The Absolute Best Ways To Reheat Cinnamon Rolls

One of our favorite, all-time, fall baked goods has to be the cinnamon roll. With soft dough spun around a sweet cinnamon paste in a spiral, it's hard to not eat all of these warm goodies in one sitting on a cold November morning. The appropriately-named cinnamon roll is characterized by its prominent use of cinnamon and a characteristic, sweet icing. Without this rust-colored spice, the cinnamon roll would just be another sweet bun waiting behind a glass display case at coffee shops and bakeries. 

The classic cinnamon paste is a blend of butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon slathered between a layer of delicious dough to then be rolled up and baked until golden. But if we're honest with ourselves, cinnamon rolls are super rich and heavy, making them difficult to finish. So if you accidentally bought yourself one too many rolls and need to save some for tomorrow's breakfast, there are a few ways to reheat them so that they remain deliciously soft. You could utilize the microwave or a skillet for the best results.

The microwave is the easiest method to reheat any leftover food, but it's not always the best way. Before popping your cinnamon rolls in and setting your machine to whatever number sounds right to you, take a few extra steps to make sure your breakfast doesn't turn into inedible stale bread. After all, part of what makes the cinnamon roll so appealing is how soft and fluffy it is! So to keep it that way, when you go to warm your roll in the microwave, place a cup of hot water inside with it and nuke it for only 30 seconds (via Baking Kneads).

WonderHowTo explains that placing a cup of water in the microwave along with your food will keep your cinnamon rolls from overcooking, and will release steam — keeping your food from becoming tough and dry. But if you pull your rolls out of the refrigerator the next morning and they feel extra tough, FoodLovinFamily suggests buttering up the outside of the bread before using the water and microwave hack. That way the butter will melt and absorb into the bread, reviving it with moisture and giving it a fresh-out-of-the-oven taste.

You can also reheat cinnamon rolls using a skillet. Cook Think advises using a deep or heavy-duty pan on a stove top set to medium-low heat. Wait until the pan has warmed up, and then place your cinnamon rolls inside. Cover with a lid to trap any released moisture to keep the dough from drying out, and heat for about 10 minutes (via Foods Guy). The skillet method is a little trickier than using the microwave because there is always the risk of burning your rolls. If you do use a skillet when reheating your cinnamon rolls, you must keep a careful eye on them for the whole duration they are on the pan.

You can also apply the butter trick used in the microwave method when you use the skillet to revive the flavor of your breakfast sweets. This method will only warm a handful of cinnamon rolls, so it's perfect for small batches. Make sure your skillet doesn't get too hot or the bottoms of your rolls will burn, especially if you've added butter to them (via Home Cook World).