Cinnamon Roll Donuts

Cinnamon roll donuts are a dream come true. A combination of a classic cinnamon roll and a lightly fried doughnut, drizzled with a glaze of cream cheese frosting. What's not to love? And I'm willing to bet you already have all the ingredients in your pantry!

Jump to:

• 🧾 Ingredients
• 📋 Equipment needed
• 🥣 How to make donuts
• 🕐 First rising of dough
• 🥄 Adding the filling
• 🍩 Forming the donuts
• 🕜 Second rising of dough
• 🍲 Deep frying
• ⭐ Cream cheese frosting
• 🧯 Safety
• 🥜 Variations
• ❓ How long are these donuts good for?
• 📝 Recipe

A few days ago, I had an epiphany. My sweet tooth took over and there were visions of cinnamon rolls dancing in my head. But how could I make them even better? Is that even possible?

And then I thought and thought and thought... Donuts! OMG, what if I make my homemade cinnamon rolls but then gave them a pretty twist and fried them like donuts?

Needless to say, that's exactly what I did the very next morning. And I have to tell you, I feel like a genius. I just invented cinnamon roll donuts! And they're not baked, but fried, like real donuts.

Now I just need a clever name for them! If you can think of one, please let me know in the comments below. Some ideas my family has given me so far include cinnadough, rollnuts, cinnanuts, cinnys, bun nuts, nutty buns, and dirty buns! 😂

If you know me (and I hope you do 🙂 ) , you'll know that I'm one for satisfying indulgent breakfasts, like tiramisu overnight oats, bacon-apple-pecan stuffed french toast, nutella babka, and baked oatmeal. And these fried cinnamon roll donuts are no exception.

To make these easy donuts (or is it doughnuts?), we're simply going to make my cinnamon rolls, with an easy homemade dough and a buttery cinnamon roll seasoning, but with a twist. Yes, it's long and requires multiple steps, but nothing scary, I promise. Keep reading...

🧾 Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• Milk - I personally use whole milk for my cinnamon roll donuts, but you can substitute 2% if you prefer. Make sure the milk is warm, about 90℉ (too-hot milk will kill the yeast). A good way to check is to dip your finger in...if it's warm, it's perfect.
  
• Instant yeast - Active dry yeast can be substituted here, but will need a few minutes to activate first. Just mix the warm milk and yeast and then wait a few minutes while you gather the rest of the ingredients.
  
• Sugar - Regular white granulated sugar is used in this recipe.
  
• Eggs - I use large eggs for my recipe. Make sure they're room temperature, as this will help them mix more easily into the batter. In a pinch, eggs can quickly be brought to room temperature by placing them in a bowl of warm water.
  
• Butter - Use melted salted butter.
  
• Vanilla extract - A staple in nearly every baked good, adding depth to the flavor.
  
• Salt - This helps to bring out the flavors of many ingredients in baked treats.
  
• All purpose flour - Regular all purpose flour is used, but be sure to sift it. No one likes lumps of flour in their pastry. If you don't have a hand crank sifter, a fine mesh sieve works just as well.

Cinnamon Roll Filling

• Brown Sugar - In this recipe, I used light brown sugar, but if you prefer an even sweeter flavor, then dark brown sugar can be used instead. Always make sure to pack brown sugar into the cup when measuring.
  
• Cinnamon - Regular ground cinnamon that you can find in the spice aisle at the grocery store will flavor these cinnamon swirl donuts.
  
• Butter - Softened salted butter helps form a paste for the cinnamon roll doughnut filling.

Frosting

• Cream cheese - Cream cheese is the key ingredient in this frosting. It should be softened by leaving it on the counter for an hour or so, or in a pinch, removed from the wrapper and microwaved for about 30 seconds.
  
• Powdered sugar - Also called confectioners sugar, icing sugar, or 10x sugar.
  
• Butter - Salted butter should be melted to make the frosting.
  
• Vanilla extract - Adds a mild vanilla flavor.

Additional

• Oil for frying - Canola oil is best for deep frying, as it doesn't have a strong flavor of its own, is affordable, and has a high smoke point. You'll also need a little oil or cooking spray for the dough proofing bowl.

See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.

📋 Equipment needed

• Rolling pin
  
• Large bowl
  
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mats
  
• Stovetop pot
  
• Wire cooling racks
  
• Candy thermometer (optional, but really handy)
  
• Stainless steel spider (also optional, but also really handy) or long tongs

🥣 How to make donuts

The first thing we're going to do is make the dough from scratch and then practice some patience while it rises.

Tip: While it's easiest to use a stand mixer with a dough hook to make this dough, it can also be done by hand.

In a bowl, mix together warm milk and yeast, and then let it sit for several minutes to activate the yeast (while this step isn't really necessary with instant yeast, it doesn't hurt either).

Then, add the sugar, melted butter, eggs, salt, and vanilla, and mix well.

Finally, add the flour and mix with a dough hook until it forms a ball and pulls away from the sides. The dough will still be quite sticky at this point.

Remove the dough from the bowl and, on a lightly floured surface, knead by hand for an additional 5 minutes.

Tip: Make sure your hands are floured well. Yes, the dough is sticky at first, but try to add as little extra flour as possible during kneading.

🕐 First rising of dough

Lightly coat a large bowl with oil or cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and lightly cover with a clean kitchen towel. Leave in a warm spot for about 1-½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

🥄 Adding the filling

While the dough is proofing, make the filling. In a bowl, simply mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter until it forms a paste.

Once the dough has doubled in size, it's time to roll it out. On a lightly floured surface (or using silicone mats), roll out the dough until it measures approximately 14" x 20".

Next, spread the filling across the entire surface. I've found that the easiest way to do this is by dropping spoonfuls here and there and then gently spreading it out using a rubber spatula, being careful not to tear the dough.

Tip: If the filling is a little too thick, just pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds to thin it out a bit.

🍩 Forming the donuts

Now fold the dough in half by grabbing a short end and carefully pulling it all the way across.

To slice the dough, I have found that a pizza cutter works amazingly well. If you don't have one handy, though, a sharp knife will work as well.

First, slice off the edges to make clean borders around the dough. Now, we're going to slice the dough into 12 equal strips. The best way to do this is the following:

• Make a mark with the knife in the middle of the dough (now we've visually split it into two).
  
• Then, make a mark halfway between the center mark and the edge, on both sides (now it's split into four).
  
• Lastly, make two more marks between each of the marks that are already there, to split each section into three (you should now have 12 evenly spaced marks at the edge of your dough).
  
• Using these marks as guidelines, cut all 12 slices across, to make 12 strips of filled dough.

Twist each of those dough strips several times and pinch the ends tightly together.

Tip: Pinch the ends together really well. Otherwise, they'll come undone during frying. Which is certainly not the end of the world, but they just won't keep that round donut shape.

🕜 Second rising of dough

Place formed doughnuts on a lined tray and cover lightly with a towel. Let them rest again for about 30 minutes.

Note: They will only rise slightly during this time.

🍲 Deep frying

Once the donuts are almost finished their second rising, starting heating up the oil on the stove.

My husband Erich was a bit nervous during this part. Hilarious babe. Hilarious.

Pour the canola oil into a pot so that it's several inches deep and attach a candy thermometer to the side.

Turn on the stove to medium heat. Our goal here is for the oil to reach between 350℉ and 375℉, the optional temperature range for deep frying. Any lower and the donuts will soak up a lot of oil during the frying process. Any higher and the donuts will burn before they've finished cooking.

Heating up the oil will take at least 15 minutes. Watch the temperature carefully to make sure it stabilizes in the correct temperature range. While it may reach this range somewhat quickly, watch for several minutes to make sure it doesn't go above it. If it does, lower the stove temperature and watch again until it stabilizes.

Tip: If you don't have a candy thermometer, to tell if the oil temperature is ready for deep frying, some ideas that I've read about but have not tried myself:

• Stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If there are lots of little bubbles, the oil is ready. If it's boiling too hard, though, it's too hot.
  
• Drop a popcorn kernel into the oil. If it pops, it's ready.

Do not, I repeat do not, try to sprinkle water into the oil to check the temperature. This can result in splashing and a nasty burn.

Once your oil has reached the proper temperature, it's time to fry the donuts!

Tip: Make sure you've got everything ready to go because this part happens quick.

Another tip: Continue monitoring the temperature of your oil throughout frying and adjusting slightly as necessary.

Using a stainless steel spider, gently place one donut at a time into the oil. The donut should float to the top right away, but in case it doesn't, just reach in with the spider and give it a gentle little nudge and encouragement to come up to the top.

Let the donut fry for 40 seconds, then gently turn it over and let the second side cook for 20 seconds.

Using a spider or tongs, quickly but carefully remove the donut from the pot and place on a wire cooling rack. Told you it was fast!

⭐ Cream cheese frosting

While the donuts are cooling, let's make the frosting.

Place softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract in a bowl. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Otherwise, mix well with a spoon until smooth.

Once the donuts have cooled, drizzle or spread the frosting over them in any beautiful way you wish.

Enjoy!

🧯 Safety

Please be extremely careful around hot oil. Do not splash any water into the oil (as we all know, oil and water don't mix). Hot oil burns can be dangerous and painful. And it's not a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher handy too, as oil is a flammable liquid, and we're using a lot of it...just to be on the safe side.

🥜 Variations

• Cream cheese dipping sauce - If there is some leftover cream cheese icing, you can easily make a dipping sauce by stirring in a little milk until the it reaches a thinner consistency.
  
• Nuts - Sprinkle some finely chopped nuts into the filling to add a delicious crunch to your donuts.

❓ How long are these donuts good for?

Although these cinnamon roll donuts are most delicious freshly made, unfrosted donuts can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and will keep on the counter for a few days. Frosted donuts, however, should be refrigerated...or just keep the frosting separate in the fridge and frost just before serving.

Do you have a sweet tooth like me? Check out a few more of our delicious recipes:

• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
• Tiramisu Overnight Oats
• Bacon Apple Pecan Stuffed French Toast
• Nutella Babka
• Single Serve Baked Oatmeal - 5 Ways!
• Coffee Bean Cookies
• Apple Cider Muffins With Cinnamon Streusel
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Peach Mango Turnovers
• Strawberry Shortcake Waffles with Nutella

Did you make these Cinnamon Roll Donuts? Let us know in the comments below!

📝 Recipe