BLOG: Mini Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls

The new school year is rapidly approaching and with it the fast-paced routine of school mornings. The need for quick and easy breakfast returns with a vengeance. There isn’t time to whip up stacks of pancakes, plates of runny eggs and sizzling bacon during the week. During the school year, breakfast needs to be fast, easy and delicious.  

Those requirements are no longer challenging to fill. If you have twenty minutes on the weekend, you can whip up an entire week’s worth of breakfast. Truly. Delicious, flavorful breakfasts that please even the toughest of critics: the school-aged child. 

First up is a new favorite in our house: the mini cinnamon roll. This is a quintessential breakfast food that typically takes a least an hour to prepare. There is yeast to proof, dough to rise, rolls to bake.  Take that formula, cut out the yeasted dough and then shrink it. You’ll be left with popper-sized cinnamon rolls, perfect for grabbing and going. Toss them in a sandwich bag for the car. Send them to work and watch your colleagues fight over them. Hide them in the cupboard for yourself. 

You can choose to make the vanilla drizzle which really adds a little something special. Beware, vanilla drizzle is definitely a messy topping.  

For this and other recipes, visit Feed Me, Seymour. 

Mini Vanilla Cinnamon Rolls 

1 package crescent dough

3 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 Tbsp. vanilla

For glaze: 

4 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1 Tbsp. half and half or heavy cream

1/2 Tbsp. vanilla 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini-muffin tin with non-stick spray. 

On a lightly-floured surface, lay out your crescent dough and push together all of the seems so you have one large piece of dough. Roll it out to be approximately 10 inches in width and 8 inches in length. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just big.  

Combine the melted butter and vanilla. Brush the mixture on to your flattened dough with a pastry brush (or a brand-new, clean paint brush).  

Combine the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle it on top of the crescent dough, making sure to cover the entire thing. This is not a time to be conservative with your sugar. 

Roll the dough from the edges into a spiral. Wrap the spiral like a piece of hard candy and put the roll in the fridge for approximately 20 minutes. 

Take your dough and slice it into 1 inch thick slices. Place the slices into the mini-muffin cups. 

Brush the spirals with the leftover butter mixture.  

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly golden. 

To make the glaze: Combine powdered sugar, half and half and vanilla in a small dish. Use a fork to whisk it together, ensuring there are no lumps. If your glaze seems a bit thick, add more half and half, a quarter teaspoon at a time, until it reaches your desired thickness.