You will hardly find a time when a slow weekend morning isn't improved upon by homemade baked goods! These small-batch cinnamon rolls for two are so quick to make. Plus, they don't contain any yeast! We're using baking soda, baking powder and a small amount of vinegar instead of yeast, and you will love it!
I've had a lot of no yeast / quick cinnamon rolls in my day. And, um, most of them are not much different than a biscuit with cinnamon sprinkled on top.
We can surely do better than that.
But these babes? They're baked at a much lower temperature than most other recipes. They also have a much higher concentration of butter than most.
But, good news---I figured out the secret to marriage: sharing a half-stick of butter with your partner as often as possible. We don't need no stinkin' marriage counseling. We got butter!
(Can you tell I'm writing this at the end of a long day that started with a cinnamon sugar high?)
You need a regular muffin pan for this recipe--this is my favorite pan. I love darker muffin pans because they encourage browning in muffins. Also, I love that it only has 6 cups, because we're into this small batch lifestyle, aren't we?
Ingredients For This Cinnamon Roll Recipe (No Yeast)
- Flour. All-purpose, regular flour that you fluff, scoop and level with a knife to measure.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar for the actual dough
- Baking Powder. We’re using baking powder instead of yeast for an instant rise in the dough, caused by the heat of the oven. Baking powder reacts to heat. Technically, baking powder is double-acting, which means it reacts to acidity in the dough AND reacts to heat in the oven. This will help make our rolls super tall and fluffy.
- Baking Soda. We need a small amount of baking soda for the perfect rise.
- Salt. Please don’t omit the salt; it flavors the dough so much, and balances the sweetness of the filling.
- Milk. I really recommend whole milk for baking. I almost always notice inferior results when using skim milk, because it lacks fat.
- Vinegar. It sounds strange to add vinegar, but this is extra acidity for the baking powder and baking soda to react with. Do not omit! You will not taste the vinegar.
- Butter. You can use unsalted or salted butter here. If you use salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
- Brown Sugar. You can use either dark or light brown sugar.
- Cinnamon. Ground cinnamon is the classic flavor of cinnamon rolls, but a little cardamom would be great, too!
- Cream Cheese. The best cinnamon rolls have a cream cheese frosting.
- Powdered Sugar. Also known as icing sugar, powdered sugar dissolves easily into frosting without any graininess.
How to Make Quick Cinnamon Rolls
- Preheat the oven to 375, and spray 4 cups in a muffin pan with cooking spray (or use extra melted butter).
- Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a small measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Heavily flour a work surface, and pat the dough out into a rectangle about 6" long. Use plenty of flour as you go.
- Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter on top of the dough.
- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Press this mixture lightly into the butter on top of the dough. Carefully, roll the dough up starting with the long side. Roll away from you. When you get to the end of the dough, pinch the entire seam shut.
- Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, drop into the greased muffin cups, and bake for 14-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. If it seems hard to spread, splash in some milk or heavy cream.
- Frost the cinnamon rolls when they come out of the oven, and serve.
Tips for making Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (No Yeast)
- Ensure your baking soda and baking powder are fresh and not expired.
- Go slowly and gently while you roll, and know that the muffin tin will help shape the rolls, so you don’t have to stress. Just roll them as tightly as possible.
- Use plenty of flour when rolling to prevent sticking.
- The best way to cut raw dough is with a very sharp serrated knife. It’s helpful to clean the knife between cuts.
Best Frosting for this Cinnamon Rolls Recipe (Without Yeast)
It’s just not a cinnamon roll unless it has fluffy cream cheese frosting. This recipe is for a small batch, since we’re only making 4 rolls. Try to find the small 3-ounce blocks of cream cheese, but if you can’t, save the remaining cream cheese for my Cheesecake Cups.
What others are saying about these No Yeast Cinnamon Rolls
-Tara G said 'I just made these and shared them with my roommate...they were such a joy to make and SO DELICIOUS!'
-Courtney said 'I made these this weekend...(and) they were so yummy! They tasted just like rolls I buy at the grocery store.'
-Beth said 'I've just made these, and I have to say they are amazing! The dough is so soft and easy to work with, and so quick to make too!'
-Jana said 'Just made these...they were delicious! First time making cinnamon rolls from scratch & they were so easy to make & so yummy!'
Ok, I've officially used throngs of women to convince you how much you need small batch cinnamon rolls for two in your life.
The hardest part of this recipe is remembering to take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to soften while you bake. But just so you know, if your fridge is fresh-out of cream cheese, you can use this glaze from my potato cinnamon rolls. Other than cream cheese, you should have everything to make these cinnamon rolls for two in your pantry. Dangerous, right?
I trust you, though. You can have this recipe, and do with it as you please. I'm not here to judge your small batch cinnamon roll consumption levels.
Get ready. Your weekends will never be the same.
Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast Recipe
Quickest and easiest cinnamon rolls for two. No yeast required!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, divided use
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted, divided use
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the glaze:
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- splash of cream or milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375, and spray 4 cups in a muffin pan with cooking spray (or use extra melted butter).
- Combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In a small measuring cup, combine the milk, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and stir until a soft dough forms.
- Heavily flour a work surface, and pat the dough out into a rectangle about 6" long. Use plenty of flour as you go.
- Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter on top of the dough.
- Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Press this mixture lightly into the butter on top of the dough. Carefully, roll the dough up starting with the long side. Roll away from you. When you get to the end of the dough, pinch the entire seam shut.
- Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces, drop into the greased muffin cups, and bake for 14-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. If it seems hard to spread, splash in some milk or heavy cream.
- Frost the cinnamon rolls when they come out of the oven, and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 408Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 407mgCarbohydrates: 47gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 7g
Stephanie says
My husband took our girls out for breakfast this morning. I wanted to make something extra nice for my nearly 16 year old son who loves cinnamon rolls - I usually make the ‘real’ thing (yeast) for the whole fam but who wants to do that when it’s just two? Saw these and gave it a try. I expected they’d not have a yeast texture, of course. BUT we were both pleasantly surprised and very pleased with the final product. A mix between biscuit and cake so didn’t feel like we were eating biscuits at all. I give them five stars, for sure. Definitely don’t overbake or they would probably be biscuity. Our middles were still SLIGHTY...BARELY gooey which made the perfect everywhere. Thanks for a great recipe!
Tammy says
We loved these and made then 2times already we did 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 cup all purpose flour and they turned out great
Cher says
Are you sure they’re 194g carbs for each roll? Seems like a lot.
Christina Lane says
No, that's for the whole batch.
kitchie says
I hope you don't mind my answering this but I saw a few comments about this. I always look at nutrition facts and thought I can't east that; that's a whole day's calories. that can't be right, but they look so yummy I decided to check. So here are the nutrition facts I had calculated thru my online calculator. Nutrition Facts Servings 4.0 Amount Per Serving calories 247; total Fat 12 g: Saturated Fat 7 g: Monounsaturated Fat 3 g :Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g :Trans Fat 0 g : Cholesterol 31 mg:
Sodium 168 mg: Potassium 16 mg: Carbohydrate 33 g: Dietary Fiber 1 g: Sugars 16 g: Protein 3 g .
Laura Harrington says
These turned out really well! So thankful for small batch recipes like this- I definitely don't need 12 of these hanging around starting at me! Also, don't be like me and skimp on the cream cheese softening time because you are impatient and want to eat one of these asap---unless you like lumpy frostinig.
Meghan Houpt says
Are these really 1500 calories each? Can't knowingly make these. More calories then should be eaten in a day.
Christina Lane says
No, that's for the whole batch.
M.J. Hanson says
Did I really read your nutrition facts correctly that there are 1500 calories in one cinnamon roll?
Christina Lane says
That's for the entire batch, sorry!
Rebecca Ho says
Do you think they would turn out okay with Almond Milk and Vegan butter to replace milk and butter (and no cream cheese for the frosting)?
Any tips for a Vegan version?
JoAnn says
I thoroughly enjoyed these scrumptious cinnamon rolls for Easter breakfast! So tender and moist. Delicious.
Heidi says
These were quick and easy and turned out great! The texture wasn’t like a normal cinnamon roll that would takes, what feels like days, to make but they were still delicious!!!
Kelsey says
So yummy! These are my go to Cinnamon Roll recipe on the weekends.