Cinnamon rolls are so delicious when freshly baked and served with coffee! Especially if they are home baked. However, we may often go so crazy about these yummies that we buy too much and then have to store them refrigerated or even frozen.
But how to warm these tasty buns afterward so that they don’t lose their taste and appetizing look? Grab a few easy tips we have prepared for you for such a situation!
How To Soften Hard Cinnamon Rolls
If it so happens that your cinnamon rolls turn hard, there are several ways you can bring them back to life and make them taste good again. According to your own preferences and appliances you have at hand right now, you can make use of either your oven, a pan, or a microwave.
But in general, this is the biggest frustration people face with these baked yummies: how to make cinnamon rolls soft and tasty again? Another challenge is how to reheat frozen rolls.
These delicate buns are very tasty when freshly baked and still warm. They are soft inside and a bit crisp on their outside. However, if we leave them out for a couple of hours or more, they will harden extremely fast! And those hard rolls are way less appetizing, you believe us. Naturally, if we buy a batch of rolls and store them frozen, reheating is mandatory, and that must be proper reheating to not ruin the pastry, especially if it is covered with icing.
How to Reheat Cinnamon Rolls With Icing
The simple reheating task becomes challenging and tricky if our cinnamon rolls have icing on top. Is it possible to warm them up without melting that sugary glaze? Yes, it is! And you can even do this using one of several different methods.
First of all, cinnamon rolls with icing can be warmed up in your oven. To do this accurately and still have your buns both soft and glazed, preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit, place the rolls in a baking dish, and cover with foil to protect the icing from melting. Ten minutes of heating will be enough to return softness to your pastry and keep the icing safe, but if the rolls were frozen, you might need more time. In this case, check them to take out when the frosting is soft again.
To speed up the process, you can also microwave your rolls. It will take only 30 seconds, and you don’t even have to protect the pastry with foil. Just place the rolls on a microwave-safe dish. However, you might need to repeat the 30-minutes heating several times to warm the rolls through properly.
Finally, you can reheat cinnamon rolls in the air fryer. Preheat it to 350 F, spray the bottom of the frying basket with oil, and place the rolls in. Three minutes of reheating must be enough to have the pastry soft again with the icing still on top.
However, if your rolls have no icing or glaze on them, the reheating procedure will hardly be much different.
How To Reheat Cinnamon Rolls In Oven or Toaster Oven
So you noticed your cinnamon rolls turned hard already. What shall you do now? The obvious answer is to reheat them, of course! Opt for using your oven for this purpose, especially if you need to warm up a large batch of these delicious baked goodies.
The procedure itself is extremely simple. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, place the hardened rolls on a baking dish, and cover them with foil. It will create a greenhouse effect which will help to heat the rolls thoroughly all the way through. Now you only need to leave them inside the oven for ten minutes or until they are fully warm.
However, not everyone prefers this method because you need to spend time on preheating the oven and then mess with the baking dish… Most people find it easier and faster to opt for another reheating method.
Reheat Cinnamon Rolls In Microwave
Yep, that’s microwaving! Fast and easy, and no messing around with preparations! You just grab your hardened rolls (that are soon going to be soft again) and place them on a plate or dish that is safe to be used in a microwave. Remember to add a bit of butter or its substitute on each roll to protect it from drying!
Now there is only one step that separates you from enjoying these soft, warm and tasty pieces of pastry! Toss the dish with rolls into the microwave and let them “take a ride” for 30 seconds. Check them afterward, and if needed, reheat for another 30 seconds.
Reheating Cinnamon Rolls In A Pan
You might not even think of such a reheating method, but people prove that it works, and it works well! If you are not in a great hurry, try to warm your cinamon yummies in an ordinary pan right on the stovetop.
Simply place the pan over the medium-to-low flame and let it warm up for a few seconds. Then position your rolls in the pan and put the lid on top. Reheat for approximately ten minutes. Done! Your cinnamon pastry is back to life again!
Using Air Fryer to Reheat the Rolls
This is another reheating method that quite many of us skip for some reason (well, maybe because they don’t have an air fryer!). But if you have this handy appliance in your disposal in the kitchen, don’t hesitate using it for warming the pastry up.
All you need to do is to preheat the fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then spray its basket bottom with cooking oil, and place the rolls in there. Reheat them for three minutes, and enjoy warm and soft rolls as if just from the bakery!
How to Reheat Cinnamon Rolls Without Drying Them Out?
Cinnamon rolls are delicate and soft, and this is what we love them for! However, these delicious yummies may lose their appealing taste and texture if we reheat them wrong. If you use a too-high temperature for warming them up, we put our rolls at risk of drying and becoming crumbling! What shall we do then?
Luckily, you can warm up your cinnamon rolls quickly and keep their soft and delicate texture. All you need to do is to sprinkle one tablespoon of water or a small pat of butter on top of each cinnamon roll and cover them with foil before you shove them into the oven or place them into the air fryer.
Water, as well as butter, will prevent your rolls from drying while being heated, and foil will retain that moisture inside each roll.
If you want to warm your rolls up in the microwave, you will need a somewhat distinct approach. Dampen a paper towel and squeeze out the water. Then, drape the paper towel over the rolls. This simple trick will help to rehydrate them.
Can You Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead of Time?
Cinnamon rolls are very popular at almost any home party, so no wonder people want to know whether it is possible to make these delicious soft yummies ahead of time! Technically, this is possible. If you want to make cinnamon rolls ahead of time, you can take two ways:
- either leave them unfrosted and store them covered at room temperature
- or you can store them refrigerated if your rolls are frosted with cream cheese.
If you don’t plan on eating your cinnamon rolls in the next 5 days, we recommend storing them in the freezer until they are ready to be reheated. This way, you will preserve them much longer.
How to Store Cinnamon Rolls?
This is another point of concern for housewives and cinnamon roll lovers. How to store them correctly to retain their soft texture and fabulous taste? Here are a few tips for you:
- Store homemade cinnamon rolls covered at room temperature for up to 4 days
- In the refrigerator, homemade rolls will last for up to 7 days
- If your rolls are frosted with cream cheese frosting, store them in the refrigerator.
You can also store your rolls in the freezer. For this purpose, wrap them individually in foil and place them in a freezer-safe bag. They can be stored frozen for up to 3 months.
Which Utensils Are Used to Reheat Leftover Cinnamon Rolls?
What a strange question, you may wonder. The answer might be obvious: isn’t it the oven? Well, you are right; your oven is one of the most popular kitchen utensils if you need to reheat cinnamon rolls. However, it’s not the only one! In addition, you can use such alternative utensils as:
- Microwave
- Air fryer
- Toaster oven
Of course, you should keep in mind that these utensils may require a distinct way of using them, as well as somewhat different reheating methods. But generally, you can use any of them with equal success!
Cinnamon Rolls Shelf Life
Since this pastry turns hard so quickly, how long can we keep it and how? This is one of the most frequent questions people ask. Well, everything depends on where we keep the rolls.
In a fridge, baked rolls will last for nearly a week, but if we leave them out, their shelf life will not be longer than three days. This is why most people prefer keeping these yummies unbaked in a freezer. Like this, we can keep them for six weeks.
| Countertop | Fridge | Freezer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baked | 3 days | 7 days | 4 months |
| Unbaked | - | - | 6 weeks |
These were the simplest and the quickest ways of reheating hardened cinnamon rolls yourself without much fuss and extra kitchen equipment. If you have enough time, you can use either your oven or a pan to make these delicious buns soft again. But for quicker reheating, better stick to microwaving or use an air fryer.
Like this, if you follow the instructions precisely and don’t exceed the heating time, your cinnamon rolls will come out warm, soft, and delicious again.
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