Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls

May 9, 2024

Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls

These are soft, spiral yeasted rolls with a cinnamon-brown sugar filling, baked a batch at a time in an air fryer instead of an oven. The dough is straightforward enriched bread dough — flour, milk, egg, butter, a little sugar, and yeast — rolled out, spread with a butter and cinnamon-sugar paste, rolled into a log, and cut into pieces before a short second rise.

The one thing that matters is the temperature. An air fryer basket sits much closer to the heating element than an oven does, so a normal baking temperature scorches the outside of the rolls before the center is anywhere near done. Dropping the setting well below what a can or a conventional oven recipe calls for is what makes this work, along with keeping the rolls in a single uncrowded layer and cooking in more than one batch if the basket is small.

A brush of heavy cream partway through the cook is optional and adds extra gooeyness to the crumb. Once the rolls are out and cooled for a few minutes, a simple powdered sugar glaze goes on while they’re still warm, so it soaks in a little rather than just sitting on top.

This is a modern convenience dish rather than anything with a long history — most people baking cinnamon rolls in an air fryer are working from a tube of refrigerated dough, and that shortcut is noted below. The from-scratch version here gives better texture and more control over sweetness, and it isn’t much more work.

Ingredients

Makes 8 rolls

The dough

400 g all-purpose flour
220 ml whole milk, warmed to lukewarm (about 40°C, not hot)
7 g instant yeast (1 packet; active dry also works, proofed in the warm milk first)
50 g granulated sugar
1 large egg
60 g unsalted butter, melted
5 g fine salt

The filling

60 g unsalted butter, very soft
130 g light brown sugar, packed
14 g ground cinnamon

During cooking (optional)

60 ml heavy cream, for brushing on partway through

The glaze

150 g powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp milk

Directions

The dough

Warm the milk until it’s lukewarm, not hot. If using instant yeast, whisk it straight into the flour with the sugar and salt; if using active dry yeast, stir it into the warm milk with a pinch of the sugar and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy before continuing.

Combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt (and the instant yeast, if using) in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg, and melted butter, and mix until a shaggy dough forms. Turn it out and knead for 5 to 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave it in a warm spot until nearly doubled, 40 to 60 minutes.

The filling

While the dough rises, mash the soft butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together into a spreadable paste for the filling.

To assemble

Roll the risen dough out into a rectangle roughly 30 by 25 cm (12 by 10 in) and about 1 cm (½ in) thick. Spread the filling evenly over the surface, leaving a bare 2 cm (¾ in) strip along one long edge. Starting from the opposite long edge, roll the dough up tightly into a log. Slice it into 8 even pieces using unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife, working gently so the spiral doesn’t get squashed flat.

Line the air fryer basket with a fitted parchment round and arrange the rolls cut-side up in a single layer, about 2 cm (¾ in) apart. Don’t crowd them — cook in two batches if they don’t all fit with room to spare. Cover loosely and let them rise again for 20 to 30 minutes, until visibly puffy.

To bake

Air fry at 320°F (160°C), no preheat needed, for 8 to 11 minutes, until the rolls are golden and cooked through in the center. For extra gooey rolls, brush the tops with heavy cream around the 7 to 8 minute mark and give them another 2 to 3 minutes. Air fryers vary quite a bit, so check the first batch a little early.

The glaze

Let the rolls cool for 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk the powdered sugar and milk into a smooth glaze and spread or drizzle it over the rolls while they’re still warm but not hot, so it sets rather than running straight off.

Notes

Temperature is the whole trick: 320°F (160°C) is well below a conventional oven’s setting for cinnamon rolls. Going higher burns the outside before the middle finishes cooking.
Never crowd the basket — a single layer with gaps between the rolls is what makes the hot air work. Batches of 5 to 6 rolls at a time is about right for most baskets.
Use parchment or a light brush of oil in the basket rather than aerosol cooking spray, which can damage a nonstick coating over time.
A pinch of salt whisked into the glaze sharpens the flavor.
Cream cheese icing: instead of the powdered sugar glaze, beat 60 g (¼ cup) cream cheese with 30 g (2 tbsp) soft butter, 120 g (1 cup) powdered sugar, a splash of milk, ½ tsp vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt.
Canned-dough shortcut: this is the version most people actually make. Line the basket with parchment and arrange a tube of refrigerated cinnamon rolls (regular 8-count or a Grands 5-count) in a single layer, spaced apart. Air fry at 320-330°F (160-166°C) — about 7 to 10 minutes for the regular size, 10 to 12 minutes for Grands — flipping halfway if you like more even color. Frost with the icing packet included, stirring in a pinch of salt first.