Homemade cinnamon rolls hot from the oven are a rare treat. But it takes time and organization to mix the dough, knead it, and let it rise, even before you have to shape the rolls and let them rise again. You can speed up the process by starting with store-bought pizza dough. Just roll out the dough, lavish it with butter and sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon, cut and shape, and let rise while you heat up the oven. You can go from bed to the best breakfast ever in about 2 hours.

What to buy: We designed these around premade pizza dough, available in 14- or 16-ounce bags at well-stocked groceries. If you’d like to make your own, you’ll need two-thirds of our recipe for Basic Pizza Dough.

This recipe was featured as part of our project to Turn Store-Bought Pizza Dough Into Sweet Treats!

  • Yield: About 10 small rolls, or 6 large rolls
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Total: 1 hr 45 mins
  • Active: 10 mins

Ingredients (4)

  • 1 pound store-bought pizza dough
  • 2 tablespoons softened unsalted butter, plus more for coating the baking dish
  • 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
  • Ground cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Coat a baking dish with butter and set aside.
  2. Roll out your pizza dough to 1/3 inch thick.
  3. Brush the butter over the entire surface, then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and a generous amount of cinnamon. Cut the dough into 10 strips and roll up each into a spiral.
  4. Arrange in the prepared baking dish, leaving 2 inches between each roll to allow for expansion, and set aside to rise for about 1 hour.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until risen, brown, and bubbly, about 30 minutes.