Making crescent rolls does not have to be an all-day baking experience. This easy recipe will show you how to make Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls that have a sweet and buttery flavor with a cinnamon filling that is hard to resist.
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I love these tender and fluffy crescent rolls; they have lots of cinnamon-y goodness inside and are topped with a simple powdered sugar glaze. They make a delicious pasty for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Look, I’m all about homemade rolls, but let’s be real – sometimes life’s too crazy for all that yeast and rising business. That’s when I make this gem of a recipe. It uses refrigerated crescent dough, so it’s amazingly easy. And let me tell you, these cinnamon rolls are insanely delicious! They’re my secret weapon when I want something that tastes homemade but doesn’t eat up my whole day.
For something similar but in loaf form, bake this Cinnamon Pull Apart bread recipe, or make these homemade Butterhorn Rolls made with cottage cheese for another type of crescent roll.
This is a great recipe to try…
- It’s super quick and convenient with just a few ingredients.
- You can make and bake these rolls in 30 minutes.
- Have kids? I love getting kids in the kitchen to learn to bake, and this is the perfect recipe for them to learn some basic skills and end up with a delicious cinnamon roll.
Cinnamon Roll Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- There are several brands of refrigerated crescent dough. I can easily find the Pillsbury brand and love the hint of sweetness and the delicious buttery flavor, and they are soft and fluffy when baked.
How to make Cinnamon Crescent Rolls
I suggest using a rimmed sheet pan for baking these rolls. They are also perfect for baking cookies, rolls, bread, and sheet pan dinners.
Step 1. Prepare the cinnamon butter by mixing softened butter, granulated sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl to form a paste.
Step 2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, open the tube of crescent rolls and unroll the dough, and separate it into eight wedges.
Step 3. Spread the cinnamon butter mixture on top of each crescent wedge.
Step 4. Starting at the wide end of the dough, tightly roll them into crescent shapes and space them out on the baking pan.
Cinnamon Crescent tip ~ Because of the amount of butter in the dough and the cinnamon paste, some butter will melt out of the rolls. It is helpful to pop the sheet pan in the fridge to chill the unbaked rolls for at least 15 minutes. If you don’t have enough room, place the crescents on a plate and chill.
Step 5. Bake the rolls at 375 degrees F. for 10 minutes. Let the rolls cool on the baking pan for 10 minutes, then remove them to a cooling rack.
How to make the icing drizzle
Step 6. Mix the icing ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and creamy, then drizzle the icing over the cooled rolls.
These rolls are just so good. I love that they only make eight, and if I want more, I can buy two tubes of crescents and double the ingredients.
Serving and storing
For the best taste, enjoy these rolls fresh on baking day. If you have any leftovers, keep them in an airtight container for up to two days. To serve later, warm in the microwave for about 20 seconds.
Try These Varions for Something Different
Get creative
- Add some additional spices along with the cinnamon, like nutmeg or cardamom.
- Use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar, or use half and half.
- Add some cinnamon to the powdered sugar icing.
- Instead of vanilla extract in the icing drizzle, add other flavors like almond extract or maple extract.
- Once you spread the cinnamon butter on the crescent wedges, sprinkle them with chopped pecans or finely chopped dried cranberries.
Crescent Rolls FAQs
It’s a pre-made dough commonly sold in grocery stores in the refrigerated section. The dough is typically made from flour, butter, yeast, sugar, and salt and is found in a can or tube.
More recipes with cinnamon
Cinnamon makes baked goods deliciously spicy
- Apple Cider Bread made with oatmeal and spiced with cinnamon
- A fall favorite is Pumpkin Bread with cranberries; this bread is super moist with lots of amazing flavors
- This Vanilla Bean Cake is baked in a cast-iron skillet with a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar and cinnamon on top
- These delicate Cinnamon Madeleines are the perfect little dessert with your afternoon tea or coffee
- Need a snack for a movie or game night? Make a big bowl of this Cinnamon Apple Caramel Corn; it’s sweet and perfectly crunchy
- Baked Apples filled with pecans, cranberries, and plenty of cinnamon are simple to make.
- Try these Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls for a tasty treat.
More to make and eat!
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Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
Crescent Rolls
- 8 ounce can Refrigerated crescent dough such as Pillsbury 8 ounce (8 count)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon you can add more or less
Icing Drizzle
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
The oven and the baking pan
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of a rimmed baking sheet.
Making the cinnamon butter paste
- In a small bowl mix the softened butter with the sugar and cinnamon until it is smooth and creamy.
Making the Crescent Rolls
- Open the tube of crescent rolls and unroll the dough on the baking sheet, then separate the dough into the 8 wedges where the perforations are.
- Spread the cinnamon butter paste over the wedges.
- Starting at the wide end of the dough, roll the dough into a tight crescent shape and space the crescents out on the baking pan.
- Note: This is optional, but I suggest you chill the dough for at least 15 minutes.
- Bake the rolls for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown. Let sit on the baking pan for about 15 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.
Making the Icing
- In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Stir to combine to a drizzling consistency. Add additional milk if the icing is too thick.
- Leave the rolls on the cooling rack and place a piece of parchment or wax paper under the rack. With a spoon, drizzle the icing over the rolls.
- These rolls are best eaten the day they are made. If you have leftovers, store in a sealed container for a day.
Notes
Crescent Rolls baking tips
- When you place the rolls on the baking sheet put the tip of the roll on the bottom, otherwise, during baking, the rolls can unroll a bit
- Butter does melt out of the rolls while baking so it is best to use a rimmed baking sheet.
- I suggest you chill the roll for a least 15 minutes. If you have room just put the baking pan in the refrigerator, it you are tight on room, place the rolls on a plate and chill.
- You can add flavoring to the icing drizzle, add spices or extracts for added flavors
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Nutrition
First published: Oct. 16, 2020, Last updated: June 29, 2024, for better readability.
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello, or just let me know what you are baking these days; I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or want to chat about the recipe? Please visit my About page for information, and I’ll be happy to help!
Hello there, I’m Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing sweet and savory family-friendly recipes for your cooking and baking inspiration.
I made them with the crescent roll sheet. I spread the sheet with the cinnamon/butter/sugar mixture, rolled it up and sliced like cinnamon rolls. They are so good! The bottoms get slightly caramelized. Yum! I’ll make them again.
Thanks for the kind comment on the cinnamon rolls. I love these too, and that carmelization that happens when they bake is like the icing on a cake.
Thanks for visiting my blog, I greatly appreciate it.
The icing drizzle is the perfect finishing touch. It adds just the right amount of sweetness without overpowering the cinnamon flavor. Yum!
YAY, I’m making it for the second time today! Definitely going to be a requested dish! Thanks for the recipe.
Once a week, my kids and I spend an afternoon or evening in the kitchen learning how to bake something new. They are young, so the recipe has to be both easy enough for tiny fingers and something they are excited to eat. These cinnamon rolls fit the bill! The kids had so much fun making them and we all had fun eating them!
These are so easy, but taste like they took a lot of time and effort. light, flaky, lots of cinnamon goodness!
Glad you enjoyed the rolls.
I’ve made many yummy breakfast treats using all the various Pillsbury rolls. I have rolled them out and made various breakfast breads and muffins using nuts., fruits , fruit spreads, slivered apples and the list goes on and on. Soften cream cheese frosting in microwave to make a tasty drizzle. All you need is a little imagination and a sweet tooth.
So true, these rolls can be made into so many tasty recipes. The cream cheese drizzle sounds delish.
Such a neat idea for a quick treat!
I think these would be great as more of a savory pastry. I thunk in my rolls, the texture of the cottage cheese was old in a sweet pastry. it felt almost like melted cheese, so it was weird for me to think of a sweet treat. I think the taste was good with abs without the icing. I would make again, but only as a savory roll.