A small batch recipe for just one big cinnamon roll, made with soft yeast dough, buttery brown sugar cinnamon filling, and sweet vanilla icing. This high altitude single serving cinnamon roll is perfect for when you’re craving a cinnamon roll, but don’t want a whole pan of leftover cinnamon rolls.
You might also love these small batch recipes for a mini apple crisp for one, chocolate chip cookies for two, and a double chocolate skillet cookie for two.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Soft, Fluffy and Buttery. Today’s single serving cinnamon roll is based on my popular buttermilk cinnamon rolls recipe. The dough is pillowy soft, and every mouthful is rich with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Small Batch Recipe. I scaled this recipe down to one-sixth the size of my original cinnamon rolls recipe (which makes 12 rolls), so it’s equivalent to 2 regular sized rolls. Since this recipe uses yeast dough that needs to rise, it requires the same amount of time as making a full batch of rolls, so for the effort, it should be a generous, “cinnabon sized” cinnamon roll, even if it is just one serving. This is the perfect sweet treat to make during a relaxing weekend at home, where you can just set the dough to rest and rise while you watch movies.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Milk. Use whole milk in both the dough and the icing.
- Butter. You’ll need unsalted butter to add flavor and keep the dough moist.
- Yeast. The yeast is what makes the dough rise and puff up. I prefer Red Star Platinum Premium Instant Yeast, but you can also use active dry yeast.
- Sugar. You’ll need a small amount each of granulated sugar for the dough, brown sugar for the filling, and powdered sugar for the icing.
- Flour. You can use either all purpose flour or bread flour for the dough.
- Spices. You’ll need salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla extract for flavor.
- Egg Yolk. Since this is such a small amount of dough to work with, you’ll only need an egg yolk, so save the leftover white for another use.
Instructions
Dough
- In a saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave on 50% power, warm the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the liquid is warm to the touch, between 110-115 F. If it gets too hot, you’ll need to cool it down to 115 F, or it will kill the yeast. Too cool, and the yeast won’t be activated.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the yeast and granulated sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to become bubbly and foamy. This will let you know that the yeast is active.
- Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, egg yolk and vanilla, and stir together with a spoon until combined. Continue to beat vigorously by hand for several minutes, then use a spatula to scrape the bowl down and shape the dough into a ball.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place (such as inside your oven with the “bread proof” setting on), and let rise until doubled. This could take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on your altitude, the quality of your yeast, and the temperature of your ingredients and environment.
Filling and Shaping
- Once the dough is doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll out the dough to an oblong shape about 4×12 inches.
- Brush the inside of your baking dish with 1 tsp of the butter, then spread the remaining 2 tsp of butter over the dough.
- Combine the brown sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough.
- Use a rolling pastry wheel cutter to cut the dough in half, vertically, so you have two long strips. Tightly roll up one strip of dough with the filling inside, then roll the second strip of dough around the first, so you have one cinnamon roll.
- Place the cinnamon roll into your buttered baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place (such as inside your oven with the “bread proof” setting on), and let rise until puffy. This might take 30-60 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat your oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- When the roll has started to puff up, it’s ready to bake. This is optional, but for an extra soft, gooey cinnamon roll, pour 1 tbsp cream into the baking dish, around the roll, just before baking.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, but still a little soft and squishy in the middle. I usually bake cinnamon rolls (and all bread, for that matter) until a digital instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads between 190-195 F, but for this one, I stopped when the internal temperature of the roll was between 175-180 F, which keeps it extra soft and gooey.
Icing
- Combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl until smooth and drizzly.
- Let the cinnamon roll cool for several minutes, then spread the icing over the top.
- Enjoy the roll while it’s warm or cooled to room temperature.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
I have the cutest mini Dutch oven that I found at my local Target. It’s 5 inches in diameter, with a 16 oz capacity. You can use any type of ramekin about that size, or even a mini cast iron skillet.
Be sure to follow the instructions for the temperature of your liquid. Ideally, yeast should be activated in warm liquid that’s between 110-115 F. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast, and too cold, it will fail to activate it. Expired or poor quality yeast won’t give you a good rise, either. In addition, since you’re working with such a small amount of liquid for the dough, it will cool down extremely quickly as it sits. Because of this, I found that my dough took much longer to rise when making a single serving cinnamon roll than it does when making a larger batch of dough that can hold the temperature for longer. Try to keep the environment for the dough warm, like the “bread proof” setting inside your oven. If your kitchen is cold, the dough will take a very long time to rise.
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High Altitude Single Serving Cinnamon Roll
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 5-inch mini Dutch oven or ramekin (16 oz capacity)
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 tbsp whole milk
- 2 tsp unsalted butter
- ¼ tsp (heaping) instant (rapid rise) or active dry yeast
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- ½ cup bread flour or all purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- pinch salt
- pinch nutmeg
- 1 large egg yolk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted or very soft
- 2 tbsp light brown sugar
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
Icing
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk or cream
- ⅛ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Dough
- In a saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave on 50% power, warm the milk and butter until the butter is melted and the liquid is warm to the touch, between 110-115 F. If it gets too hot, you'll need to cool it down to 115 F, or it will kill the yeast. Too cool, and the yeast won't be activated.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the yeast and granulated sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to become bubbly and foamy. This will let you know that the yeast is active.
- Add the flour, salt, nutmeg, egg yolk and vanilla, and stir together with a spoon until combined. Continue to beat vigorously by hand for several minutes, then use a spatula to scrape the bowl down and shape the dough into a ball.
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place (such as inside your oven with the "bread proof" setting on), and let rise until doubled. This could take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on your altitude, the quality of your yeast, and the temperature of your ingredients and environment.
Filling and Shaping
- Once the dough is doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll out the dough to an oblong shape about 4×12 inches.
- Brush the inside of your baking dish with 1 tsp of the butter, then spread the remaining 2 tsp of butter over the dough.
- Combine the brown sugar with the cinnamon, and sprinkle the mixture evenly over the dough.
- Use a rolling pastry wheel cutter to cut the dough in half, vertically, so you have two long strips. Tightly roll up one strip of dough with the filling inside, then roll the second strip of dough around the first, so you have one cinnamon roll.
- Place the cinnamon roll into your buttered baking dish. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap, and set it in a warm place (such as inside your oven with the "bread proof" setting on), and let rise until puffy. This might take 30-60 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat your oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- When the roll has started to puff up, it's ready to bake. This is optional, but for an extra soft, gooey cinnamon roll, pour 1 tbsp cream into the baking dish, around the roll, just before baking.
- Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown, but still a little soft and squishy in the middle. I usually bake cinnamon rolls (and all bread, for that matter) until a digital instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads between 190-195 F, but for this one, I stopped when the internal temperature of the roll was between 175-180 F, which keeps it extra soft and gooey.
Icing
- Combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl until smooth and drizzly.
- Let the cinnamon roll cool for several minutes, then spread the icing over the top.
- Enjoy the roll while it's warm or cooled to room temperature.
Question- is it possible to make these in advance to reduce wait time? Could I cover them and refrigerate after they’ve risen? And pull back out to room temp the next morning?
Yes, you can definitely do that, although it will need to sit and warm up and puff up before baking.