Lazy Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 1 vote

If you're craving warm, gooey cinnamon rolls but don’t have time to make dough from scratch, this shortcut recipe is your solution. These Laxy Cinnamon Rolls combine the sweet, pillowy softness of King's Hawaiian rolls with a buttery brown sugar and cinnamon filling and a velvety cream cheese icing that melts into every bite.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 229kcal

Author: Chula King

Equipment

1 quarter sheet pan
Nonstick aluminum foil
Electric Mixer
Small offset spatula

Ingredients

Cinnamon Rolls

½ cup (1 stick, 4 ounces, 113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ cup (5 ounces, 142 grams) light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (See Tip 1)
1 12-count package of Hawaiian sweet rolls

Cream Cheese Icing (See Tip 2)

1 ½ cups (6 ounces, 170 grams) confectioners’ sugar
¼ cup (½ stick, 2 ounces, 57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 ounces (85 grams) cream cheese, room temperature (See Tip 3)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (See Tip 1)

Instructions

Cinnamon Rolls

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a quarter-sheet pan with nonstick aluminum foil and set aside.
Cut the Hawaiian rolls in half horizontally, keeping thetops and bottoms connected. Place the bottom halves of the rolls on the prepared sheet pan. (See Tip 4)
Beat together ½ cup of room-temperature butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a small bowl until well combined.
Spread the bottom halves of the rolls with ¾ of the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Place the top halves of the rolls on top, then spread the remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture over them.
Bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing. Beat together the butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt until creamy.
Spread icing on warm rolls before serving.
Yield: 12 Lazy Cinnamon Rolls (See Tip 5)

Video

Notes

You can use table salt in place of the fine sea salt.
I like a lot of icing on my cinnamon rolls. If you're a minimalist, you can halve the icing recipe.
I used low-fat cream cheese, but you can use full-fat cream cheese.
The hardest part of this recipe for me is slicing the Hawaiian Rolls in half horizontally evenly. For best results, use a long bread knife and take your time, keeping the knife horizontal to the surface.
For a small-batch recipe, use a 4-count package of King's Hawaiian original sweet rolls, and adjust the icing recipe accordingly.

Nutrition