Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls are classic cinnamon rolls with the addition of rainbow sprinkles. These light and pillowy Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls are an extra special treat for a special morning.
If you love making homemade cinnamon rolls as much as I do, be sure to check out some of my other favorites like my Healthy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Icing, Chocolate Peanut Butter Sweet Rolls, or my Small Batch Honey Butter Cinnamon Rolls.
What are cinnamon rolls?
The short answer is they are made from a sweet fluffy dough, filled with cinnamon and sugar, and usually topped with a sweet glaze. The more in depth answer is cinnamon rolls are made from a yeast dough, or some use a brioche dough as they usually have butter, sugar, eggs, and flour in them. All of these ingredients combined with yeast make a dough that rises, and in turn produces the sweet fluffy dough that we all love.
After the dough rises, you roll it out, and fill it with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Roll it back up, trim off the edges, and cut the log into pieces. Those pieces are then baked off into individual cinnamon rolls. Once they come out of the oven, you only want to let them sit for 5 to 10 minutes to cool just a little. Then, you want to slather them with glaze – which is the best part!
I call these amazing little pastries cinnamon rolls, but they have many names. Sticky buns, cinnamon buns, cinna buns, cinnamon snail… there’s probably more too! Whatever you call them, they’re delicious!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Well, you can basically Funfetti anything, and trust me people do! To me, Funfetti is just vanilla with rainbow sprinkles. So, making Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls is basically just adding rainbow sprinkles to cinnamon rolls!
I use all natural rainbow sprinkles that are made with vegetables and free of artificial colors. They are pastel, which I love! You can find them here. I add sprinkles into my dough, and then also on top of the glaze.
These fluffy Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls only require one rise, where most cinnamon roll recipes will require two. That makes these Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls quicker and easier than most recipes!
Tips for Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls
• Make sure your yeast is bubbly. If it doesn’t look bubbly after a few minutes, then it may be bad. If your yeast is bad, there’s no point to continue on with the recipe because the dough won’t rise. And no one wants a cinnamon roll that hasn’t risen, as the dough won’t be fluffy. Yeast stays good for about 4 months once opened. It can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 months.
• Make sure to look at the dough and see that it has doubled in size. I know I give a time frame, but whenever making any kind of bread, looking at physical signs is much more important than time. If you want the dough to rise faster, place the bowl in a warm area like on top of your oven if it's on, or on the mantle if you have a fire going.
• Make sure the butter is soft when spreading it onto the dough for the filling. If it's not soft, it can break or puncture the dough. So make sure it's very soft! I like to leave butter out at room temperature the day before if I'm baking cinnamon rolls.
• I use dark brown sugar in these cinnamon rolls, but if you only have light brown that will totally work as well. They just won't as much brown sugar flavor as if you use dark brown.
• Make sure to use a high quality organic cinnamon. There are different types of cinnamon out there, so make sure you find one that you like. My favorite one can be found here.
• Make sure to store your cinnamon rolls in an airtight container so they stay soft and fluffy.
Ingredients for Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls
Costco Kirkland Organic Cane Sugar
Cairnspring Mills Organic All Purpose Flour
Costco Kirkland Organic Cane Sugar
Homemade Organic Dark Brown Sugar
Frontier Co-Op Organic Korintje Cinnamon
Florida Crystals Organic Powdered Sugar
India Tree Nature's Colors Carnival Mix Sprinkles
Why Organic
Why use organic ingredients in this recipe? You all know I’m a huge organic advocate, and I bet you may be thinking sometimes, Why would I even bother to use organic ingredients in something that is so sweet and indulgent? But, that is the exact reason why you should use organic ingredients! Sweet things need to have flavor in order to be good, otherwise they are just sweet and they don’t taste like much else. Organic ingredients are more pure than conventional ones, therefore they actually have more flavor than the non organic options. Say it with me, organic means more flavor! And not just more flavor but a more true and pure flavor. And organic ingredients are much healthier for you to eat in general as they do not contain GMOs or anything artificial. Plus, you are being environmentally friendly when you choose organic ingredients!
So, I highly recommend that you buy the best organic ingredients for this recipe! You can also shop my Amazon Storefront for all my favorite organic ingredients here. Tip – hover over each ingredient to see the name. And if you want to learn more about organic foods and the difference, read my post here on Food Labels and What They Mean.
Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls are easy to make by adding in all natural rainbow sprinkles to the batter, and also on top of the glaze for a rainbow cinnamon roll will love!
Ingredients
- Dough
7 grams (2 teaspoons) organic active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon organic cane sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup (57 grams) organic salted butter
3/4 cup organic milk
446 grams (3 1/2 cups) organic all purpose flour
57 grams (1/4 cup) organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 organic large egg
45 grams (1/4 cup) all natural rainbow sprinkles (find here)
- Filling
142 grams (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) organic packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons organic cinnamon
1/4 cup (57 grams) organic salted butter, softened
- Glaze
340 grams (heaping 2 1/3 cups) organic powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup organic milk
- Topping
All natural rainbow sprinkles (find here)
Directions
- To make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the yeast, 1/2 teaspoon cane sugar, and warm water. Stir to combine and let sit for 3 to 5 minutes or until bubbly.
- In a medium pot over medium heat, add the butter and milk. Stir until completely melted, remove from heat.
- Add the flour, remaining cane sugar, and salt to the mixing bowl in that order. Add the egg and milk mixture and knead on speed 2 to 4 for 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, add the rainbow sprinkles and knead in with your hands until they are completely incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 to 3 hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- To make the filling: In a bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix to combine completely.
- On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a rectangle that is about 12 x 16-inches. Using a spatula spread the butter all over the rolled out dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to completely cover the butter.
- Starting at the larger side, fold the dough over and start to roll the dough until it is completely rolled into a log. Trim off each of the ends, then cut the dough log into 8 cinnamon rolls. Place in a greased baking dish. You can use either a 9-inch circle dish or an 11-by-7-inch baking dish.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.
- To make the glaze: In a mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar and milk and whisk until you have a smooth glaze. Pour the glaze over the top of the warm cinnamon rolls, about 10 minutes after coming out of the oven. Sprinkle with more rainbow sprinkles.
- Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
- High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
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