 cup)
- 36 grams whole milk (2½ tablespoons, around 95°-100°F)
- 28 grams unsalted butter (2 tablespoons)
- 20 grams granulated sugar (a scant 2 tablespoons)
- 3 grams instant yeast (1 teaspoon)
- 3 grams diamond crystal kosher salt (1 teaspoon / use half as much if using a different brand of salt)
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
cinnamon sugar filling
- 42 grams brown sugar (3½ tablespoons)
- 24 grams granulated sugar (2½ tablespoons)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 56 grams melted butter (4 tablespoons)
small batch cream cheese frosting
- 14 grams brick-style cream cheese (1 tablespoon)
- 14 grams softened unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- 60 grams powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon heavy cream (you may need an additional 1 teaspoon)
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
the dough
- Whisk lukewarm melted butter, room temperature egg, lukewarm milk, and vanilla bean paste together in a large liquid measuring cup. Set aside.
- Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula until a shaggy dough forms. The liquid will be absorbed but the dough will still be quite dry and floury.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop and knead by hand for 3-5 minutes until the dough smooths out. There shouldn't be any visible dry bits of flour, and it may feel slightly sticky to the touch. Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm spot (72°-75°F) for about an hour. The dough will not double in size, but will grow slightly and smooth out in texture. If your kitchen runs cool, you may want to let it rise for another 30-60 minutes.
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- While the dough rises, mix all the ingredients for the cinnamon sugar filling in a bowl until smooth. Cover and set aside at room temperature. The melted butter will start to firm up as the mixture cools, for a soft, spreadable consistency.
Assembly
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and roll into a large rectangle about ⅛" thick. Use a bench scraper to square off the dough as you roll to keep a rectangular shape. It doesn't have to be perfect. Dust the counter lightly with flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking.
- Arrange the dough rectangle so one of the long edges is facing you. Brush off any excess flour, then spread about ⅔ of the cinnamon sugar filling onto the surface of the dough. Leave about an inch along the top edge clear of filling.
- Roll the dough into a log starting with one of the bottom corners closest to you. For a tighter roll with more layers, gently lift and stretch the dough slightly toward your body before each forward roll.
- Gently flatten the log against the counter using your hands or a rolling pin. Be gentle but firm — you don't want to tear the layers of dough and filling inside it. You just want to flatten it into a wide strip.
- Flip the dough over so the seam side is facing up. Spread the remaining cinnamon sugar filling along the top of the dough.
- Starting from one end of the dough, roll the the strip up into a coil and tuck the open end underneath it. Place inside a well-greased 5" oven-safe baking dish. Cover and set aside to rise for 1 hour in a warm spot (or 8-12 hours in the fridge) until just slightly puffy.
- During the last 30 minutes of rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake 35-40 minutes, until the internal temp at the center registers 190°F on an instant read thermometer. The top will be deeply browned and feel hard to the touch. If the top seems to be browning too quickly, after 15 minutes, tent the cinnamon roll with aluminum foil.
- Remove from oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, then spread generously with frosting.
Small Batch Cinnamon Roll Frosting
- Cream softened butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer on low-to-medium speed. Be patient; with such small quantities, this can take 2-3 minutes. You want the two to be fully combined, so you aren't seeing individual streaks of yellow butter and white cream cheese.
- Add the powdered sugar in two batches, mixing on low-medium speed after each addition for at least 2 minutes. The mixture will look quite crumbly.
- Add the vanilla bean paste and mix on medium speed until a very thick paste forms. Again, be patient. It will happen, but it can take a few minutes.
- Add the heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time and mix well until you have a smooth, thick consistency. Scrape down the bowl after each addition and mix again. If needed, you can continue adding additional heavy cream ½ teaspoon at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
- Spread frosting on the cinnamon bun while it's still warm. The heat will help loosen up the frosting so it spreads evenly.
Laura says
I was honored to be a tester for this epic cinnamon roll, and my husband didn't complain, either. I'm a cinnamon roll fiend, and have no issue downing a giant one on my own, but I did end up sharing. Always a fan of making one giant something!
Lisa says
I live in the US would it be possible to show other measurements I’m a beginner cook. Thank you.
Rebecca says
I also live in the US. I do not provide other measurements as measuring by cups is imprecise and means you would have a high likelihood of the recipe not working. A kitchen scale is about $10. If I have one piece of advice for beginner cooks it is to invest in a kitchen scale. You will be a much better cook and baker if you use one!
Janet says
I agree. I use my scale for portion control daily! I use it several times weekly on our boat during meal prep and freezing portions of meat and fish.
Nicole says
Best $$ spent ! Absolute game changer a kitchen scale is!
Susan Hutchins says
I've made this several times and it is absolutely delicious and easy to make.
Laura says
I was honored to be a tester for this epic cinnamon roll, and my husband didn't complain, either. I'm a cinnamon roll fiend, and have no issue downing a giant one on my own, but I did end up sharing. Always a fan of making one giant something!
Becky says
Can you make this ahead?
Rebecca says
How far ahead? Once something is baked it immediately begins the process of going stale. I would say you can get away with baking it one day ahead, but I would wait to ice it until right before you want to eat it.
Kerry says
The title does not lie; this cinnamon roll is seriously epic! The recipe was extremely easy to follow, and I appreciated all the additional information and pictures. If you love cinnamon rolls, I highly recommend making it. I cannot wait to make this again!
Elizabeth says
Finally tried this out and was not disappointed!! I will definitely make again with a minor change of no nutmeg. I like nutmeg, but apparently not in my cinnamon roll at this amount. I also opted out of allspice. As for make ahead I started it later in the day than I planned so I decided to toss in the fridge to bake in the morning. I let it rise to be very puffy once rolled and covered and baked about 17 hours later. I also love gooey and risk not fully cooked so the middle was not 190 but I haven't died yet. Also, if it does kill me.....might be worth it 🙂
V says
What if I wanted to use fresh yeast? I've got a cube in the fridge and I don't usually like the taste of instant-yeast pastry, so can I just replace the dried yeast with fresh?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Yep! You’ll need 3x the amount of fresh yeast as the recipe calls for, and you should whisk it into the warm milk, let it sit for 5 minutes, then add the other liquids and add the dry ingredients on top. Then mix it all together and follow the recipe as written! Let me know how it turns out!
Debbie says
I’m printing this out to try, it looks so good! I only have 2% milk on hand, do you think it would still work?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
It will work but the dough might be wetter than the recipe says — there's less fat in 2% milk which makes it more watery! You may just need to dust in more flour during the mixing and kneading stages.
Amy Rae says
This cinnamon roll is perfect for a little pick me up! I was really bummed to spend Christmas 2021 alone after catching covid. I tried to make the most of it and that included making this cinnamon roll. I lucked out to have everything necessary to make her cinnamon roll itself. I had to get a little creative with the frosting but it was still delicious! I snacked on it all day for a perfect for holiday treat!
LJ says
Absolutely 5 stars! I've even rolled it incorrectly once and it was still delish, if a little less gooey. I am notorious for not reading recipes thoroughly before making them, so the first time I was afraid I'd overcooked it due to the browning on top. NOPE was absolute perfection. Made it 3x since - the ultimate treat!
Sandra W says
This is my second recipe of yours that I have made. I love it. You make it so easy with you step-by-step instructions. The first was the mini baguette and now this one is the cinnamon roll.
I have always wanted to make any type of bread product by hand and you have given me the tools I need to be successful.
I see where I made my mistake with the first recipe, I was afraid to actually knead the dough as you instructed. But this time it was so much better. And with practice I know my skills will improve.
Thank you so much for your recipes and tutorials.
Christine says
It’s so so great! Cinnamon rolls are my family’s Christmas morning tradition. But a recipe that makes 24 rolls is simply to much for me when I can’t be home (too much work and way too many rolls.). The epic single cinnamon roll is perfect and gives me my Christmas tradition back. So thank you. From the bottom of my heart.
david says
As half of a pair of empty nesters, I love these small batch recipes! This was easy to follow and came out perfectly. Next up - again but some variations on the filling. Raisins, pecans, maybe some mole negro paste into the mix?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Oh yum, I love those filling ideas! This is definitely one you can get creative with. Enjoy!!
Lindsay says
This was so good! I love how the interior of the roll was laminate looking like a croissant. Question-could you add half and half or heavy cream to your baking dish and bake like that? I don’t want to ruin the recipe so figured I’d ask before trying. I do it with store bought rolls but wasn’t sure about this one. Thanks for creating and sharing!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I'm so glad you liked it! I'm sure you could pour a little heavy cream over the top — I would use just a tablespoon or two though, since you don't want it to get pushed out or overflow the pan!
Krithiha says
This looks so beautiful. We have a child with an egg allergy. Any thoughts on egg substitutions. Thank you
Rebecca Eisenberg says
You could try replacing the amount of egg with 18g oil and 40g additional milk or water. I haven’t tested this, so you may find you need to add more flour or milk to get the dough consistency right but it should still bake okay! If you give it a try let me know how it goes.
Nicole Salemme says
Absolute deliciousness!! If I wanted to prepare the night before, how could I do that?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Once you have it rolled and coiled, put it in the fridge to rise overnight. Then take it out of the fridge in the morning and let it rise for 1-2 hours at room temp before baking.
Caroline says
Quick question about. In the detailed step by step you say you can take it right out of the fridge and bake it without it coming to room temp. Here you say let it sit for 1-2 hours out of the fridge. Which one is accurate? I don’t want to mess it up the first go around but planned on prepping ahead. Thank you for all your recipes!
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Honestly, it will be fine either way — I usually like to let it sit at room temp for a bit before I bake it just so that the butter has time to warm up a little, but if you bake it right out of the fridge it'll be fine too, just might not rise as much during baking.
Caroline says
Thank you! I erred in the side of caution and let it come to room temperature. 🙂 it was fabulous. I’ve already made it again. Thank you for the very detailed recipe! Love your recipes.
Nicole Salemme says
Why did you choose to do 1 big bun instead of a few minis?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Because I wanted to!
Melissa says
I don't have a 5x5 baking dish but I do have some round pyrex bowls that are about the right size. Can I use those?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I’m not sure! I’ve listed some other options in the blog post. You’ll have to make sure yours are oven safe.
Fleur says
@Melissa did you end up using a round pyrex bowl to bake this? I have the same issue as you!
Flaoua says
Thanks for this recipe! I want to make this for a friend and bring it to them, but obviously that means it will get to them cold.
Since your recipe says to serve warm, should I bring them the roll and the icing in separate containers and tell them to warm the roll before putting the icing on? Or will it still be good cold if I ice it when fresh out of the oven ? (there won't be a long period of time between me making it and bringing it to them, maybe 2 hours max)
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I would ice them when they’re still fresh out of the oven and then reheat when you get to your destination! If you can’t serve it warm it’s not the end of the world but you definitely want to ice it warm so the icing melts and thins out to cover all the rolls. It’ll set up as the rolls cool!
Flaoua says
Thank you so much for replying so quickly! I was afraid reheating the roll while iced would melt the icing too much, but looks like not! 🙂
Any recommendation for the best way to reheat?
karen marie says
"You need 7 tablespoons of butter total."
Yeah, I do.
You know me so well. Hahahaha.
Khen says
Hi chef..the recipe looks awesome and also the reviews. What if I substitute APF with bread flour ? Will the texture be different , I mean good or APF is good enough for this recipe.( I always store bread flour at home as I love baking breads)
Rebecca Eisenberg says
You can def sub bread flour here, you just might find you need to add a little more milk during the mixing phase!
Bessie Winters says
Love, love this! So good and tasty as is but I may try Monkfruit for the cinnamon filling. I did warm it up slightly the next day and it was awesome. Definitely make again!!
Sinclair says
Love, love, love this mini-batch recipe. Many years ago in our restaurants, we would make sheet pan batches. Now, only two of us to eat them, so this is great.
Just made our favorite variation, orange Grand Marnier Pecan rolls.
Dough recipe is perfect. If company is coming, just increase the batch to that many people.
Bianca Keeler says
This is delicious! The recipe is well written and easy to follow. A couple of suggestions: state that the butter for the roll is melted in the ingredients list, put the ingredients in order they are used rather than by weight, and mention the half-and-half pour-over in the main recipe (I almost didn't see it in the notes).
This roll is also HUGE! My husband and I ended up each eating 1/4 of the roll at a time. I can't see eating more than half in a sitting. On the other hand, I would have liked a bit more filling - I may go 1.5x on that next time.
For some reason, despite very precise measuring (with a great scale), I ended up with VERY sticky dough that required quite a bit more flour to be able to be kneaded. I also had to bake for about 45 min to get up to temperature in the interior (190 deg), but it ended up slightly dry. Next time I'll just trust the 35-40 min.
Lisa says
The brioche cinnamon bun is decadent and a perfect size for two…
But you will eat it on your own like I have and enjoy every delicious bite
David says
Love this! Enjoying it on a cold Christmas morning.
Quick note - if like me you let it sit in the fridge overnight, it adds 10-15 minutes to the bake time to reach 190° internally. Check before removing from the oven.
Brie says
This was DELISH! Absolutely perfect cinnamon roll and it was the perfect amount for my husband and I to share with a little bit leftover. The perfect family tradition! It was so nice to not have to cut the cinnamon rolls out and just double rolling. Easier when baking and made for every bite having a great amount of filling!
I don’t typically have instant yeast on hand but didn’t realize the recipe called for that until Christmas morning, so I used active dry and just activated in the milk before mixing the rest of the wet ingredients together.
Jennifer W says
This is the ultimate comfort food! Delicious! Easy to make, thanks to your instructions being spot on.
Will definitely make again!
Kathy Richter says
I can't wait to make this cinnamon roll. I checked out some other videos and have a question about adding mashed potatoes to the dough like the Amish do. I grew up near Shipshewana, Indiana and we were lucky enough to share some of their dessert breads made with mashed potatoes. The Kolaches were the best. Have you experimented with adding mash potatoes to the dough to make the rolls fluffier and springy? Let me know if you have tried adding the mashed potatoes to the dough and how I could amend the recipe for the "Small Batch Cinnamon Roll". I'll try this recipe first and then try one with the mashed potatoes to see what they are like.
Thank you again for your great bread recipes. Can't wait to purchase you recipe book. Kathy Richter
Rebecca Eisenberg says
I've never tried this dough with mashed potato but I've heard of using mashed potatoes to make soft bread. You can definitely experiment with it! Because mashed potatoes contain starch and water, I would start by just adding a bit to the dough without any other modifications and see what happens! Please report back how your experiments go, I'm so curious.
Kathy R says
That was my take as well. The starch is in the water, so I might just add a small amount of the starchy water to the recommended
amount of total water. I only add the potato water to my Kolaches recipe. I don't add any mashed potatoes. It will be a good experiment.
Rebecca Eisenberg says
That makes perfect sense! Worth trying for sure!
Adele says
The Mise en Place section says to "Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, *cinnamon,* and yeast together in a medium sized mixing bowl," but no measurement for cinnamon is listed in the "dough" portion of the recipe, only for the cinnamon filling. If cinnamon should be added to the dough as well as the filling, what measurement should be used?
Rebecca Eisenberg says
Ah good catch! An earlier version of this recipe had about 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in the dough. You can make it with or without the cinnamon, but if you want to add it that's how much. If you really like cinnamon, you could do as much as 1/2 teaspoon. Happy baking!