Crescent Cinnamon Rolls
Indulge in warm and gooey Crescent Cinnamon Rolls this fall using simple ingredients and minimal baking time! The cinnamon butter filling and sugar glaze transform refrigerated crescent rolls into a decadent pastry you’ll want to make on repeat!
Forget spending hours on homemade dough! This crescent cinnamon rolls recipe starts with store-bought crescent rolls for an incredibly fast and easy treat, perfect for busy holiday mornings. It’s a quick and easy wasy to make “homemade” rolls for any holiday–Christmas, New Years, Easter–you name it!
The simple cinnamon butter filling and sweet glaze can be easily customized with your favorite spices or extracts to suit any taste. Best of all, these rolls store beautifully at room temperature. You can even assemble them ahead of time and freeze them, ready to be baked and glazed for a fresh, warm pastry whenever the moment calls for one.
What are crescent cinnamon rolls?
These crescent cinnamon rolls are a quick and delicious shortcut to a classic treat, using refrigerated crescent roll dough that’s filled with sweet and spiced butter, then baked until golden. While still warm, these crescent rolls are topped with a simple yet irresistible vanilla and almond glaze, creating a soft, gooey, and decadent pastry in no time at all!
Ingredients needed to make crescent cinnamon rolls?
- Refrigerated crescent rolls: You’ll need 1 tube of crescent rolls, unrolled and separated. I usually opt for Pillsbury, but you can use another brand.
- Filling: The cinnamon butter filling is a simple combination of softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- Glaze: This irresistible homemade glaze combines melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and almond extract.
How do you make this crescent cinnamon rolls recipe?
Preheat and prepare:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and place the unrolled and separated crescent rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Assemble and bake:
- Combine the filling ingredients in a small bowl.
- Spread the cinnamon butter evenly over the crescent roll dough and roll them tightly.
- Place the tip side down on the cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Glaze and serve:
- While baking, mix the glaze ingredients until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls using a spoon.
- Add a very light dusting of cinnamon over the top as an optional garnish.
Serving
Enjoy these cinnamon rolls with crescent dough as a sweet start to the day alongside a hot mug of coffee or a cozy Pumpkin Spice Latte. They’re the perfect sweet addition for breakfast with this savory Sausage Breakfast Casserole, Butternut Squash Granola Parfaits, or a side of homemade fruit salad.
Convert them into a delicious dessert when served with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream, Pumpkin No-Churn Ice Cream, or Cinnamon Whipped Cream.
Sandy’s tips and substitutions:
- Storage: Store leftover crescent cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze the unglazed baked rolls for up to 3 months and then wait to add the fresh glaze after thawing and reheating. I like to wrap each roll in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. You could also assemble the rolls and freeze them unbaked, ready to be thawed, baked, and glazed just before serving.
- Toppings/garnish: Consider sprinkling chopped candied walnuts or pecans over the fresh glaze for extra flavor and a crunchy contrast. Feel free to replace the vanilla and almond glaze with something a little more decadent, such as a caramel glaze or melted chocolate (white or milk chocolate).
- Gluten-free: Use a gluten-free tube of refrigerated crescent rolls when catering to allergies.
- Glaze consistency: To thicken the glaze, mix in extra powdered sugar. For a thinner glaze, mix in some milk or heat the glaze mixture for a few seconds in the microwave.
- Sift the powdered sugar: To ensure a lump-free glaze, sift the powdered sugar into the bowl with the melted butter and extracts.
- Extracts: I love the additional layer of flavor both extracts (vanilla and almond) create in the simple glaze, but you can use vanilla extract only, if you prefer.
- Double the recipe: Double this crescent cinnamon rolls recipe and bake in two cookie sheets when catering to a crowd (making sure to rotate the baking sheets if they can’t both fit side-by-side on the middle rack).
- Fruity filling: Spoon some apple pie filling over the cinnamon butter when assembling these crescent cinnamon rolls for a fruity version. Just make sure that you don’t add too much or most of the filling will spill out and make a mess. Raisins are another easy and delicious filling idea, pairing perfectly with the spiced butter.
If you’re looking for more cinnamon roll recipes for breakfast, brunch, or the holidays, be sure to try these Old-Fashioned Cinnamon Rolls with raisins or Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling.
More crescent roll desserts you may want to try:
- Cinnamon Cruffins
- Nutella & Peanut Butter Crescent Roll Dessert
- Blueberry Dumplings
- Raspberry Cream Cheese Crescent Ring
- Peach Dumplings Recipe
Get the Recipe:
Crescent Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 tube Pillsbury crescent rolls, unrolled and separated
Filling
- ¼ c. butter, softened
- ¼ c. brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamom
Glaze
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- ¼ cup powdered sugar, + 2 tablespoons
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- Place the unrolled and separated crescent rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet.
- In a small bowl, mix together the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and cardamom.
- Evenly spread the cinnamon butter over the crescent rolls and roll them tightly.
- Place the tip side down on the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
- While baking, make the glaze by mixing together the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, almond extract until smooth.
- Use a spoon and drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls.
- Add a very light dusting of cinnamon over the top for a garnish (optional).
- Serve warm!
Notes
Sandy’s tips:
- Storage: Store leftover crescent cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: Freeze the unglazed baked rolls for up to 3 months and then wait to add the fresh glaze after thawing and reheating. I like to wrap each roll in plastic wrap and store them in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. You could also assemble the rolls and freeze them unbaked, ready to be thawed, baked, and glazed just before serving.
- Toppings/garnish: Consider sprinkling chopped candied walnuts or pecans over the fresh glaze for extra flavor and a crunchy contrast. Feel free to replace the vanilla and almond glaze with something a little more decadent, such as a caramel glaze or melted chocolate (white or milk chocolate).
- Gluten-free: Use a gluten-free tube of refrigerated crescent rolls when catering to allergies.
- Glaze consistency: To thicken the glaze, mix in extra powdered sugar. For a thinner glaze, mix in some milk or heat the glaze mixture for a few seconds in the microwave.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
