Potato cinnamon rolls for two.
Rebecca Rather is my baking idol. She runs a bakery in the Hill Country of Texas named 'Rather Sweet.' Everything Rebecca makes is the best version of itself, entirely from scratch, and completely mouth-watering. Just for example, instead of the classic Tres Leches cake, she makes Muchas Leches Cake.
I've been making the pages of her cookbook, Rather Sweet, sticky for years.
Her recipe for 'Jailhouse Potato Cinnamon Rolls' caught my eye in the breakfast chapter not only because they are perfect pinwheels of deliciousness, but also because the recipe is based on a version of leftover mashed potato rolls served in a nearby prison.
Only Rebecca could take such a recipe and spin it into a crave-worthy beauty. It's the first recipe in the book, so you know she'd hang her hat on it.
The full-size recipe always turns out great; although, two people can (and should) only eat so many cinnamon rolls. I scaled down Rebecca's recipe to make just two cinnamon rolls. When baked in a bread loaf pan, the serving size is just right.
Don't be afraid of baking with yeast, I'm going to walk you through this one. This recipe even works in the dead of the winter when your kitchen is a bit chilly.
The best part is: you don't even have to have leftover mashed potatoes. We're going to boil a potato from scratch, and use the leftover starchy cooking water in the final dough.
So carb-alicious:
We're only dealing with a handful of dough to make these cinnamon rolls (see photo below).
If you find dough to be intimidating in general, please, start with this small-batch recipe. You'll work your way up to yeast superstar in no time.
While we have 2 rise times in this recipe, you can use a preheated oven that is turned off for a quick rise. You'll have these rolls out of the oven in about 2 hours. Not bad, right? If that's too much to ask for in the morning, I've had great luck using Rebecca's instructions to store the dough in the fridge overnight after the first rise.
I'm convinced this recipe is flawless.
Potato cinnamon rolls step-by-step:
If your'e looking for a no-yeast recipe for small batch cinnamon rolls, I have you covered. But I think you should try this yeast version at least once.
Yield: 2 large cinnamon rolls *Most russet potatoes weigh more than 5 ounces, so either grab a tiny organic one, or pull out 5 ounces worth of raw potatoes while making mashed potatoes the night before. Store the raw potato pieces in cold water overnight, and they'll be fine in the morning. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.Potato Cinnamon Rolls for two
Ingredients
For the filling:
Instructions
Notes
*This recipe was updated to eliminate confusion about how much water to add. The amount of water leftover after boiling the potato varies, so add how ever much needed to equal ¾ cup TOTAL. Also, this dough is very sticky and slightly looser than the average cinnamon roll recipe. This is due to the potatoes. Add flour during kneading and rolling to make it not sticky. For me, it always varies between 1-4 tablespoons. If your dough is thin, do not worry! Keep going, and you'll see that after 2 rises, you'll have very tender rolls. I have added an extra ½ cup of flour to the recipe to help address this issue.Recommended Products
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 874Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 207mgCarbohydrates: 152gFiber: 6gSugar: 63gProtein: 13g
Joanne says
I've used potato in chocolate cake, so at this point, anything goes for me! I'm sure it makes the texture of these so soft and fluffy!
Crystal Thieringer says
Hi Christina, I've been lurking on your site for a couple of years now and thought I should finally leave a comment. My husband is going to love this recipe, and I am going to love the fact there is one bun each. I have a weakness for a god cinnamon bun--which of course is a problem when there is an entire batch in the house for two people.
I've tried scaling down recipes myself but I have to admit, when it comes right down to it, I usually come looking here to see what I can find. Your chocolate chip cookie recipe is one of the best and I trust your math much more than I trust mine. Thank you for all the work you put into this. I appreciate it!
Christina Lane says
Crystal, thank you so much for your kind comment! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy to know that my efforts are appreciated :)
tanya says
I've used potatoes in cinnamon rolls and every time, my kids go nuts, they can't believe it! I love this scaled down recipe! Most recipes just make too many for even our family of 5! They look beautiful!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
I have ALWAYS wanted to make rolls with potatoes. The texture always looks just impeccably amazing! I would love one of these babies right now - pinned!
Lauren at Keep It Sweet says
I've been curious about potato cinnamon rolls for a while! Love this mini version... great way to experiment with something new:-)
Inspiralized says
This makes me so happy, because I LOVE cinnamon rolls! Great idea and great recipe!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
Those look scrumptious! I love that you scaled this down for two, so now I can somewhat control myself and not eat an entire pan of cinnamon rolls! :)
Eileen says
What timing! I was just thinking how much I'd like to make homemade cinnamon rolls, but I don't need a whole pan of them sitting around tempting me. This is the perfect solution :)
Thanks for sharing!
Julie says
I've been waiting for these! {Happy dance}. Yum, yum, yum! This is really the only way we can keep from eating a boatload of cinnamon rolls. And potato always makes yeast bread yummy. Looking forward to trying this recipe. Hope your week goes well.
Tieghan says
I love how big these these are! They look delicious and I love using potatoes in sweet rolls like this!