Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

I love cinnamon rolls but sometimes (most times), I just don’t have the time or patience to make a yeast dough, let alone let it rest twice and then roll out and fill and bake and phew, I’m tired just thinking of it. I wanted to create cinnamon rolls but with a much different approach and technique. These Cinnamon Roll Biscuits have all the components we know and love from a classic roll but in biscuit form. Buttermilk biscuit dough layered with a cinnamon brown sugar butter, baked until golden brown and topped with cream cheese frosting. It wouldn’t be a cinnamon roll without the cream cheese frosting, after all. These are over-the-top and I’m here for it.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. I’m not a big sifter, but if you’d like to can sift the ingredients together, or just use a whisk like I do.

Add the butter and rub with your fingers until coarse crumbs form, the size of peas.

**Tip: You don’t want to overwork the butter at this stage because cold butter equals flakier biscuits. You can use your hands or a pastry blender to achieve this same step.**

Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk. Mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until the dough just comes together.

Bake we want these biscuits to be as chilled as possible, I like to place the bowl in the fridge while I work on the filling.

For the filling, in a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt until creamy and smooth.

**Note: To evenly combine and blend this “paste” perfectly, I highly recommend for the butter to be super softened. You want it very soft, but not melted.**

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead once or twice to bring together. Roll out to a large rectangle, and spread with the brown sugar mixture.

Fold into thirds and roll out slightly. Turn and fold into thirds once more. Roll or pat out to about 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick square.

Use a floured 3-inch round biscuit cutter to cut dough into rounds. Place on prepared baking sheet, about 1 to 2 inches apart. Rework dough quickly and as little as possible and cut remaining biscuits. You should have twelve in total.

**Tip: Again, we want these cold as possible, and since we worked this dough a bit with the folding and rolling and cutting, I really recommend chilling the biscuits for 30 minutes to 1 hour before baking.**

To make the topping, beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Stir in the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix once more until smooth.

Brush the chilled biscuits with melted butter and bake at 400°F until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Spread the warm biscuits with the cream cheese icing and serve immediately. These can be made ahead of time and rewarmed slightly in the oven. You can either wait to frost before serving or frost and reheat later.

These are completely unnecessary but honestly, some of the best biscuits you’ll ever have. They’re a fun baking project for when you want to turn the classic cinnamon roll on it’s head. Let me know what you think below and as always, thank you so much for reading and following along.