These Beloved Store-Bought Rolls Are the Secret to the Best Shortcut Cinnamon Buns

You can have ooey gooey goodness on your table in less than 20 minutes.

When I was growing up, holiday mornings were often accented by my mom’s homemade cinnamon rolls or pecan sticky rolls. Calling for yeast, other baking staples, and a lot of time, these were always a labor of love—which meant they were only served on special occasions.

But since my mom’s M.O. is to take every cinnamon quantity in a recipe and double it (this trademark has been passed down to me), she’d fill in the gaps other weekends throughout the year with store-bought refrigerated cinnamon rolls. Sold in a tube, these break-and-bake rolls come with a cup of icing and only require about 1 minute of hands-on time before 15 minutes of baking.

While scrolling through social media recently, I came across a semi-homemade viral recipe trend that I knew would make Mom proud. Since it starts with a package of King’s Hawaiian Rolls instead of homemade yeast bread dough, I knew this would also make my Saturday brunch ultra-easy!

Social media sensation and home cook Brian Gerwig, aka @g_bque, shared this King’s Hawaiian Cinnamon Roll Bites recipe on March 19. By the time I recreated them in my own kitchen in early May, the video had more than 7.2 million views on TikTok and 309,000 likes on Instagram.

This cinnamon roll hack has been so popular that Gerwig has since gone on to share Blueberry King’s Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls and King’s Hawaiian French Toast Bites. (He’s also known for his savory sliders using packages of less-sweet bread rolls. I can’t even imagine how fast Pizza Sliders or Southwest Chicken Sliders with a Spicy Ranch would fly off a game day table.)

How to Make King’s Hawaiian Cinnamon Roll Bites

You need less than 20 minutes and a few budget-friendly baking staples to make these easy cinnamon rolls (buns?). Admittedly, they’re not spiral-shaped rolls, but they are made with a package of bread sold in "roll" form, so we think the name still fits either way!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of 12 King’s Hawaiian Original Sweet Rolls

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, softened

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup powdered sugar

• 1 tablespoon melted butter

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Start with a package of King’s Hawaiian rolls (not separated into individual rolls). Using a sharp bread knife, slice the loaf of rolls in half across their centers to create a top half and bottom half of the rolls.

3. Combine softened butter with brown sugar and ground cinnamon in a small bowl.

4. Transfer the rolls to a baking sheet or a 9x13-inch pan. Spread half of the butter mixture onto the cut side of the bottom half of the rolls. Top with the rest of the rolls, then spread the remaining butter mixture on top.

5. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes, or until the butter mixture has melted and the rolls look golden.

6. While the rolls bake, make the icing: Combine powdered sugar, melted butter, vanilla, and milk in a medium bowl.

7. Once the cinnamon rolls are done, allow them to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Enjoy warm, dunked in the icing.
   

Tips for Making Shortcut Cinnamon Rolls Your Own

In about 20 minutes, I had a dozen buns ready to roll right onto my brunch spread. Bonus: These easy cinnamon rolls made my kitchen smell as intoxicating as a Cinnabon kiosk for a few hours! The finished product reminded me more of monkey bread than cinnamon rolls, just with a side of powdered sugar icing, but certainly cured that same craving.

If you too decide to give Gerwig’s recipe a try, here are a few tricks to make it even easier or to customize it to suit your preferences.

• Soften butter swifty. The internet has some very creative ideas for how to soften butter quickly. My secret? Simply place a stick of butter in its wrapper—the exact quantity called for in this recipe—standing up on one side in the middle of your microwave tray. Microwave for 10 seconds, flip the stick to the other end, then microwave for 10 more seconds. Softened butter is now yours, ready to go.

• Add a pinch of salt. Now that I’m in my 30s, I prefer a little salty with my sweets for balance. As written, this recipe with its sweet rolls, brown sugar, and powdered sugar icing is ultra-sweet. Next time, I might use salted butter, add a pinch of salt to the butter mixture, and/or finish with a sprinkle of flaky salt on top to offset all the sugar.

• Feel free to mix up your extracts. I imagine the icing would be pretty incredible with some vanilla and some other extracts too. Consider 1/4 teaspoon almond extract or 1/4 teaspoon maple extract with 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract.

• Spread the sides. These are coated in buttery bliss as it is, but to infuse more flavor into every crumb, spread the butter mixture in the center, on top of, and around the edges of the rolls before baking.

• Start with less milk. You might only need 1 tablespoon for the icing. Add that much, stir to combine, and add more milk if needed to reach your desired consistency.

No matter which path you choose for this easy cinnamon roll recipe, it's pretty much guaranteed to be a hit at your next brunch party—especially among kids and kids at heart. When you give them a try, be sure to serve these alongside a thick stack of napkins. Thanks to the buttery filling and topping, as well as the icing dunk, this dish is drippy in the most delightful and delicious way.