Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Buns w/ Sweet Cream Frosting

Ever have the craving for cinnamon rolls but not interested in rolling your own dough?? These Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Buns w/ Sweet Cream Frosting HIT THE SPOT. It’s a combination of French toast and cinnamon roll and it’s every bit as dayummm good as it sounds. with a handful of simple ingredients and a whole lot of butter and sugar, what’s not to love?? These small sweet rolls are perfect for entertaining on the fly, they are crazy easy to make and only take about 30 minutes, start to finish.

Redefining a simple ingredient.

The key ingredient of this simple sweet treat is Sweet Hawaiian Rolls. Most often you’ll see these rolls used in savory dishes. These little sweet rolls are perfect slider buns for pulled pork, ham and cheese, mini bacon cheeseburgers or philly cheesesteak. There’s something about pairing up savory and sweet that just WORKS. But we are redefining this simple ingredient with this recipe. We’re going sweet on sweet!

The grocery list.

Most of these items are fridge and pantry staples, WOOT WOOT! There are a handful of various sugars in this recipe but they all play their parts adding different levels of sweetness and a variety of complexities to the flavor. Ultimately, this recipe lives somewhere between French toast and cinnamon rolls and it couldn’t be easier.

Stay stocked:

• eggs — toss the eggs in a large bowl and give them a good whisk until bubbly, the key ingredient for the dipping custard.
• heavy cream — the full fat heavy cream is ideal for this custard like mixture but it can also be substituted for whole milk, skim milk or unflavored nut milk.
• vanilla — it’s not an overpowering ingredient but the flavors wouldn’t be rounded if the vanilla was missing.
• ground cinnamon — the cinnamon shines in this recipe. It’s used in the egg and cream mixture as well as in the butter and sugar paste. Without it, you don’t have that classic cinnamon roll flavor!
• King’s Hawaiian Rolls — these sweet slider buns are often used to balance a savory dish like pulled pork, time to double down on the sweetness and use this for a simple sweet treat!
• butter — salted or unsalted, that is the question! There’s always debate on salted or unsalted in recipes and I see the benefits of both sides of the argument. If you use unsalted butter in cooking and baking you can better control the level of saltiness whereas using salted butter you are at the mercy of that particular brand. I love salt and therefore always use salted butter.
• dark brown sugar — dark brown sugar is a key ingredient for that cinnamon roll reminiscent flavoring. Compared to light brown sugar, it’s higher in molasses and has a more complex flavor with notes of caramel.
• granulated sugar — this sugar is all about the sweet. It balances the complex caramel flavors from the dark brown sugar.
• cream cheese — you simply cannot have a cinnamon roll inspired recipe without cream cheese in the frosting. It’s the ultimate flavor pairing of sweet and tangy.
• powdered sugar — powdered sugar offers sweetness to the frosting without the grainy crunch of regular granulated sugar.

Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Buns are the best.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this recipe straddles the line between French toast and cinnamon rolls. It’s as simple as French toast with all the complex flavors of a cinnamon roll and with far less steps to get there. These Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Buns are the best because they are so simple to make and pack a TON of reminiscent flavors!

A few simple steps.

The dip.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, 1/4 cup of heavy cream, vanilla and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Separate each roll and cut an X into the top. Dip each roll into the egg mixture to cover the entire roll. Place on a baking sheet.

The sugar/butter paste.

In a medium bowl, mix the softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon to create a paste. Either use a ziplock/pipping bag or a spoon and your hands (it got a little messy but got the job done!) scoop 1-2 tsp of the butter into each roll.

The bake.

Bake the rolls for 15-18 minutes until golden.

The frosting.

While the rolls bake, make the cream cheese frosting by mixing the soft cream cheese with powdered sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream until smooth. When the rolls have finished baking, allow to cool for 2 minutes then top with the cream cheese frosting and enjoy!

Looking for more simple sweet treats?

Here are a few to try:

EASY CANNOLI DIP WITH WAFFLE CONES

AIRCRISP APPLE BUTTER DONUTS

SHEET PAN POP TART WITH PUMPKIN BUTTER AND MAPLE BACON GLAZE

Lastly, if you make this Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Buns w/ Sweet Cream Frosting recipe, be sure to leave a comment! Above all, I love to hear from ya’ll and do my best to respond to every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of your dayyyummm good recreations is my favorite!

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