From Scratch to Scrumptious

If you love cinnamon rolls, but dread the idea of working with dough, you must try these Cinnamon Roll Waffles! All of the flavors, none of the fuss and much quicker than making cinnamon rolls!

I love homemade cinnamon rolls! But I hate waiting for the dough to rise. And sometimes I really don’t want to knead dough… or roll out dough… or shape rolls. Let’s face it, I can be lazy.

What to do when you want to be lazy, but you also want to eat cinnamon rolls? Make Cinnamon Roll Waffles! Slightly more complicated than plain waffles, WAY less complicated than from scratch cinnamon rolls!

Cinnamon Roll Waffles Ingredients

You’ll need to start with your favorite homemade waffle recipe (or waffle mix, I won’t judge!). Then, you need a cinnamon sugar swirl. To top it all off, the frosting! Seriously, the frosting is what completes the cinnamon roll experience. It’s not the same with syrup.

Waffle Batter: I’ve included a from scratch recipe below, but you can substitute with your favorite recipe or mix.

Cinnamon Sugar Swirl: butter, brown sugar and cinnamon, just like the inside of a cinnamon roll!

Frosting: a light drizzle with vanilla buttercream frosting is the perfect topping for a cinnamon roll waffle! I’m guessing you could cheat and use store-bought frosting, but this homemade one is much better than what you get from a tub.

How to Make Cinnamon Roll Waffles

You’ll want to have everything mixed and ready to go before you start cooking any waffles on the iron. Once you start cooking, everything goes really fast!

Get Everything Ready

Start by making the frosting. Beat the butter and powdered sugar until well mixed and soft. Add vanilla and milk. Beat on high for 1-3 minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Put your finished frosting in a baggie or piping bag.

Prepare your waffle batter. Put about 1 cup batter in a baggie or piping bag.

Now, melt the butter for the swirl. Mix it with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour this delicious mixture into another baggie or piping bag.

Tip: To keep your buttery swirl melted and mixed, you may want to put it on a plate over a bowl of hot water (especially if your kitchen is cold). Keeping your swirl warm will prevent a host of difficulties.

All ready? Got a bowl of batter? Extra batter in a piping bag (or baggie)? Cinnamon swirl in a piping bag (or baggie)? Frosting in a piping bag (or baggie)? Then let’s go!

Get Cooking!

Start by putting slightly less than your usual amount of batter into the center of your waffle iron.

Pipe a cinnamon-sugar swirl onto the top of the waffle batter.

Using the waffle batter in the piping bag (or baggie), pipe a swirl to cover the cinnamon-sugar swirl. This part is hard and nearly impossible to cover exactly. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Mine never is.

Now close the waffle iron and cook according to your waffle iron’s directions.

Remove your cooked waffle, drizzle with frosting and serve immediately.

If you aren’t serving these waffles right away, place the cooked waffle directly on the rack in a 200°F oven until ready to serve. Drizzle with frosting immediately before serving. Do NOT put a frosted waffle into the oven!

Troubleshooting

My cinnamon swirl is separating!

If you see your butter in a separate layer over your cinnamon sugar, it may be too cold.

If you haven’t cut the corner off yet, you can submerge your bag in hot water to reheat it.

If you’ve already cut the corner off, you can reheat the bag for 2 seconds intervals in the microwave until warm or simply knead it with your hands until it’s warmed and mixed.

To keep your swirl mixture warm, keep it on a plate over the top of a bowl of hot water.

My cinnamon swirl mixture won’t come out of the piping bag!

One of 2 things is going on here:

1)The hole at the bottom of the baggie isn’t big enough. Try cutting slightly higher up for a bigger hole. (Read and try #2 before you cut!)

2)The swirl mixture is getting too cool. Warm it either by kneading it in your hands or microwaving it at 2 second intervals until warm and then kneading it to mix.

Now, keep the mixture on a plate over a bowl of hot water to keep it from cooling down again.

I have cinnamon-sugar swirl stuck on my waffle iron!

While this may seem like a huge ordeal, it’s really easy to fix. Save enough batter at the end to make 1 plain waffle. Be sure the batter covers any spots of stuck sugar. The sugar will cook into the plain waffle and come off when the waffle is removed. Clean!

I can’t stop eating these waffles!

Okay, this isn’t really a problem with a solution, but it is a real danger! These waffles are delicious!

Storing Cinnamon Roll Waffles

Keep these waffles tightly covered in the fridge for 1-2 days. Keep frosting in baggie or covered container in fridge for 2-3 days.

To reheat: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place waffles directly on oven rack and heat about 7-8 minutes or until warm. Reheat frosting by submerging baggie in warm water until slightly warm (not hot!). Kneading baggie to mix. Drizzle frosting on warmed waffle.

Can I Freeze Cinnamon Roll Waffles?

You bet! I always make a double batch and freeze the extra for an easy weekday breakfast!

To Freeze: Place waffles in a single layer on a baking sheet in the freezer. When frozen, remove from baking sheet and stack 4-5 in a gallon-sized baggie. Optional: place a piece of waxed paper between each waffle for easy separation.

Freeze the frosting in a baggie and keep it in the bag with the waffles.

To Reheat Waffles from Frozen: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place waffles directly on oven rack. Heat 10 minutes, or until heated through.

To thaw frosting: Option 1: Thaw in fridge overnight and remove from fridge in the morning while waffles are cooking. Knead with hands until frosting is warmed up.

Option 2: Place closed baggie of frosting in a bowl of warm water until frosting is thawed. Knead with hands a few times.

Happy Baking!