This small batch cinnamon rolls recipe makes 6 perfectly gooey and soft cinnamon rolls covered in cream cheese frosting! This recipe is perfect for when you don't need a huge batch of cinnamon buns. I use the Tangzhong method (I promise, it's so easy), which guarantees the softest cinnamon roll you've ever had.

Six cinnamon buns covered in cream cheese icing in a small pan.

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This Christmas, I'm spending it in London, rather than heading home to be with my extended family. I love making a big breakfast spread for the holidays, although usually I have wild plans and then realize people aren't going to eat a whole bunch of cinnamon mini muffins, cinnamon rolls, and french toast. But still, I love making a batch of my cinnamon rolls the night before so we can pop them in the oven on Christmas morning!

Since I'll be spending it here in London with Will and his family, I thought it would be fun to make small-batch cinnamon rolls to bring to his family's home! Going from 10+ people to just 5 of us, this small batch cinnamon roll recipe is perfect.

Testing This Recipe!

After making cinnamon coffee rolls with the Tangzhong method, I knew I wanted to use that same cinnamon roll base recipe.

I dialled down the milk because I find the dough a bit too sticky, but otherwise it's very similar! I tested this recipe using an eighth sheet pan, which is the perfect size for six lil cinny rolls! (Ok, I'm never saying cinny rolls again)

Grab your ingredients!

All the ingredients needed to make small batch cinnamon rolls, weighed out into small bowls.

Bread Flour: If you can, try to use bread flour. In a pinch, you can use regular all-purpose flour! I've used both, they both work.
Heavy Cream: To make these cinnamon rolls extra pillowy, I like to pour warm heavy cream over them just before baking.
Yeast: Technically, you can use either active or instant yeast. If you're using active dry yeast, you'll need to place it in the milk first (and slightly warm up the milk too) and the dough will take longer to rise. Because of this, I recommend using instant yeast if you can!

Let's Make This Recipe!

A small silver saucepan with a whisk and tangzhong batter in it.

A glass bowl with flour, butter, milk, and yeast.

Make the tangzong. Mix water, milk, and flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until it thickens; it should look like mashed potatoes. This is the secret to getting those extra soft and fluffy cinnamon rolls!
Combine with the other dough ingredients. Let the dough rest until doubled in size.

A large rectangular piece of dough covered in cinnamon sugar.

A pizza cutter slicing cinnamon roll dough into strips.

Roll out your cinnamon roll dough. Brush with softened butter and sprinkle over your cinnamon sugar. Slice into your rolls. Place on a lined eighth sheet pan and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let rise.

Slicing Up Your Rolls

I have tried so many methods of slicing up cinnamon rolls, trying to get that perfect swirl. I think I may have found it! I used to use a serrated knife - easy, but they get squished. Then I used dental floss - until now, my favorite method. But behold, the best method to get that perfect swirl: a pizza cutter.

A pizza cutter?! That's right. Once you've spread your filling over the dough, use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 6 equal strips. Then one by one, you can roll up the strips. This gave me perfect cinnamon rolls!

I will say, it does cause a little bit of a mess on the kitchen counter (sorry!!), and if you have a delicate kitchen counter (marble, quartz, I'm looking at you), I recommend doing this on a cutting board.

Unbaked cinnamon rolls in a small pan with heavy cream.

Once risen, pour over heavy cream. This is totally optional, but it will make your rolls super gooey!
Bake the cinnamon rolls in the oven for 18-22 minutes and enjoy! I covered these cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese icing, but honestly, they're just as good on their own.