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Hi Bold Bakers!
Did anyone think that this is what 2020 had in store?! As we enter week 7 of quarantine, you’ve probably had your fill of cereal, oatmeals, and healthful yogurts for breakfast. Here is official permission from me to indulge while you deal with working from home, homeschooling, and, in general, just self-isolating!
What better way to treat yourself than with a warm, sticky cinnamon roll? Well — how about a GIANT one?
Of course, since we are in quarantine, you may not have enough people to bake for, or even yeast to bake with. That doesn’t have to stop you! Here is a super easy recipe to make a giant, no yeast cinnamon roll — perfect for two.
What Is A Giant Cinnamon Roll?
My Giant Cinnamon Roll recipe is perfect for one or two people, as opposed to my full-batch 1-Hour No-Yeast Cinnamon Rolls Recipe! Instead of making an entire batch of cinnamon rolls, you only make one BIG one — but it still doesn’t use any yeast.
Why You Don’t Need Yeast
A lot of bakers right now are finding that yeast is not always the secret ingredient to a delicious dish! While I absolutely love a yeasted dough, not using yeast in this recipe is actually faster than a traditional yeasted cinnamon bun dough.
If you ask me, that’s a huge bonus while trying to make breakfast. Yeast might be tough to find, anyway.
This recipe calls for plain yogurt (or sour cream, which you can always make at home with my sour cream recipe!) and baking powder instead of yeast. Baking powder will be your raising agent in this recipe, and the yogurt or sour cream will help hold the dough together.
What You Need To Make a Giant Cinnamon Roll
Here is all you need to make your sticky, cinnamon dreams come true:
- 6-inch round cake pan or an oven-safe dish
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Rolling pin
How To Make A Giant Cinnamon Roll
There are three key components to a great cinnamon roll: the filling, the dough, and the icing. Here are the steps (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
For the Cinamon Roll Filling:
- Combine melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Place this in the fridge while making your dough.
For the No-Yeast Cinnamon Dough:
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add cold cubed butter and rub in using pastry blender or fingers.
- In a separate jug, combine yogurt (or sour cream), egg, and vanilla. Add a majority of this to your first bowl and gently stir until combined. Add any remaining liquid if necessary.
- The dough should come together into a smooth ball. Turn this out onto a floured work surface and, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll it into, roughly, a 20 x 4 inch rectangle.
- Bring back the filling! Spread the cinnamon filling evenly over the dough.
- Roll the dough, from the long side, into a log and place in your baking pan.
- Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30-35 minutes.
For the Cream Cheese Glaze:
- Whisk cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and set aside as the cinnamon roll is baking.
- Allow the cinnamon roll to cool for 15 minutes and then spoon over the cream cheese glaze. Eat pronto!
Gemma’s Pro Tips To Making A Single Serving Giant Cinnamon Roll
- If you are using Greek yogurt, use a little extra. Since it is thick, you will need more for the dough to come together.
- If you don’t have, or don’t eat, eggs, check out my 7 Best Egg Substitutes in Baking Chart.
- Make sure your cream cheese is softened before attempting to make the cream cheese glaze.
- When making the dough, your butter should be cold. The cold butter will cut into the flour, like when you make a rough puff pastry, giving you flaky layers and incredible richness.
How To Store Cinnamon Rolls
This giant cinnamon roll can be stored at room temperature for 2 days in an airtight container but can keep in a refrigerator for up to 3 days .
Hopefully, this recipe will help you stay sane while you stay safe! And, well, maybe a little sticky from the incredible cream cheese glaze.
Make More Breakfast
Don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
Giant Cinnamon Roll Recipe (No Yeast!)
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/2oz/43g) butter
- 6 tablespoons (2oz/57g) dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1 cup (5oz/142g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons (2 1/2oz/71g) butter
- 1/3 cup (2 1/2 oz/71g) plain yogurt* (or sour cream)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 1/4 cup (2 oz/57g) cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons (1oz/28g) butter softened
- 1/4 cup (1oz/28g) powdered sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C), then butter a 6-inch round cake pan or oven-safe dish. Set aside.
For the Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside in the fridge while making the dough.
For the No-Yeast Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- To make the dough combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Next, add in the cold cubed butter and rub it in using a pastry blender or your fingertips until you've reached the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
- In a separate jug combine the yogurt, egg, and vanilla.
- Add the majority of the wet ingredients into the dry then gently stir until just combined. Add the remaining liquid if you need it.
- Once the dough has come together into a smooth ball, turn it out onto a floured work surface.
- Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a roughly 20 x 4-inch rectangle.
- Spread the cinnamon filling as evenly as possible over the dough all the way to the edge.
- Beginning from the long side, roll the dough into a log before placing it in your baking pan.
- Bake rolls for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- While the cinnamon roll is baking make your glaze: In a small bowl combine the softened cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together until smooth then set aside.
- Once the cinnamon roll is done remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes before spooning over the glaze. Enjoy straight away! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.
Hey Gemma,
I really wanted to try the amazing recipe this evening but I’m out of yogurt….could I substitute the yogurt for 1/4 cup of milk??
Totally yummy! I am gluten free and was able to just swap out for my Gf flour mix. I have a 6” casserole pan and it baked up perfectly. Thank you for your sweet treats and fun videos!
Oh my! This is one giant yummy messy goodness! And it being no yeast makes it perfect to make during these times. Thanks for this Gemma and Kevin! ☺️ And of course, George is such a cutie! 🥰
Excellent recipe. I had a Honeycrisp apple that needed to be used so I peeled and diced it finely and added it to the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. Walla – Cinnamon Apple Roll. There will be no left overs to store.
This was sensational. I substituted the sour cream or yoghurt for home made buttermilk as Gemma suggested and it worked perfectly. Thank you Gemma. This will definitely become a favourite.
Hi Gemma, this looks great! And I know I can make it GF for the hubby:) However I don’t have a six inch round pan, what are some other pans/sizes I could use??? Thanks as always for your great recipes and for keeping us happy during this quarantine.
Gemma, where are the raisins or currants?When I could eat cinnamon rolls,couldn’t for get the raisins.
I love this and so does my husband. If I have to travel, I have agreed to have at least 2 in the freezer before I leave. Going to try it with a raspberry filling this week.
Baby George is just adorable. So cool to have him on your crew. <3
So glad I watched the video first or I would have rolled from the long side (as stated in the recipe directions) and then would have had no idea what to do with it … LOL! Could you actually roll it from the long side into a really long and narrow log and then coil it around in the pan?