The Cinnamon Roll Lab

There's more than one way to eat a cinnamon roll.

Recipes, ridiculous ideas and very good reasons to keep cinnamon rolls in the house.

• ALL
• BREAKFAST
• DESSERT
• PARTY IDEAS
• QUICK IDEAS
• HOLIDAY
• KIDS
• OVER-THE-TOP

• 

  BREAKFAST

  Cinnamon Roll French Toast

  This is the recipe that convinces people a cinnamon roll is not just a cinnamon roll. You slice one in half, dip it like French toast, and griddle it until the cinnamon in the swirl caramelizes against the pan. It takes about ten minutes and it makes an ordinary Sunday feel like a decision you made on purpose.

  Prep 5 minutesEasy

• 

  DESSERT

  Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding

  Bread pudding was invented to rescue stale bread. Cinnamon rolls make it better than it has any right to be, because the swirl melts into the custard and you end up with pockets of cinnamon in every spoonful. This is the recipe for the day you bought more rolls than you could finish.

  Prep 15 minutes plus 20 minutes soakingEasy

• 

  DESSERT

  Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Sundae

  A warm cinnamon roll and cold vanilla ice cream is one of those combinations that needs no defending. This is the assembly instructions version of a recipe: five minutes, no baking, and a temperature contrast that does all the work.

  Prep 5 minutesEasy

• 

  HOLIDAY

  Cinnamon Roll French Toast Casserole

  This is the make-ahead version of cinnamon roll French toast, built for mornings when six people are awake and nobody wants to stand at a skillet. You assemble it the night before, refrigerate it, and bake it while the coffee finishes.

  Prep 15 minutes plus overnight restEasy

• 

  PARTY IDEAS

  Cinnamon Roll Strawberry Shortcake

  Shortcake is just a sweet biscuit with a job. A cinnamon roll does the same job with more personality, and strawberries and cinnamon get along better than most people expect.

  Prep 10 minutes plus 20 minutes maceratingEasy

• 

  HOLIDAY

  Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Bowl

  All the satisfaction of apple pie without making a crust, because the cinnamon roll already brought the pastry and the cinnamon. This is a good November recipe and an even better use of apples that have been in the bowl a little too long.

  Prep 10 minutesEasy

• 

  KIDS

  Cinnamon Roll Ice Cream Sandwich

  A cinnamon roll split in half is already a sandwich waiting to happen. Freeze it with ice cream in the middle and you have something kids will request for the rest of the summer.

  Prep 15 minutes plus 2 hours freezingEasy

• 

  QUICK IDEAS

  Cinnamon Roll Waffle

  Put a cinnamon roll in a waffle iron. That is the whole idea, and it is one of the best five minutes you can spend in a kitchen. The iron presses the swirl into ridges that go crisp while the center stays soft.

  Prep 2 minutesEasy

• 

  DESSERT

  Cinnamon Roll à la Mode

  The restaurant version: a warm cinnamon roll, a scoop of ice cream, a sauce, and a plate that looks like someone in the kitchen cared. It takes eight minutes and it is what to make when guests stay later than you planned.

  Prep 5 minutesEasy

• 

  OVER-THE-TOP

  Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake Bowl

  No-bake cheesecake filling, cinnamon roll pieces instead of a graham crust, layered in a glass so you can see what you are getting into. This is the dessert that makes people ask what you did.

  Prep 20 minutes plus 1 hour chillingMedium

• 

  BREAKFAST

  Cinnamon Roll Breakfast Casserole

  Sweet and savory in the same dish, which is the correct way to eat breakfast. Sausage and eggs baked with cinnamon roll pieces gives you the maple-and-breakfast-meat effect without any maple at all.

  Prep 15 minutesEasy

• 

  PARTY IDEAS

  Cinnamon Roll S'mores

  Graham crackers have had a long run. A split cinnamon roll holds a toasted marshmallow and a square of chocolate better, and it turns a fire pit into an event. Good for backyards, cookouts and any evening in Connecticut that is warm enough to stay outside.

  Prep 5 minutesEasy