Upgraded Canned Cinnamon Rolls

There is this hack going around right now where you can use canned cinnamon rolls and take them to the next level. I LOVE cinnamon rolls, so I just had to try it! While not as good as my homemade, these are still way better than just the canned ones by themselves, especially if you like an ooey-gooey cinnamon roll. Enjoy!

Upgraded Canned Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

• 2 cans Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls, ~17 oz. each, 10 rolls total
• ~1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbl cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place your rolls into your baking dish in an evenly spaced, single layer. Reserve the frosting that comes with the rolls for later.
3. Pour your heavy cream around (not on top of) the rolls until it comes about halfway up the cinnamon rolls.
4. Mix together your melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour this mixture evenly over the rolls.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cream is absorbed, your rolls have enlarged and are puffy and starting to brown.
6. Let cool, then top with the frosting from the cans.

Marsha's Notes:

You can also top these rolls with nuts, if desired.

All Recipes' Layered Cinnamon Crescent Roll Recipe

I got this recipe from my friend Kellie (it's on her blog too!) and I think it's great!  Definitely not something if you are looking for a healthy dessert... I mean, it's got cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter! But if you want something easy that's yummy, here you go. 

Layered Cinnamon Crescent Roll Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 pkgs of refrigerated crescent roll dough
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Spread one pkg of refrigerated crescent roll dough in the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan (pinch dough together at seams or roll with a small roller).
2. Mix cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.
3. Spread mixture onto roll layer.
4. Top mixture with another package of crescent roll dough (pinched together at seams).
5. Mix melted butter, sugar and cinnamon.
6. Pour on top of the dough.  
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Marsha's Notes:

• You can buy crescent dough sheets instead of the perforated kind that makes individual crescents to make life just a touch easier.

• Here is what it looked like before baking, after baking, and when topped with an optional icing glaze.

I wasn't expecting the molten puddles of cinnamon sauce, so it will be interesting to see if that is how it always is.

Because it looked bald, I did about 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with a little bit of milk (couple Tbl... maybe but probably less than 1/4 cup...?).

• I haven't made this recipe in years, and this time using the "dough sheets" it turned out cakier than I was expecting (no layers of flaky crescent). I can't remember what the texture was like when I originally made this recipe, so I don't know if the texture this time was because of how how the dough sheets I bought were stored, that batch I got, or if it's always that way, so I would be interested to document in the future the difference between another batch with dough sheets and a batch with perforated dough. That said, it was still delicious.

Taste of Home's Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls and Cream Cheese Frosting

This is currently my favorite cinnamon roll recipe. They are nice and moist because of the cake mix, and if you know me, anything with a pre-made ingredient (like cake mix) is a winner. My family requests these cinnamon rolls often at family gatherings. *It makes two large pans, so you need a crowd to finish them off, unless you aren't worries about your waist size!  I originally got this recipe from a friend of mine whom, I believe, got it out of a cookbook that is all about using cake mixes. However, I have also found an almost duplicate recipe on the Taste of Home website, so I will give credit for the recipe and photo there. Light and fluffy (cake-like) these are NOT. Think dense, heavy, and so, so filling!!!!

Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls (Single Cookie Sheet)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups flour, divided
• 1 box (9 oz.) one-layer white cake mix***
• 2 pkg. (1/4 oz. each) quick-rise yeast
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups warm/hot water (120 degrees)
• 2 Tbl. melted butter
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tbl. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine 3 cups flour, cake mix, yeast, salt and warm water. Mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth (about 6-8 minutes). Roll dough into a 9x18 rectangle. Spread with butter. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle mixture over buttered dough. Roll jelly roll style and slice into rolls (about 12). Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let raise in a warm place until double in size, about 15-30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until they start to turn lightly brown. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Marsha's Notes:

Because most cake mixes are 18 oz., I usually make a double recipe which ends up being two cookie sheets full of cinnamon rolls (about 24 rolls) (See doubled ingredient recipe below). 

I have also found it is easiest to cut the dough with a piece of dental floss. All you do is put the floss under the dough where you want to cut it. Then, bring the floss up the sides, and, as if you were going to tie a bow around the dough, you pull the strings opposite each other to slice through. (Hope that makes sense...). 

I have also found that it works best to help the dough rise if you turn your oven on to the lowest setting to preheat while you are mixing the dough (usually 170 degrees), then turn the oven off. Add a pan (9x13) of boiling water to the bottom shelf of the oven, allowing the dough to raise in a nice warm/moist environment.

Cream Cheese Frosting (Single Batch)

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-4 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, half of a standard 8 oz. brick
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. 
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating until smooth.

Marsha's Notes:

If you are making the double batch of rolls, then make a double batch of frosting too, using an 8 oz. block of cream cheese instead. I used to be able to find smaller 3 oz blocks of cream cheese in my local grocery store for the single batches, but anymore I just cut an 8 oz in half and use that instead because it appears the 3 oz size was discontinued.

Jiffy Cinnamon Rolls (Double Cookie Sheet)

Ingredients:

• 8-10 cups flour, divided
• 1 box (18-20 oz. ish) standard white/yellow cake mix (makes a 9x13 or two 9 inch rounds)
• 4 pkg. (1/4 oz. each) quick-rise yeast
• 2 tsp. salt
• 4 cups warm/hot water (120 degrees)
• 4 Tbl. melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tbl. cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine 6 cups flour, cake mix, yeast, salt and warm water. Mix until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and kneed until smooth (about 6-8 minutes). Roll dough into two 9x18 rectangles. Spread with butter. 
2. In a separate bowl, mix together cinnamon and sugar. Sprinkle mixture over buttered dough. Roll jelly roll style and slice into rolls (about 12 per rectangle). Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let raise in a warm place until double in size, about 15-30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until they start to turn lightly brown. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (Double Batch)

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, one full standard brick
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. 
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar beating until smooth.