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All you need are a handful of ingredients, about 5 minutes and you can enjoy an ooey, gooey and delicious microwave cinnamon roll. It’s the perfect way to satisfy that craving without over indulging with a whole batch of cinnamon rolls!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
Can I tell you how amazing this microwave cinnamon roll for one is? Seriously, you need to make this now!!
There are so many reasons to love this sweet treat:
- Fast: This may just be the quickest pastry you will ever make. It takes a few minutes to mix up and assemble and then only 90 seconds to cook. You can enjoy this in about five minutes, not hours like a traditional batch of cinnamon rolls.
- Pantry Staple Ingredients: This recipe doesn’t require any yeast and you probably have everything you need on hand in your pantry already.
- It only makes one: It is the perfect solution for whenever that cinnamon roll craving hits. You can satisfy that craving with one cinnamon roll instead of being tempted by a dozen cinnamon rolls.
- No oven or yeast required! If the idea of working with yeast has stopped you from making cinnamon rolls, this is the recipe for you! This recipe is also perfect for the college student or anyone who doesn’t have access to an oven but has a microwave.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour. I prefer unbleached all purpose flour
- Baking Powder. This is what is going to make your cinnamon roll rise since we aren’t using yeast so be sure it is fresh.
- Sugar. You will need granulated sugar and brown sugar. If you want to glaze your cinnamon roll you will also need powdered sugar.
- Salt. Just a pinch.
- Milk. Use what milk you have on hand. You could also use almond milk or if you don’t have any milk, water will also work although I prefer using milk as it gives the dough a little more strength and body as well as making it more tender.
- Butter. I use salted butter, if using unsalted butter add in a pinch more salt.
- Cinnamon
- Vanilla Extract
How to Make a Microwave Cinnamon Roll
- Combine flour, melted butter, baking powder, sugar, salt and milk in a bowl. It will look a bit shaggy.
- Use your hands to bring the dough together and knead a few times on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll dough into a 6 x 9 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
- Mix together 1 Tbsp softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. It should have the consistency of wet sand.
- Spread mixture over top of dough into a thin layer.
- Cut dough into three even strips, the long way.
- Roll up the middle strip of dough first.
- Line up the cut edges of the dough and roll up the second piece and then the third.
- Place cinnamon roll into a greased 4 oz. ramekin or a microwave safe ceramic mug.
- Mix up your glaze before cooking the cinnamon roll as you want to add this right away and enjoy the microwave cinnamon roll right out of the microwave.
- Cook in the microwave on high for 90 seconds. If it still seems a bit doughy cook in 10 second increments.
- Place it on a plate so make clean up a bit easier!
- Drizzle glaze over it right out of the microwave and then enjoy! Remember this is best enjoyed right away.
Tips from Leigh Anne
- Don’t over Cook. If 90 seconds doesn’t seem long enough ( it will vary depending on the strength of your microwave), cook more in 10 second increments. It is better a little gooey than overcooked.
- Skip the Glaze. If you don’t have powdered sugar or don’t want to make the glaze add a little butter or even some maple syrup to the top of the cinnamon roll for some extra goodness and sweetness.
- Be careful. When you remove this from the microwave because the dish will be hot so use a hot pad or something!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I bake this in the oven?
Yes, you can. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for about 14 minutes. Bake until it begins to turn golden brown.
What else can I use to cook it in?
If you don’t have a ramekin use a microwave safe ceramic mug. You want something with straight sides as this will push the roll up and help it to rise.
How long will this cinnamon roll last?
As I mentioned above, this microwave cinnamon is best enjoyed immediately. As it cools it toughens up and it does not reheat well.
Does this taste just like a regular cinnamon roll?
I think it has the flavor of a regular yeast based cinnamon roll, you just get a different texture. It has more of the texture of a biscuit but this is not a bad thing!
Why did my cinnamon roll turn out tough?
If you overcook in the microwave, it will get tough and hard on the edges. Also, if you allow it to cool off completely it will bet tough and reheating it in the microwave also makes it tough. Eat this right away!!
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Microwave Cinnamon Roll
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll
- 1 Tbsp butter, salted melted
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp milk
Filling
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp milk
- 1/8-1/4 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine 1 Tbsp melted butter, flour, baking powder, sugar, slat and milk.
- Dough will be shaggy. Bring it together with your hands.
- Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a 6 x 9 inch rectangle.
- In a small bowl combine 1 Tbsp butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Spread over dough.
- Cut dough into three strips with a knife or pizza cutter.
- Roll up middle strip. Match of cut edges and roll up other two strips into one cinnamon roll.
- Place in a greased 6 oz. ramekin
- Combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla for glaze.
- Cook in microwave for 90 seconds. If it seems under cooked, cook for 10 more additional seconds.
- Drizzle roll with glaze and enjoy warm.
Tips & Notes:
- Don’t over Cook. If 90 seconds doesn’t seem long enough ( it will vary depending on the strength of your microwave), cook more in 10 second increments. It is better a little gooey than overcooked.
- Skip the Glaze. If you don’t have powdered sugar or don’t want to make the glaze add a little butter or even some maple syrup to the top of the cinnamon roll for some extra goodness and sweetness.
- Be careful. When you remove this from the microwave because the dish will be hot so use a hot pad or something!
Bean says
I add the same amount of baking soda and instead of milk i use water and vanilla extract doubled what they say……honey and pumkin spice is good for filling if your trying to go healthy.
Diana says
Biscuit-y cinnamon rolls, tasty. Not a yeasty cinnamon rolls, but this would do. I made 4x the batch and bake in oven. I was looking for something quick and easy to bake without lot of times on hands. And this is it.
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
Glad you enjoyed the recipe. This cinnamon roll is not meant to be a yeasty cinnamon roll, but a quick and easy way to satisfy the craving without having to go to all the work and effort of a yeast cinnamon roll. I do also have a recipe for a single yeast cinnamon roll as well as a small batch one hour cinnamon rolls if you want a more yeasty cinnamon roll.
Lila Manchester says
While making the dough, it got dry and required only a little bit more milk. Then required. The rolls turned out smaller than expected. Overall, this recipe tasted very good paired with the sweet syrup.
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
Glad you enjoyed the roll, depending on where you live, weather, type of flour you are using you may need to add a bit more liquid, glad you did!
Ali says
Soooo good!!!! Please keep in mind that this is a “cure the craving” recipe and not a “wow my guests” recipe. It’s definitely for one of those nights where you’re CRAVING a cinnamon roll but I wouldn’t exactly make this for someone else if that makes sense. (No shame to the creator, it still does its job wonderfully).
I used cake/pastry flour, ensured to measure the rectangle of the dough properly (using the measuring app), and just that alone I could tell made a huge difference in the end result. Definitely don’t skip the measuring. I also added a splash or two of milk on top of the dough just before microwaving to keep the dough moist and prevent from drying.
I microwaved 60 seconds and then twice at 10 sec. Intervals (80s total), and it was perfect.
All in all, wonderful recipe to cure that craving. Will it make someone who isn’t craving a cinnamon roll say “wow”? Probably not, but it DEFINITELY does its job at satisfying that craving, as mug recipes are best at. Very well done! Thank you & I will be making again.
(I put 4 stars because it did its job, but wasn’t OVER the top and the BEST thing I’ve ever had. 5 stars for the thoughtfulness and simplicity of the recipe though<3 )