Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls (Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls) are the perfect treat and ready to eat in about 25 minutes.

Ready-made croissant dough is the ideal shortcut to making crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside, sugar-coated cinnamon rolls. Did I mention the delectable caramelised base?

Made in a muffin tin, they are similar to Cruffins but without the extra exposed pastry layers. Serve warm for the ultimate eating experience!  

Recipe Background

This recipe was inspired by Gail’s Bakery Cinnamon Buns and Waitrose Cinnamon Croissant Cups, which both use croissant dough. 

Traditional Cinnamon Rolls are made with enriched yeast-leavened sheets of dough spread with a thin layer of butter and a cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Cinnamon Buns are similar but more bread-like, similar to Chelsea Buns, although twisted and topped with icing/frosting and can contain nuts. 

The terms have been interchanged over the years, so it often depends on where you live as to what they’re called. Oh, and let’s not forget they’re frequently called Cinnamon Swirls too!

Making the enriched yeasted dough is time-consuming, so I had the idea to use ready-made croissant dough to speed up the process.

Being half Danish, I grew up loving flaky, crispy Danish Cinnamon Rolls called Kanelsnegl. Like salty liquorice and pickled herring, the love of cinnamon seems to be in my DNA! 

So, when Gail’s Bakery opened a store in my town recently, I headed there on a mission to try their Cinnamon Buns. Sadly, the last one was sold before my eyes, and I came away empty-handed!

With an all-out cinnamon craving, I headed to Morrisons and bought 2 Cinnamon Swirls. They were the worst pastries I’d ever had and did not hit the spot!

I did get to try a Gail’s Cinnamon Bun on another occasion, and it lived up to all expectations!

However, ever budget-conscious, I decided to come up with these quick cheats’ homemade cinnamon rolls. 

Why You Should Make This Recipe

• Quick and Easy Recipe: Enjoy eating Cinnamon Rolls in about 25 minutes. That’s quicker than going out to buy them.
• Budget-Friendly: You can make 8 Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls for about the same price as just one from a bakery.
• Taste Better than shop/bakery bought: Nothing beats still-warm Cinnamon Rolls, fresh from the oven. My daughter said my version was better than Gail’s, so the warmth makes all the difference.
• Keep for Days: You can store and reheat for that just-baked taste.
• Tea-time Emergency: A great recipe to rustle up for unexpected visitors who need a sweet treat.
• Smaller: These cinnamon rolls are smaller than bakery or supermarket ones, so they have fewer calories. Mine has 314 kcal, Gail’s has 443 kcal, and Waitrose has 394 kcal.

How to Make Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls

The full recipe is at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients

You only need 5 simple ingredients to make these quick cinnamon rolls:

• Can of Croissant Dough: I used Jus-Rol. If you’re across the pond, use a can of crescent rolls or a crescent dough sheet from Pillsbury. 
• Light Muscovado Sugar: You could also use light brown sugar, but it has less depth of flavour.
• Golden Caster Sugar: You can also use white caster sugar. If you’re in the US, use granulated sugar.
• Melted Unsalted Butter: Use lightly salted butter if you prefer.
• Ground Cinnamon: If you can, use Ceylon cinnamon as it’s of better quality and healthier than Cassia. Check the label.

Method

1. Heat oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, 390°F, Gas Mark 6.
2. Grease 8 holes in a muffin tray with butter.
3. Unroll the croissant dough and cut it in half to form 2 long rectangles (across the shortest length).
4. Pinch the perforations in the dough together to close.
5. Paint the melted butter onto the dough sheets with a pastry brush.
6. Mix the light Muscovado, golden caster sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl.
7. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture onto the melted butter.
8. Use a dough scraper to create an even layer of the brown sugar mixture and press into the butter.
9. Roll each sheet of croissant dough up into a tight log.
10. Use a dough scraper or a very sharp knife to cut each log into 4 equal rolls.
11. Pull the loose end of each croissant roll and tuck it underneath itself with a little push.
12. Place the rolls into the greased muffin tray and bake for 12 – 14 minutes or until dark golden brown.
13. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
14. Then turn each cinnamon roll on its side with a palette knife (to stop them from sticking) and allow them to cool for another 2 minutes.
15. Meanwhile, mix the remaining golden caster sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
16. Toss the warm cinnamon rolls in the cinnamon sugar to coat thoroughly.
17. Place croissant cinnamon rolls onto a cooling rack and serve while still warm.

Can You Make These Ahead of Time?

Yes, you can prepare the cinnamon dough the day before. 

Unbaked rolls should be stored (spaced apart) in an airtight container lined with parchment paper and kept in the fridge.

Then bake when you are ready.

Storage

Any leftover cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container where they can be kept for up to 3 days.

They can be enjoyed cold or reheated.

Reheating

The best way to reheat cinnamon rolls is by sprinkling them with a little water and reheating them in an air fryer. 

Preheat the air fryer for 4 minutes at 180C, 355F, then bake for 4 minutes. You can also reheat them in an oven.

Do not warm rolls in the microwave as they will turn leathery and utterly disappointing.

Variations

Here are some alternatives to the cinnamon sugar filling that you could try:

• Grated marzipan and flaked almonds.
• Mincemeat with grated marzipan.
• Chocolate spread or grated chocolate.
• Jam or jelly, my Apricot Jam would be great.
• Lemon curd or any fruit curd. 
• Instead of cinnamon sugar, top with a cream cheese glaze or icing (powdered sugar glaze).
• Add pecan nuts.
• For a savoury version, use Ham and Cheddar cheese, pesto and mozzarella, etc.

More Croissant & Crescent Roll Recipes

Check out these recipes for more ways to use up croissants or croissant dough:

• Cheat’s Stollen Croissants 
• Sweet & Savoury Filled Croissants 
• Chocolate Spread Croissant Pudding 
• Golden Syrup & Clotted Cream Croissant Pudding 
• Peach Dumplings with Crescent Rolls

My family thinks these are the best cinnamon rolls they’ve ever tasted, so I can’t recommend them highly enough. 

I’m sure you’ll love these easy croissant cinnamon rolls, too, but don’t blame me if you get addicted!

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Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls

Quick Croissant Cinnamon Rolls are what you make when don’t have time to make cinnamon rolls from scratch. Best of all you can eat them while they’re still warm, crispy and gooey!

Course Breakfast, teatime, Treat

Cuisine American, Danish, Dutch, German, Scandinavian, Swedish

Prep Time 9 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Cooking Time 4 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 8 people

Calories 314kcal

Author Camilla Hawkins

Equipment

• 12 Hole muffin tin
• Large pastry brush
• Ramekin
• small whisk
• Tablespoon
• Dough scraper
• Medium bowl
• Nylon Palette knife
• Wire cooling rack

Ingredients

For the cinnamon rolls

• 340 g can of croissant dough or crescent roll dough
• 60 g light brown Muscovado sugar
• 30 g golden caster sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cinnamon sugar coating

• 50 g golden caster sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C, 180°C fan, 390° F Gas Mark 6.
• Grease 8 holes of a muffin tin with butter being sure to include the top edges.
• Unroll croissant dough onto worktop and cut down the middle with a dough scraper to give 2 pieces.
• Pinch together the perforations to eradicate all the holes in the dough sheets.
• Using a pastry brush, paint the melted butter onto the dough sheets.
• In a bowl, mix the light Muscovado sugar, caster sugar and cinnamon together with a small whisk (to get rid of any lumps).
• Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough sheets with a tablespoon.
• Even out with a dough scraper and use it to press the cinnamon sugar into the melted butter.
• Roll the dough sheets up tightly from the shortest length to form 2 logs.
• Then use the dough scraper (or a sharp knife) to cut each log into 4 equal rolls.
• Stretch out the loose ends of each roll and tuck underneath whilst pushing up slightly. If needed, fan out the layers of dough with a knife if they’ve clumped together.
• Place cinnamon rolls into the prepared muffin tin and then bake in the oven for 12 – 14 minutes until dark golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes.
• Then use a palette knife to turn each cinnamon roll on its side (to stop them sticking to the tin) and allow them to cool for another 2 minute.
• Mix the sugar and cinnamon together for the coating.
• Roll each croissant cinnamon roll in the cinnamon sugar to evenly coat.
• Then place on a wire rack.
• Serve warm for the best eating experience but can also be enjoyed cold.

Video

Notes

1. If you can’t get hold of caster sugar, use granulated sugar instead.
2. If you use Pillsbury crescent roll sheets you may need to increase the cinnamon sugar and butter filling by a third and increase the baking time. Jus-Rol croissant dough has enough dough for 6 croissants and Pillsbury crescent roll dough has enough for 8 crescent rolls.