For those of you out there who have already had the pleasure of indulging in some canned cinnamon rolls, you’ll know that they’re one of the best pre-packaged treats out there.
Not only this, but they’re also incredibly easy to whip up, and can be ready in mere moments.
Sometimes however, if you’re used to eating these tasty treats on a regular basis, they can start to get a little bit boring.
This might lead you to wonder whether or not there are a few things that you can do in order to elevate the flavors, and make them feel a little bit more homemade.
The answer to this question is absolutely, there are a whole bunch of ways that you can take your canned cinnamon rolls to the next level.
Below, we’ve compiled a handy guide that takes you through a bunch of different steps that you can take in order to make your canned cinnamon rolls taste even better than they already do.
To find out more, simply keep reading.
Make Sure You’re Buying The Right Brand
The first tip that we’re going to give you is super simple, and just involves purchasing the right brand of canned cinnamon roll.
In order to do this, you just need to do some sifting and maybe even some taste testing. You can purchase a couple different varieties of cinnamon roll, and then see which one has the most homemade flavor.
In terms of what we think are the best cinnamon rolls out there, we’d have to say Trader Joe’s really knows what they’re doing.
They had a really delicious sweetness that wasn’t too overpowering, and the rolls themselves managed to get to that perfectly doughy yet flaky consistency we all know and love.
The Trader Joe’s variety also comes in two different sizes too, so based upon the size of rolls you’d like to make, you might consider grabbing a can of these.
Although, as a brand, Trader Joe’s can be a little bit more expensive than cheaper varieties of canned cinnamon rolls, we really think that it’s worth it.
Add Some Additional Items
So, this is probably one of the main tips we’re going to give you regarding making your canned cinnamon rolls even more delicious.
If you want to take the rolls to the next level, you’re going to need to add in some additional items to the mix. These aren’t super elaborate, and you probably have most of them at home anyway to try out.
Below, we’ve created a list of some of our favorite treats and toppings to add to your canned cinnamon rolls. To find out more, simply keep reading below.
Butter
The first item that we’re going to be urging you to add to your roll is butter. All of us know that the addition of butter makes pretty much everything taste better.
So, if you want to make your rolls even tastier, we’d definitely recommend slathering some of this on there.
This is probably one of the easiest things that you can do to start jazzing up your rolls. In order to do this, you’re simply going to need to take a dough mixture out of the can, then gently unroll it with your fingers.
You should be careful when doing this as the dough itself can sometimes be a little bit fragile, and you don’t want it to break up in your hands.
The roll should unfold, and you’ll see the cinnamon and sugar mixture packed inside. Without disturbing the contents here, simply place a few dollops of butter everywhere, ready for it to melt later on in the oven.
After you’re satisfied with the amount of butter you’ve placed in the rolls, you can then go ahead and rewrap them, so that they’re the same roll-like shape that they were previously.
Something that we’d like to point out is that not all brands of canned cinnamon rolls can actually be unrolled. There are only a few out there that you’re able to add butter and different fillings to.
As we mentioned above, the one from Trader Joe’s is excellent for this job, and is fairly easy to unroll, especially if you get the jumbo one.
If you can’t unroll the dough, then we’d simply recommend that you spread the butter on top of the roll itself.
Cinnamon Sugar Blend
Now, we know that this might seem counterintuitive. If you’re purchasing store bought cinnamon rolls, why would you then go ahead and make your own filling.
Well, simply because it’s the easiest part of making cinnamon rolls. Sometimes, when we buy ones from the grocery store, they simply don’t put enough filling inside, and we wish that it tasted more cinnamon-ey.
This problem is easily rectified, and in order to make your rolls taste even better, all you have to do is mix together some brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Whip this mixture up in a bowl, then unwind your dough and slather it inside.
In addition to this, you can add a few additional spices to the mix too. We’d recommend that you put in some allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cardamon, or just some regular old pumpkin spice seasoning. Whatever you can get your hands on, essentially.
Another great tip that we’d like to give in regards to this mixture, is to melt the butter that you’re using first.
You can do as we mentioned above, and slather the mixture inside, but if your rolls can’t be unwound, then you can simply melt your butter, mix in the spices and sugar, then pour it over the top so that it covers the entire roll.
Add Some Dry Ingredients
If you want to make your canned cinnamon rolls even tastier, then we’d recommend that you go ahead and add in some dry ingredients to the mix. There’s no limit really to what you put in these rolls, and it’s all up to personal taste and preference.
We’d recommend that if you are planning on adding some dry ingredients, that you at least put some butter in there first. This will ensure that the dough is as moist as possible, and has something to attach the dry ingredients to the roll itself.
In terms of what you should add to your rolls, it’s really up to you. We really loved the addition of dried fruit to the mix.
You can use pretty much any variety of dried fruit that you like, but we thought that blueberries worked pretty well, along with some raspberries too.
If fruit isn’t really your thing, then you could add some chocolate chips instead, and watch them get all gooey and melted in the oven. Or, if nuts are more your jam, then we think that pecans or pistachios would work really well too.
A tip that we’d like to give before you start considering dry ingredients, is to make sure that you’ve chopped everything up so that it’s quite fine.
This is because the dough itself is very thin, and if you were to put large chunks of items in there, it could break the surface. So, just make sure that you’re taking the time to chop all your stuff up.
Add Some Totally Different Fillings
We all love the deliciousness that is sugar and cinnamon, but what about changing things up and putting a totally different filling inside.
Before you add your fillings inside, again, just remember to brush the surface of each roll with butter first, to make it even tastier.
There are lots of different canned fillings that you can purchase which taste delicious, we think that either blueberry or cherry would work super well in this dish.
You can essentially take your favorite pie filling, and slather it on the surface of each of your rolls.
There are lots of other things that you can use to fill your cinnamon rolls too, such as Nutella chocolate spread. Why don’t you make your rolls as chocolatey as possible, and add this ingredient in with some chocolate chips too?
You could also consider making your cinnamon rolls a combination of savory and sweet, by adding in some peanut butter? Which makes them taste super luxurious. You could also consider adding various flavored butters too, such as pumpkin butter.
Experimenting with different flavors and fillings can be super fun, and you can make some different combos to see how they match.
You could even consider cutting the roll itself in half, then putting one variety of flavors inside one, and a totally different one in another.
Use The Right Pan
Now we can move on to some baking tips. One of the most important things that you can do to guarantee that your rolls are as tasty as possible is to make sure that you’re using the best pan for the job.
Some of you might have noticed, but when you make your rolls using a baking tray, they get really flat and wide.
Whereas, if you make sure that they’re in a pan that’s packed tightly enough, they’re able to rise better, and become far larger and puffier.
You want to make sure that they’re all stacked near one another when cooking. This means choosing an appropriately sized cake pan.
Around 8 inches is the perfect size for the job, and will help to make sure that the rolls are as moist and fluffy as possible.
After you’ve found the right pan, make sure that you’re always covering all of it up with baking paper before you get started. This helps the rolls to cook evenly throughout.
Bake Them Using Cream
This is one of our top golden tips when it comes to making your cinnamon rolls even better than they were before. You can bake these sweet treats in some heavy cream, rather than just leaving them dry.
Many people haven’t considered using this method before, but it makes the rolls taste even moister and more delicious.
In order to bake them this way, all you have to do is stack your pan with the rolls like we suggested above, then pour over the heavy cream.
If you’re wondering how much to use, we’d recommend that you use approximately half a cup of cream for every can of cinnamon rolls.
You don’t want to overdo it, and use too much (although it is tempting), because this will prevent the dough from cooking properly, as it will be saturated by the cream.
Once you’ve poured over the cream, all you need to do is place them in the oven as you normally would, and wait for everything to absorb.
You might need to increase the baking time, as it does sometimes take a little bit longer using this method. Add on around 5 minutes to the baking time.
You will see the cream begin to bubble, and it should spread to all of the different crevices surrounding the cinnamon rolls.
The dough should actually absorb the majority of the cream, so it will have incorporated by the time that you’re ready to pull them out of the oven.
If you’re planning on using this method, then make sure that you warm up the heavy cream beforehand. If it’s cold, it can hinder the baking process and slow the cooking time down.
In addition to using regular heavy cream, you can also add a few more ingredients in the mix.
One that we’d recommend is vanilla essence. Just a few drops of vanilla essence can make your cream mixture taste even better.
You could also use a coconut one, or even orange or raspberry essence, depending on your particular taste.
If you wanted to make the cream chocolatey, you could also consider adding in a few teaspoons of dark cocoa powder.
In terms of whether or not it’s possible to use a coffee creamer for this purpose, you could swap your cream over for this, if you have the former at hand.
We wouldn’t, however, recommend that you use milk, because this can really affect the consistency of the dough.
Dough that’s had milk poured all over it can be incredibly soggy, and affect the consistency of the item in question.
Cover Your Rolls
The next tip that we’re going to provide you with is to always make sure that you’re covering your rolls appropriately before baking.
Sometimes, if we’ve not glazed them with butter before baking, the top can become incredibly dry, and bake far quicker than the rest of the roll.
There is a way to prevent this, however, and all you’ll need is some tinfoil. It’s honestly ludicrous that the instructions on the rolls themselves don’t tell you to do this, as it makes the quality of the treats way better.
Simply break off a piece of tinfoil, then pack it neatly over the top of your tray. The only thing you need to bear in mind if you’re using this method, is that it does take longer for the rolls to bake.
This is because the heat isn’t going directly into the rolls anymore. This method helps to trap in the moisture that occurs when the rolls evaporate, and makes them far tastier to eat.
After you’ve put your rolls in the oven, you want to be careful that you’re not overcooking them. There’s really nothing more disappointing than eating a dried out cinnamon roll.
To avoid this, make sure that you’re checking on them regularly, especially as the time they’re meant to be ready draws near.
You can adjust the amount of time that you leave your rolls in the oven, because yours might differ from hours, and get a couple of notches hotter.
If you’re unsure whether or not your rolls have baked properly, don’t worry, because there’s an easy way that you can check.
In order to check whether or not your rolls are ready, just grab a knife or a fork, and place it in the center point of where your rolls are. The portion in the middle will always be the slowest to cook.
When you place your knife into the roll, it shouldn’t be gooey at all. If it still appears to have a raw, almost dough-like consistency, then you should put it back in the oven to cook for longer.
If they look as though they’re on the cusp of being done, then we’d recommend that you just take them out anyway. This is because the dough will continue to cook if it’s left in the pan.
So, after you’ve removed the rolls from the oven, just leave them for 10 minutes before transferring.
Give Them An Appropriate Amount Of Time To Cool
The next step in making sure that your rolls are as tasty as possible is to make sure they’ve had plenty of time to cool off.
After you’ve taken them out of the oven, you should flip the rolls so that they’re facing the other way.
This is because the bottom always collects the most syrup and butter, giving it an amazing glaze. This should always be top facing, so that you can witness all of the deliciousness first hand.
The reason why you should leave your cinnamon rolls a bit to cool off isn’t because they can’t be eaten right away, but because it adds to the flavor.
After you’re done transferring them to the wire rack, you can then go ahead and pour the remaining glaze from the pan over your cinnamon rolls. It will take a little bit of time for this to be fully absorbed, so it’s good to wait approximately 5 minutes.
We know that this will be difficult, as you’ll just want to dig in right away, but we promise that it’s worth it.
After you’ve done this, you can go ahead and add on the frosting, then dig in before they get cold. Enjoy your rolls with a hot cup of coffee for the ultimate pairing.
Make A Glaze
One of the best things that you can do to improve the flavor of your canned cinnamon rolls, is to create a glaze to top them. You don’t need any complicated items in order to do this, just some plain old sugar.
This one is also super easy, and just involves taking the cinnamon rolls out of the oven around 3 minutes before they’re ready. After you’ve taken them out, you’re going to need to go ahead and sprinkle the sugar all over them.
After you’ve done this, you’re going to need to crank up the heat, so that it’s super hot, then leave them for an additional 5 minutes or so, until the sugar has all melted.
By doing this, you’ll essentially create a deliciously hard and sticky glaze on the top of your cinnamon rolls. We honestly couldn’t think of anything better!
Make Your Own Icing
Now that we’ve gotten this far, why stop now? If you want to make the best canned cinnamon rolls in the world, we’d recommend that you start experimenting with the icing.
As many of you reading this will already know, it never feels as though the cinnamon roll company provides enough icing to top them with.
This is why you should consider whipping up your own too. Grab some powdered sugar and add some melted butter to the mix in order to make it super luxurious.
If you want to make them super creamy, then you could mix up some whipped cream, and add sugar into the mix.
If you want to make the icing super thick, then you could consider using cream cheese as one of the key components.
Make sure that the dough is still a little bit warm before placing them in the oven, as this means that the icing will melt nicely over the surface.
If you want to keep things simple, and just use a regular water and icing sugar mix, you could jazz it up really easily just by adding a few drops of essence to the mix. You could use vanilla, coconut, orange etc… whatever your preference.
After you’ve created the glaze, top them off with some chocolate flakes, some nuts, or pieces of dried fruit to make them look as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, there are a whole bunch of ways that you can help to make your canned cinnamon rolls taste even better than before. We hope that this guide has managed to help you find some inspiration to get creative.
Frequently Asked Questions
Now that we’ve taken a look at our handy guide, and provided you with all of the tips and tricks you need to get started, we can move on to the FAQ section.
Although it might be tempting to skip over this part, and rush into making your cinnamon rolls, we’d recommend that you read it as it answers some super helpful questions, such as how to store your cinnamon rolls after baking.
To find out everything there is to know about canned cinnamon rolls, simply keep reading as we take a closer look below.
How Can I Make My Canned Cinnamon Rolls Taste Even Better?
Well, we hope that we’ve already managed to answer this question in our guide, but to sum up, you can make your cinnamon rolls taste even better just by adding in a few more ingredients.
Unroll your cinnamon rolls and spread some cinnamon butter inside, as well as some additional items such as chocolate chips. You could even put some pie filling inside.
After you’re finished, then you can go ahead and place them in the oven with some heavy cream drizzled on top.
After you take your rolls out of the oven, make your icing sugar by adding in a few additional items, such as vanilla essence. You could also make a buttercream topping, or a cream cheese one, depending on your particular preference.
What Is A Cinnamon Roll Called In The UK?
Some of you reading this article might be wondering what they call cinnamon rolls in the UK, and if they even have them.
The answer to this question is yes, they do sell cinnamon rolls in the UK, but they go under a different name. If you were to order a cinnamon roll in a patisserie in the UK, then you’d ask for a ‘Chelsea bun’ instead.
The Chelsea bun came into existence during the latter portion of the 18th century, and it’s grown in popularity over the years.
You can purchase Chelsea buns in lots of different places in the UK, and they’re commonly sold in supermarkets, as well as cafes and bakeries.
In the UK, if you want to purchase canned cinnamon rolls, there is a company called ‘Jus Roll’ who sells these. There aren’t currently any other brands which sell canned cinnamon rolls, so the choices are much more limited.
Why Didn’t My Canned Cinnamon Rolls Rise?
This is often one of the most frustrating things when it comes to baking cinnamon rolls, as sometimes they simply don’t rise as you’d like them to. There are a few things however, that you can do to ensure that they do rise like they’re supposed to.
If you want to give your cinnamon rolls the best chance at rising properly, then we’d suggest that you check on the temperature of your oven.
If the temperature is off, this can affect the way that the dough rises. You want to make sure that it’s a little on the hotter side, so that it puts the yeast into action.
If you did make sure that your oven was the correct temperature, and even adjusted it, but your canned cinnamon rolls still turned out flat, then it’s probably the pan you’re using.
As we mentioned previously in our article, if you place your cinnamon rolls on a baking tray, or a pan that’s simply too large, the cinnamon rolls won’t be able to rise as they should.
You need a pan that’s approximately 8 inches, so that they can be packed neatly together. If you manage to stack your rolls quite tightly, this will force them to rise upward, rather than spread outward.
What Is The Difference Between Cinnamon Rolls And Cinnamon Buns?
Some of you reading this article might be wondering whether or not there’s a difference between cinnamon rolls and cinnamon buns.
The answer is yes, there is a distinct difference between the two, and it’s all to do with the way that they’re shaped.
The buns are braided when they’re in their dough-like form, whereas the cinnamon rolls are made into a spiral. They both use the same glaze however, and as a result, have a very similar flavor.
How Do I Store My Canned Cinnamon Rolls?
If you’re finished baking your canned cinnamon rolls, and you have a few left that you’d like to keep for the next day, then we’d recommend that you place them in an airtight container.
This will help to prevent them from becoming super dry. After you’ve placed them in the container, then you can either place them in the refrigerator, or they’ll do just as well on the countertop.
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
