These Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls have all the flavor of traditional rolls, without the yeast - or the wait. This shortcut recipe takes just 20 minutes of hands on time!
My family loves cinnamon rolls. But, as much as we love them, we don't always love the wait. Sometimes we randomly crave a warm, gooey cinnamon roll on a Tuesday. These No Yeast Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls are for those unexpected cravings.
Instead of making a yeast based dough that has a long rising time, like my Overnight CInnamon Rolls, these rolls are made with a large batch of my regular buttermilk biscuit dough. The dough is then rolled out, wrapped around a delicious cinnamon filling, and topped with a cream cheese glaze! Best of all, they can be assembled, baked, and in your mouth in an hour!
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Ingredients
There are no surprise, fancy or rare ingredients needed here. I'll bet you have everything you need in your pantry and fridge right now, so you should probably go gather them immediately!
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
Simple swaps can be made and you can still enjoy delicious CInnamon Rolls!
- Butter - If you don't use butter in your diet, you can use margarine or vegan butter to make these rolls.
- Cream cheese - If you don't have block-style cream cheese, you can substitute with whipped cream cheese. I have tried both and they both work great. I haven't personally tried vegan cream cheese, but I'm told it is a delicious substitute.
The vegan butter and cream cheese will also make these into vegan rolls. Bonus!
Variations
Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls are just the beginning! Try these great variations.
- Pecan - I grew up in the South and chopped pecans added to the filling make me feel right at home!
- Blueberry - In my Blueberry-Orange Cinnamon Rolls, I add a thin layer of blueberry preserves and orange zest before sprinkling on the cinnamon sugar mixture. That would work great here.
- Lemon - Instead of a cinnamon sugar filling, try rubbing the zest of a lemon into ¾ cup of granulated sugar instead! Sprinkle over the melted butter before rolling up and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Instructions
Unlike my regular Buttermilk Biscuit recipe, there is no need to fold or do a cut and stack technique with your dough. We aren't looking for distinct biscuit layers here. We want the fluffiness that comes from just mixing the ingredients and rolling out the dough.
If you take it one step at a time, you're well on your way to making amazing No Yeast Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls. I've given you simple instructions, and plenty of pictures, to ensure biscuit success!
Make biscuit dough
1a. Combine mixed dry ingredients and very cold butter in food processor and pulse until the butter is like wet sand and smaller butter bits, 5 to 6 pulses of one second each.
1b. Pour cold buttermilk over the surface of the mixture and pulse 5 or 6 more times, until it just starts to form a ball. It won't all be combined, and that's just fine.
1c. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, gently bring it all together into a rough square. Gently knead it 4 or 5 times to incorporate all the drier bits, but no more than that.
1d. Place dough on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper and roll out to a 15 by 10 inch rectangle, using your bench scraper, or other straight edge, to square the edges as much as possible.
Assembly
2a. Spread melted butter over the entire surface of the dough.
2b. Sprinkle filling evenly over the butter. Pat down with your hands to help it adhere.
2c. Starting at one of the long ends, pull up the parchment paper and start rolling the dough over. Continue rolling, using the parchment paper to help roll tightly and evenly, resting seam side down. Use the paper to transfer the roll to a cutting board and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
2d. Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove roll from freezer. Using your bench scraper, gently mark your log into 12 equal pieces. Using a small serrated knife or very sharp knife, slice the long roll into twelve 2 equal cinnamon rolls.
2e. Place the rolls in your prepared pan, spacing evenly.
2f. Brush tops lightly with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Glaze
3a. In a small bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Beat in confectioners sugar, vanilla paste (or extract), and 3 tablespoons of milk.
3b. Mix until smooth. Add another tablespoon of milk if you want a thinner consistency.
3c. Bake at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before glazing.
3d. You did a great job! Enjoy!
Expert tips
- If you prefer to use a square baking pan, slice your log into 9 equal pieces and space evenly in the pan, 3 by 3.
- You can customize your glaze to the consistency you prefer. Adding 3 tablespoons will give you a glaze you can spread with a spatula, and 4 tablespoons will give you one that is easy to drizzle on with a spoon. If you like a more frosting-like consistency, use 2 tablespoons of milk and frost the rolls when fully cool.
Recipe FAQ's
Absolutely! The process is the same as when making my biscuits:
In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Toss cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients and, using a pastry cutter or your fingers, mix in the cold butter until you have a mixture of flat pieces and crumbly, pea sized bits of butter mixed into the flour.
Add the cold buttermilk. Gently bring the wet and dry together with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until you have a fairly uniform, loose dough. The flour won't look all mixed in and that's okay. It will come together. Proceed with the recipe as written.
Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls taste best the day they are made but will last at room temperature for up to 2 days. Rewarm gently in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
Place assembled and sliced rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer until solid. Place in a zip top bag and freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, place rolls in pan and allow to thaw a bit while the oven preheats. Brush with butter and bake as directed.
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No Yeast Biscuit Cinnamon Roll
Equipment
Ingredients
Biscuit Dough
- 3 cup (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tablespoon (18 g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoon (168 g) unsalted butter very cold and cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (255 g) +2 tablespoons buttermilk very cold
Filling
- 6 tablespoons (113 g) +2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted, saving 2 tablespoon for brushing tops of biscuits after assembly
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (38 g) granulated sugar white sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Cream cheese glaze
- 4 ounces (113 g) cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (60 g) confectioners' sugar powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or paste
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Butter, or spray with nonstick spray, a 10 inch cast iron pan or round cake pan and set aside.
Filling
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whip cream cheese until smooth. Beat in confectioners sugar until fully incorporated. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons of milk. Whisk until smooth. Add another tablespoon of milk if you want a more loose consistency. In general, use 3 tablespoons for a spreadable glaze and 4 tablespoons for one that you can drizzle. Set aside until ready to use.
Biscuit Dough
Food processor instructions
- Measure all of your dry ingredients into the bowl of your food processor. Pulse a few times to mix. Add chilled butter to the dry ingredients and pulse 5 to 6 times, or until most of the butter is in pea sized, or smaller, pieces. Open the top of the food processor and drizzle the cold buttermilk over the top of the mixture. Pulse together another 5 to 6 times, or until a dough ball just begins to form. It won't all be incorporated, and that's fine.
Alternate no food processor instructions
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Toss cold butter cubes into the dry ingredients and, using a pastry cutter or your fingers, mix in the cold butter until you have a mixture of flat pieces and crumbly, pea sized bits of butter mixed into the flour. Add the cold buttermilk. Gently bring the wet and dry together with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until you have a fairly uniform, loose dough. The flour won't look all mixed in and that's okay. It will come together.
Both methods:
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Using your hands, gently bring it all together into a rough square. Gently knead it 4 or 5 times to incorporate all the drier bits, but no more than that.
Assembly
- Lay a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap on the counter and sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll the dough out to an 15 by 10 inch rectangle, squaring off the sides with a bench scraper.
- Spread melted butter over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle filling evenly over the butter. Pat down with your hands to help it adhere.
- Starting at one of the long ends, pull up the parchment paper and start rolling the dough over. Continue rolling, using the parchment paper to help roll tightly and evenly, resting seam side down. Use the paper to transfer the roll to a cutting board and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Remove roll from freezer. Using a serrated knife or very sharp knife, slice the long roll into twelve 2 thick rolls. Place in your prepared pan, spacing evenly. Brush tops lightly with 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Bake at 425°F for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before glazing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Glaze: You can customize your glaze to the consistency you prefer. Adding 3 tablespoons will give you a glaze you can spread with a spatula, and 4 tablespoons will give you one that is easy to drizzle on with a spoon. If you like a more frosting-like consistency, use 2 tablespoons of milk and frost the rolls when fully cool.
- Storage instructions: Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls taste best the day they are made but will last covered at room temperature for up to 2 days. Rewarm gently in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
- Freezing instructions: Unbaked rolls can be frozen for up to 2 months. Place sliced rolls on parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer until solid. When ready to bake, place in round pan and allow to thaw a bit while the oven preheats. Brush with egg wash and bake as directed.
Nutrition
The nutritional and caloric information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It does not assert or suggest that readers should or should not count calories, and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s or doctor’s counseling.
Kylie says
These are better than regular cinnamon rolls! Thank you for another amazing recipe 🙂 I baked half in a 6 inch pan, and froze the other half for another time.
Cynthia says
I’m so glad you like them! One of our new favorites!!