How to store cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

How to Make Canned Cinnamon Rolls Better: a few simple ways to make your store-bought cinnamon rolls taste homemade. They’re ultra ooey-gooey and topped with a semi-homemade cream cheese frosting.

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There’s a time and a place for 100% made from scratch homemade cinnamon rolls, but busy weekday mornings, or really any morning when you’re a parent of two littles, is not that time. 😉 So what’s the solution? Canned cinnamon rolls? Eh. They just don’t hit the same, do they?

Until now! Today, we’re talking about how to make canned cinnamon rolls better. Trust me. Nobody will ever guess these super soft, ultra ooey-gooey, extra cinnamon-y rolls are straight from the can!

How do you make canned cinnamon rolls taste homemade?

These easy tricks are sure to make those store-bought rolls taste like they came straight from the bakery!. No one will know they’re not. 😉

• Use vanilla creamer. Creamer is poured into the bottom of the pan and soaks into the rolls while they’re baking. This keeps the cinnamon rolls extremely soft and gooey while also providing a rich vanilla flavor.
• Add extra butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The cinnamon, sugar, buttery swirls are the BEST part of a cinnamon roll and the canned variety doesn’t have nearly enough. Adding extra butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon provides more richness and a stronger cinnamon flavor.
• Use salt. Adding salt helps keep these rolls from being too sweet and also enhances the other flavors of the cinnamon rolls like the caramel-y brown sugar and spicy cinnamon.
• Add nuts. I used roasted and salted pecans which provides a great crunchy texture and nutty flavor.
• Bulk up the frosting. Canned cinnamon rolls come with the TINIEST bit of frosting… but don’t throw it away! With just a few extra ingredients, we can bulk it up AND make it taste even better.

Pro tip

Be sure to buy 2 (17.5 oz) cans Pillsbury Grands Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing for the best results.

How to make the included frosting taste better

The cream cheese frosting that comes with the canned cinnamon rolls is fine, but there’s not nearly enough. Adding 3 ingredients (that you probably already have on hand) bulks it up significantly and provides even more flavor.

• Add sour cream. Using sour cream adds a tangy flavor to enhance the cream cheese in the canned frosting and also helps to cut the sweetness of the powdered sugar.
• Use salt. Again, adding salt helps keep the frosting from being too sweet and also enhances the other flavors like the sour cream.
• Add powdered sugar. The base for most frosting recipes, powdered sugar adds volume and sweetness!

Pro tip

We’re essentially making a sour cream buttercream, but instead of using butter, we’re using the canned frosting!

Variations

• Use another flavor of cinnamon rolls. Try Orange Rolls with Orange Icing, Cinnamon Rolls with Strawberry & Cream Icing, Hot Cocoa Rolls with Marshmallow Icing, Pumpkin Spice Rolls with Pumpkin Spice Icing, or Cinnamon Rolls with Peaches & Cream Icing (all by Pillsbury!).
• Try another creamer. Use your favorite creamer or whatever you have on hand: hazelnut, caramel, almond joy, cinnabon, sweet cream, pumpkin spice, etc. You could also use heavy cream.
• Omit or switch up the nuts. I personally love adding roasted, salted pecans for a cinnamon roll/pecan roll mash up, but omit or use your favorite roasted, salted nut instead.

How to store

Leftover unfrosted cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 weeks.

Leftover frosted cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator, if frozen, then heat in the microwave or oven.

– Jennifer

How to Make Canned Cinnamon Rolls Better

4.67 from 3 votes

How to Make Canned Cinnamon Rolls Better: a few simple ways to make your store-bought cinnamon rolls taste homemade. They're ultra ooey-gooey and topped with a semi-homemade cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Yield: 10 rolls

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Scale

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Ingredients

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Cinnamon Rolls

• ▢1 cup vanilla coffee creamer or flavor of choice
• ▢1/2 cup unsalted butter
• ▢3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• ▢1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ▢1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢1 cup salted, roasted pecans chopped
• ▢2 (17.5 oz) cans Pillsbury Grands Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing each can should contain 5 rolls

Frosting

• ▢Cream cheese icings from the can you should have 2 (1 from each can).
• ▢1/4 cup sour cream
• ▢1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Cinnamon Rolls

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a glass 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

• Place creamer and butter into a medium sized microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30-60 second intervals until the butter has melted.

• Whisk in brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until combined, then pour the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

• Sprinkle on the pecans, then place the cinnamon rolls in a single layer on top.

• Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes or until cooked through (the cinnamon roll interiors should be about 190 degrees F).

• Remove from oven and let the rolls sit in the pan for 3 minutes.

• Place a rimmed baking sheet or other heatproof tray upside down onto pan then flip.

• Let baking dish remain upside down for 1 minute or so to allow the cinnamon sugar mixture to drizzle over rolls.

• Remove the baking dish, then allow the rolls to cool for an additional 5-10 minutes before frosting and serving warm!

• Take 5 seconds to . We greatly appreciate it!

Frosting

• Place the canned frosting into a medium sized bowl, then add in sour cream, salt, and powdered sugar.

  How do you reheat cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls?

  Oven reheating with frosting.

  Preheat your oven to 350°F..

  Place your cinnamon rolls in a baking dish and cover with foil..

  Heat the cinnamon rolls for 10 minutes or until they are warm and the frosting has softened..

  Can you refrigerate cinnamon rolls after proofing?

  To really save time in the morning, try refrigerating the dough after it has risen and is shaped. Cover the shaped dough tightly and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

  Does Cinnabon icing need to be refrigerated?

  This means enriched dough for cinnamon buns keeps fresher longer — even if left on the counter. What about the cream cheese frosting? According to Cooking Light, as long as the room's temperature remains at a consistent 70 degrees or cooler, cream cheese frosting can be safely left on the counter for up to two days.