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Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Like the soft, buttery, gooey middle of a stellar homemade cinnamon roll, with an extra boost of cinnamon.
Texture: Pillowy, tender, and just slightly crisp at the tops and edges where the sugar caramelizes.
Ease: Easier than traditional cinnamon rolls. No rolling pin, no measuring, no sticky slicing.
Why you’ll love this recipe: Every single bite is the BEST bite! Easy assembly is perfect for baking with kids.
These Cinnamon Bun Bites are everything you love about the gooey center of a cinnamon roll… in every single bite!
Instead of precise rolling and slicing a sticky dough, you simply shape balls, dip in butter and cinnamon sugar, and bake until fluffy and golden.
They’re soft, sweet, pull-apart perfection that the whole family can help assemble.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients are available at most grocery stores. Below are a few key ingredients to understand for recipe success.
Whole Milk – Warmed to about 120°F to activate the yeast. Don’t go hotter than is comfortable to touch, or you’ll risk killing the yeast. Whole milk creates a richer, softer dough thanks to its fat content. 2% milk works in a pinch, but the texture won’t be as plush.
Unsalted Butter – Butter in the dough adds tenderness and flavor. The melted butter used for dipping helps the cinnamon sugar cling and encourages that gooey rich texture. If using salted butter, reduce the salt in the dough to 3/4 tsp. and omit the salt in the cinnamon sugar.
Instant Yeast – I use instant yeast, also called Rapid Rise or Quick Rise, for convenience. If using active dry, expect about 20% longer rise time. Learn more about baker’s yeast here.
Bread Flour– Strongly recommended. The higher protein creates better gluten development, which means a dough that’s easier to knead and fluffier, taller bites. All-purpose flour works, but the bites won’t be quite as soft and make take longer to knead and proof.
Brown Sugar + Cinnamon – Brown sugar adds moisture and depth. The small amount of salt in the cinnamon sugar sharpens the sweetness and keeps the flavor from tasting flat. Use fresh cinnamon for best flavor.
Eggs – Add richness, structure, and softness to the dough. I’m not aware of any good substitution options for the eggs.
How to Make (Step-by-Step)
Mix the dough. After kneading for 8-10 minutes, the dough should be very soft, smooth, and elastic, and will stick to the bottom of the bowl. Err on the side of sticky dough!
First rise. Cover and rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. A finger pressed into the dough should leave an indentation.
Form the bites. Roll pieces of dough into 1-inch balls. Don’t aim for perfection!
Dip the dough. Working in batches, dip into melted butter.
Coat. Continue dipping dough balls in the butter then coat in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
Assemble. Place the buttered and dipped dough balls into a greased 9×13-inch pan (can be metal, ceramic, or glass).
Second rise. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes, or until puffy.
Bake. At 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until very lightly golden with an internal temperature of 190°F.
Drizzle icing. Cool for 10 minutes before drizzling with icing.
Serve warm! For maximum gooeyness.
Tessa’s Tips
- Don’t over-flour the dough! Too much flour makes dense bites. The dough will be far less sticky after the first rise, promise.
- Bread flour produces noticeably better results. I like King Arthur, but any brand will do.
- Use fresh ground cinnamon for best flavor.
- If your kitchen is cool (less than 70°F), proof in an oven that’s been briefly warmed then turned off (no hotter than 80°F).
- If the tops brown too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
- Serve warm for the best texture.
Storage & Make ahead
Make ahead: Refrigerate after shaping and coating. Cover tightly and chill overnight. Let sit at room temperature 45–60 minutes before baking.
Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Rewarm briefly in the microwave (10–15 seconds) for best texture.
Freeze: These freeze well after baking. Freeze without icing, then thaw and warm before glazing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Also called cinnamon roll bites, they’re bite-size pieces of enriched yeast dough dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar, then baked together in a pan. Instead of a rolled spiral like cinnamon rolls, each piece becomes soft and fluffy.
It’s reminiscent of monkey bread, but baked in a rectangular pan instead of a bundt pan, for a softer and more gooey texture.
Yes, but expect slightly less fluffy results. All-purpose flour has lower protein, meaning weaker gluten development and a softer structure. The dough will be stickier, take longer to knead, and may take longer to rise.
Ideally, yes. This is a rich dough so it’ll be on the sticky side. You can knead by hand for about 12-15 minutes, depending on your height and strength. The dough should become smooth and elastic before rising.
Dense bites are usually caused by too much extra flour, under-kneading, or under-proofing. The dough should double in size during the first rise and look visibly puffy before baking.
Yes. After shaping and coating, refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temperature and allow to puff before baking.
Yes! Double all ingredients. I wouldn’t recommend kneading that amount of dough by hand, but instead using at least a 6-quart stand mixer. Bake in two 9×13-inch pans.
Yes! Simply halve all ingredients and bake in an 8×8-inch pan.
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Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 1/4 cups (296 grams) whole milk
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast*
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 3/4 cups (603 grams) bread flour**
For dipping:
- 1 stick (1/2 cup, 113 grams) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the icing:
- 2 cups (250 grams) powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) whole milk
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the dough:
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter on medium-low until the butter is melted. Let cool until warm (about 120°F).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the milk mixture with the yeast, sugar, salt, eggs, and vanilla until well combined. Add in half of the flour and stir roughly with the dough hook to combine.
- Attach the dough hook and turn to medium speed. Gradually add the remaining flour until a dough begins to form. Knead until the dough is very soft, smooth, elastic, and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl, about 8 to 10 minutes. If the dough is unbearably sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time. Err on the side of sticky to avoid adding too much extra flour.
- Lightly grease a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and place in the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Prepare for dipping:
- In a glass measuring cup, microwave the butter in 20-second bursts until melted. In a pie pan or other similarly shaped, wide but shallow dish, use a fork to mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt, breaking up any clumps.
Assemble the bites:
- Lightly grease a 9 by 13-inch baking pan.
- Punch down the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Prioritize speed, don’t worry about being perfect. You should have about 85-90 balls.
- Working with 5-6 balls at a time, dunk them in the melted butter, then remove, letting the excess butter drip back in, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Place in the prepared pan.***
- Cover with plastic and let rise until puffy and almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the rolls until lightly golden on top, about 30 minutes.
Make the icing:
- While the bites are baking, whisk together all icing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl until very well combined.
- Allow the bites to cool for about 10 minutes before drizzling with the icing. Serve warm. Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days, and gently rewarm before serving.
Notes
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These cinnamon bun bites are delicious! My grandkids came over today and we decided to bake something. I pulled up Handle the Heat website we searched around they chose the cinnamon bites. It was a fun science experiment as well as baking fun ! They enjoyed watching the rising of the dough and they also had fun we set up stations with the butter and cinnamon sugar. We called them butter and sugar baths.
They turned out perfectly and enjoyed by all great recipe. Thank you.
Sounds like you’re making great memories in the kitchen, how fun! So happy your grandkids loved the recipe 🙂