These cinnamon roll muffins are the best classic soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls with a gooey cinnamon sugar filling but made into muffins.
These cinnamon roll muffins are a fun twist on our classic cinnamon roll recipe. These muffins are easy to make and ready in about 30 minutes. They are made with a flavorful dough filled with a classic brown sugar and cinnamon filling and baked in a muffin tin for an easy on-the-go treat. We love this recipe because it is easy to make and perfect for a holiday or birthday brunch.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy Breakfast Recipe
- Kid-Friendly Treat
- Make-Ahead Breakfast
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Butter - Butter keeps the dough soft and is also mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon to create the classic cinnamon sugar filling for the rolls.
- Egg - An egg helps make the dough softer.
- Milk - We recommend using whole or 2% milk in this recipe for a softer dough.
- Sugar - This recipe calls for both cane sugar and brown sugar.
- Flour - Unbleached all-purpose or unbleached bread flour are great options for this recipe.
- Baking Soda - Baking soda helps the muffins to rise while baking.
- Salt - Salt helps the dough to come together.
- Cinnamon - Cinnamon gives the recipe its classic flavor.
- Butter - Butter is mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon to create the classic cinnamon sugar filling for the rolls.
- Glaze Topping - You can top these muffins in a homemade glaze or go without. They are delicious either way!
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Mixing Bowl - A large mixing bowl is necessary to mix the dough together.
- Rolling Pin - A rolling pin helps to roll the dough out.
- Floss - I know it sounds weird, but floss makes it super easy to cut the dough into individual rolls.
- Muffin Liners - We love using these muffin liners for this recipe.
- Muffin Pan - You need a muffin pan to bake the muffins in.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Step 1. Make the dough then roll it out, spread the filling and roll up into a log to cut into individual rolls.
Step 2. Place each cinnamon roll in a muffin tin.
Step 3. Bake the cinnamon roll muffins.
Recipe Serving Suggestions
This recipe makes 12 cinnamon roll muffins. We like to serve them warm and you can add a homemade glaze for even more delicious flavor. To make a homemade glaze, whisk 1 cup powdered sugar together with 2-3 Tablespoons milk. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins.
If you like this recipe, you will love our other dessert recipes.
- The Best French Silk Chocolate Pie
- Classic Scotcharoos without Corn Syrup
- Pumpkin Roll with Cream Cheese Frosting Filling
- Classic No Bake Cookies
- The Best Key Lime Pie Bars
- Peanut Butter Cake with Creamy Peanut Butter Frosting
Expert Tips & Variations
- Measure the ingredients and prepare the muffin tin. This recipe moves pretty quickly, so I like to measure the ingredients out, preheat the oven and grease the pan with butter before starting to make the recipe.
- Roll the dough up tightly. When rolling the dough with filling into a log roll, roll it up as tightly as you can so each roll fits into the muffin tin.
- Use floss to cut individual rolls. Floss works perfectly to cut the long roll into individual rolls.
- Allow the muffins to cool slightly before removing the muffin liners. If you use muffin liners, removing the liners before the muffins completely cool helps the liners to come off of the muffins easier.
How to Store Cinnamon Roll Muffins
- Countertop - in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer - in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQ
Freeze the muffins by allowing them to cool after baking and placing in a freezer-safe container to freeze.
If you want to top these cinnamon rolls with a glaze instead of cream cheese frosting, combine 1 cup powdered sugar and 2-3 Tablespoons milk to create a glaze.
You can either grease the muffin pan with butter or use muffin liners. I prefer to grease the pan with butter. If you do use liners, be sure to remove them from the baked muffins while the muffins are still warm, so they are easy to remove.
More Dessert Recipes
Cinnamon Roll Muffins
These cinnamon roll muffins are the best classic soft, fluffy cinnamon rolls with a gooey cinnamon sugar filling but made into muffins.
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
- ⅓ cup cane sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 3 + ¼ cups unbleached flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Filling
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Glaze Topping
- 1 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin pan with butter.
- Make the filling by adding the melted butter to a small bowl with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Mix to combine then set aside.
- Make the dough by adding the melted butter, cane sugar, and an egg to a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the milk into the bowl and whisk together.
- Add 2 cups flour, baking soda and salt to the bowl and use a dough hook to mix everything together.
- Slowly add the remaining cup of flour to the mixture until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is able to form into a ball.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup flour on a clean worksurface and place the dough on the flour. Use your hands to knead the flour into the dough.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large rectangle that is ½ inch thick.
- Spread the filling over the dough.
- Roll the dough up lengthwise into a log.
- Cut the rolled dough into 1 inch sections using a knife, bench scraper or floss.
- Place each of the cinnamon rolls into the muffin pan.
- Transfer the muffin pan to the oven and bake for 15-17 minutes or until the muffins have rise and are slightly golden on top. You do not want to overbaked the muffins.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and allow the muffins to cool. Once slightly cooled, remove the muffins from the pan and top with glaze.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 230Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 364mgCarbohydrates: 37gFiber: 0gSugar: 30gProtein: 2g
Mina
Thank you for this tempting recipe. I have a question about using the baking soda here. As the dough mixture is not very acidic (there is no yogurt, buttermilk or similar ingredients), is it possible to use the baking powder instead?
Ally Tjoelker
I have not tried this recipe with baking powder, but tested it many times with baking soda before sharing the recipe!