How To Upgrade Your Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls

When it comes to Saturday morning breakfast, there's one treat that combines the delicious glaze of a fresh-baked doughnut with the warm cinnamon taste of French toast: the cinnamon roll. After all, who doesn't have a fond memory of waking up one morning to a plate of cinnamon rolls and a glass of orange juice? It's one of the quintessential weekend breakfast items, alongside waffles and pancakes.

While making homemade cinnamon rolls can be a rewarding task, there are times when you really don't have time to knead the dough or make your own glaze. That's why companies such as Pillsbury offer pre-made cinnamon rolls, with the only thing standing between you and a tray of fresh, hot cinnamon buns being a cardboard tube. There's nothing wrong with pre-made cinnamon rolls, of course, as many of us can attest to enjoying them when we were younger (or even today). They're hot, chewy, and sweet, and they do a darn fine job of satisfying a craving for a cinnamon-based snack.

But have you ever wondered how you could make cinnamon rolls that could rival those of the legendary Cinnabon? According to Mental Floss, the chain sells over 100 million rolls per year, meaning that the company must be doing something right to make those buns so irresistible. So how can you replicate those popular glazed morsels in your own home? Fortunately, all you really need is a tube of Pillsbury and some heavy cream.

As Mental Floss tells us, there is an effortless way to get your average tube of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls to taste similar, if not exactly the same, as Cinnabon's legendary ones. The process involves placing the rolls in your pan and baking them as you normally would but adding one crucial ingredient: Pour in 1/2 cup of heavy cream. The heavy cream will be absorbed into the cinnamon rolls, giving them a lighter, moister texture.

The results of adding heavy cream seemed to impress The Kitchn's Patty Catalano, who announced that she would never again prepare cinnamon rolls using a different method. Catalano claimed the resulting rolls were rich, silky, and plush, even the day after she had prepared them. She does advise, however, that the use of heavy cream slows down the baking time, so it's best to keep an eye on the rolls while they cook to ensure you're not underbaking or accidentally overbaking them.

If you don't happen to have any heavy cream but still want to experiment with your cinnamon rolls, Pillsbury itself even has a few suggestions for you. These range from stuffing the cinnamon rolls full of cream cheese and Oreo blend, or wrapping bacon around the inside. Still, nothing beats a plain old cinnamon roll, right?