Recipe Background
Everyone loves cinnamon rolls but very few people want to put in the work to make them at home. And we can't blame them; it's a lot of rolling. Lazy Cinnamon Rolls uses refrigerated biscuit dough as the base for all the cinnamon-sugar goodness and then bakes the rolls in the slow cooker, so you don't even need to stress about it! A drizzle of cream cheese frosting and some pecans for an added crunchy texture make Lazy Cinnamon Rolls feel like a high-effort breakfast (or dessert) while you barely need to lift a finger.
Everyone loves cinnamon rolls but very few people want to put in the work to make them at home. And we can't blame them; it's a lot of rolling. Lazy Cinnamon Rolls uses refrigerated biscuit dough as the base for all the cinnamon-sugar goodness and then bakes the rolls in the slow cooker, so you don't even need to stress about it! A drizzle of cream cheese frosting and some pecans for an added crunchy texture make Lazy Cinnamon Rolls feel like a high-effort breakfast (or dessert) while you barely need to lift a finger.
Ingredients
For the cinnamon rolls:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 (16.3-ounce) cans refrigerated Southern homestyle biscuits biscuits separated and cut into fourths
- 1 stick salted butter melted
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans toasted and roughly chopped
For the frosting:
- 3 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons butter softened
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons half-and-half plus more, to taste
Directions
- Line the bottom and the sides of a 6-quart slow cooker with foil.
- Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, add the granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, add the biscuit pieces and 1 stick of the melted butter and toss to coat.
- In batches, add the buttered biscuit pieces to the cinnamon-sugar mixture and toss to coat.
- Transfer the coated biscuit pieces to the prepared slow cooker and continue to toss and coat until all of the biscuit pieces are in the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle any of the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture over the top of the biscuit pieces in the slow cooker.
- In a bowl, add the eggs, the salt, 2/3 cup of the half-and-half, and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and whisk to combine.
- Pour the egg mixture over the biscuit pieces in the slow cooker.
- Sprinkle the biscuit pieces evenly with the pecans.
- In a bowl, add the cream cheese and the remaining softened butter and use an electric handheld mixer on medium speed to beat until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the remaining vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the remaining half-and-half, alternating between the two and beating on high after each addition until a smooth, creamy, and slightly loose frosting forms, about 1 minute. If the frosting still seems too thick, add the extra half-and-half, a little at a time, until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
- Drizzle 1/2 of the frosting over the biscuit pieces in the slow cooker. Cover the remaining frosting and set it aside.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the center is set and the bottom just starts to brown, about 3 hours 30 minutes-4 hours.
- Drizzle the cinnamon rolls with the remaining frosting.
- Serve warm.
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