Are these cinnamon roll donuts baked or fried?

They're baked in a donut pan — no deep-frying and no oil for cooking. That makes them lighter to prepare and easy to bake in about 10–12 minutes, with a soft, cakey crumb rather than a chewy fried texture.

Do I need a special donut pan?

Yes, a donut baking pan (with ring-shaped wells and center posts) gives them the classic donut shape. If you only have a muffin tin, the same batter makes cinnamon roll muffins — just bake a few minutes longer.

Can I make cinnamon roll donuts without yeast?

This recipe is already yeast-free. It's a cake-style batter leavened with baking powder and baking soda, so there's no proofing or rising time — you mix, pipe, and bake.

Why did my glaze run off the donuts?

Almost always because the donuts were still warm. Cool them completely on a wire rack first; a fully cooled donut lets the glaze set on top instead of sliding off. A slightly thicker glaze also helps it cling.

Cinnamon Roll Donuts

Name: Cinnamon Roll Donuts
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 11 min
Total time: 51 min
Yield: 12 donuts
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cup all-purpose flour; 0.5 cup granulated sugar; 0.25 cup packed brown sugar; 1.5 tsp baking powder; 0.25 tsp baking soda; 0.5 tsp fine salt; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 0.75 cup whole milk; 2 egg large eggs; 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; 2 tsp vanilla extract; 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; 0.33 cup packed brown sugar; 1.5 tbsp ground cinnamon; 3 oz cream cheese, softened; 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened; 1.5 cup powdered sugar; 2 tbsp whole milk; 1 tsp vanilla extract; pinch of salt

Baked cake donuts with a cinnamon-sugar swirl running through the batter and a sweet vanilla cream cheese glaze — all the cinnamon roll flavor, no yeast or frying.

baked cinnamon roll donuts on a wire cooling rack (AI-generated editorial image) — Image: CinnamonRollsRecipe.com · AI-generated editorial (Flux)

Total time: 51 min
Bake: 11 min
Yield: 12 donuts
Level: easy

The quick answer

Cinnamon roll donuts are baked cake donuts made in a donut pan (no yeast, no frying). You whisk a simple batter, swirl a butter-cinnamon-sugar mixture through it, pipe it into a greased donut pan, and bake at 350°F for 10–12 minutes until they spring back. Cool completely, then dip in a vanilla cream cheese glaze so it sets instead of sliding off.

These are cinnamon rolls reimagined as a quick baked cake donut: soft, tender, and swirled with cinnamon sugar, then finished with a glossy vanilla cream cheese glaze that hardens just enough to hold a drip. Because they're a cake-style batter, there's no yeast, no proofing, and no deep-frying — you whisk the batter, ribbon in a buttery cinnamon swirl, pipe it into a donut pan, and they're done in about ten minutes. It's the fastest way I know to get the brown-sugar-and-cinnamon experience of a Sunday-morning cinnamon roll into a handheld donut on a weekday.

a baked cinnamon roll donut cut in half showing a soft cakey interior laced with cinnamon swirl and a glaze top (AI-generated editorial image) — The soft, pull-apart crumb you're after.

Ingredients

Make

donuts

Donut batter

2 cupsall-purpose flour — spooned and leveled
½ cupgranulated sugar
¼ cuppacked brown sugar
1½ tspbaking powder
¼ tspbaking soda
½ tspfine salt
1 tspground cinnamon
¾ cupwhole milk — room temperature
2 eggslarge eggs — room temperature
6 tbspunsalted butter, melted — cooled slightly
2 tspvanilla extract

Cinnamon swirl

2 tbspunsalted butter, melted
⅓ cuppacked brown sugar
1½ tbspground cinnamon

Vanilla cream cheese glaze

3 ozcream cheese, softened
2 tbspunsalted butter, softened
1½ cupspowdered sugar
2 tbspwhole milk — plus more to thin
1 tspvanilla extract
pinch of salt

cinnamon-swirl donut batter being piped into a metal donut baking pan (AI-generated editorial image) — A look at the method — follow the steps below.

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350°F / 175°C and thoroughly grease a donut baking pan, getting into every well and over the center posts so the donuts release cleanly.
Every well and center post is lightly but completely coated.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon until evenly combined and no lumps of brown sugar remain.
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk just until combined — a few streaks are fine. Overmixing makes dense, tough donuts.
Batter is thick and smooth but still has a soft ribbon; no dry flour remains.
Make the cinnamon swirl: stir the melted butter, brown sugar, and 1.5 tbsp cinnamon together into a thick, spreadable paste.
Mixture looks like wet sand and holds together.
Transfer the batter to a piping bag or a large zip-top bag with one corner snipped off. Pipe the batter into each well, filling only about two-thirds full — overfilling closes the donut hole and makes muffin-topped donuts.
Wells are two-thirds full and the center posts are still visible.
Dollop small amounts of the cinnamon swirl over the batter in each well, then drag a toothpick or skewer through it in a few loops to ribbon it into the batter without fully mixing it in.
Visible dark cinnamon streaks marble through the pale batter.
Bake until the tops spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 10 minutes.
Tops spring back and don't leave a dent; edges are set and lightly golden.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the donuts out onto a wire rack and let them cool completely. Glaze applied to warm donuts will slide right off.
Donuts are room temperature and no longer warm to the touch.
Make the glaze: beat the cream cheese and softened butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt. Add milk a teaspoon at a time until it's thick but pourable.
Glaze ribbons off the whisk and slowly sinks back into itself.
Dip the top of each cooled donut into the glaze (or spoon it over), letting the excess drip back. Set on the rack and let the glaze set for a few minutes before serving.
Glaze coats the top evenly and starts to firm at the edges.

Make ahead, store & reheat

Make ahead: Whisk the dry ingredients and the cinnamon swirl the night before and store them separately, covered, at room temperature. In the morning, add the wet ingredients, fill the pan, and bake. You can also bake the donuts a day ahead and glaze just before serving so the tops stay fresh.
Storage: Store glazed donuts in an airtight container in a single layer at room temperature up to 2 days, or refrigerate up to 4 days (the cream cheese glaze keeps best chilled). Bring to room temperature before eating for the softest crumb.
Reheating: Warm an unglazed donut 8–10 seconds in the microwave. Glazed donuts are best at room temperature — microwaving melts the glaze, so reheat before glazing if you can.
Freezing: Freeze baked, unglazed donuts in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and glaze just before serving.

Substitutions

1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend instead of all-purpose flour
Whole milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice, or buttermilk, for extra tenderness instead of whole milk
A simple vanilla powdered-sugar glaze (skip the cream cheese, add more milk) instead of cream cheese
Melted coconut oil instead of unsalted butter, melted

Troubleshooting

Donuts came out dense and heavy: The batter was overmixed, which develops too much gluten. Whisk the wet into the dry just until combined — a few flour streaks are okay. Also check that your baking powder and soda are fresh.
Donut holes closed up / donuts look like muffins: The wells were overfilled. Fill only about two-thirds full so the batter rises around the center post instead of over it. Piping the batter makes this much easier to control.
Glaze slid right off the donuts: The donuts were still warm. Let them cool completely on a rack before glazing — warm donuts melt the glaze and it runs off instead of setting.
Cinnamon swirl sank to the bottom or disappeared: Only drag the toothpick through a few times — over-swirling blends it fully into the batter. Keep the swirl paste thick so it stays as distinct ribbons.

Tools I reach for

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Frequently asked questions

Are these cinnamon roll donuts baked or fried?: They're baked in a donut pan — no deep-frying and no oil for cooking. That makes them lighter to prepare and easy to bake in about 10–12 minutes, with a soft, cakey crumb rather than a chewy fried texture.
Do I need a special donut pan?: Yes, a donut baking pan (with ring-shaped wells and center posts) gives them the classic donut shape. If you only have a muffin tin, the same batter makes cinnamon roll muffins — just bake a few minutes longer.
Can I make cinnamon roll donuts without yeast?: This recipe is already yeast-free. It's a cake-style batter leavened with baking powder and baking soda, so there's no proofing or rising time — you mix, pipe, and bake.
Why did my glaze run off the donuts?: Almost always because the donuts were still warm. Cool them completely on a wire rack first; a fully cooled donut lets the glaze set on top instead of sliding off. A slightly thicker glaze also helps it cling.

Nutrition (estimate): 1 glazed donut (of 12) · ~260 kcal. Nutrition is an automated estimate and will vary with brands and exact quantities.

Food safety: don't taste dough containing raw flour or raw egg. Refrigerate anything with cream cheese frosting, and reheat leftovers until piping hot.