Whether you call them cinnamon bites, cinnamon roll bites, honeycomb bread, cinnamon bread bites, monkey bread, or pull apart cinnamon bread, there’s no denying that cinnamon-sugar dusted, chewy, fluffy, little balls of dough are delicious.
I love little pull apart squishy balls of chewy, fluffy cinnamon-sugar goodness. If you haven’t had cinnamon bites before, you’re missing out! Think of them as a cross between a cinnamon bun and pull apart bread. You pull them apart with your hands to get to gooey lil cloud-like pillows of sweetness. Cinnamon bites are a treat best enjoyed warm, with the ones you love.
What are cinnamon bites?
Cinnamon bites are a gooey cinnamon-sugar pull apart bread that’s baked, either in a bundt pan or a round baking dish. It’s made with soft and squishy pieces of sweet dough dipped in cinnamon and sugar. They’re topped off with a gooey cinnamon sugar syrup, baked to perfection, then glazed with a vanilla icing while still warm.
You can make these one of two ways: the cozy, relaxing, day of baking where you make homemade dough OR the quick and easy way using biscuit dough. I’m going to explain the cozy all day affair first because fall is the ultimate time to spend an afternoon baking. If you’re looking for shortcut cinnamon bites, scroll down to “Easy cinnamon biscuit bites.”
How to make cinnamon bites
- Make the dough. Use a stand mixer to do all the hard work. All it takes is a quick knead with a dough hook and you’re good to go. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can knead the dough by hand until it is soft and pliable.
- Let it rest. After your dough is ready, it’s time for a rest so it can puff up. Now’s a good time to have a cup of coffee or tea.
- Roll the dough into balls. When the dough has doubled in size, it’s time to punch it down and shape it into little balls.
- Dip the balls. Dip the balls into melted butter, then cinnamon-sugar. Pop everything into a buttered bundt pan or a round oven safe pan then pour on the cinnamon sugar syrup.
- Bake. Bake until golden, gooey, and delicious.
- Drizzle. Finish off with a drizzle of vanilla icing while it’s still hot so it melts into all the nooks and crannies.
- Enjoy! Eat it while it’s still warm, there’s nothing better, trust me!
Cinnamon bite ingredients
- Yeast – this recipe uses either active dry yeast OR instant yeast. If you use active dry, you need to dissolve it in a bit of warm liquid before using – in this case sprinkle it on to warm milk. If you have instant yeast, just mix it right into the dry ingredients.
- Milk – I use 2% milk but any milk will work here, even almond or oat milk. If you’re using active dry yeast, warm the milk up slightly in the microwave (I usually pop it in the microwave in 20 second increments) You want it between 105-115°F, which feels like a warm bath.
- Eggs – this is a extra rich dough with eggs in it. Not all bread recipes have eggs in them, but this one does. I love the extra flavor and plushness the eggs gives this dough.
- Bread flour – this one is important. You can use all purpose, but bread flour makes these bites soft and fluffy with just the right amount of chew. Bread flour has a higher protein content than regular all purpose – the resulting dough has more gluten in it which helps the little bread balls stay soft and chewy.
- Cinnamon – fresh cinnamon is best! We’re going to go with a fairly high cinnamon to sugar ratio so each bite is bursting with cinnamon goodness.
- Butter – Who doesn’t love butter. It’s essential for those warm and cozy bakery feels.
Easy biscuit cinnamon bites
If you don’t have the time to make bread dough and let it rise, you can make cinnamon bites quick and easy using a tub of store bought biscuits. Grab the big tube, take the biscuits out and cut each biscuit into 6 equal pieces. Roll the pieces up into little balls, dip them in the melted butter, then roll them around in the cinnamon sugar. Put the balls in a pan and pour the cinnamon sugar syrup over top. Bake them in a 350°F oven until they are golden and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Glaze them with the vanilla glaze while still warm and enjoy!
Which is better?
In my option, homemade cinnamon bites are heads and shoulders above biscuit cinnamon bites. They’re fluffier, chewier, and just so much more delicious. There’s something that is way more satisfying about baking your own bread. That being said, if you’re low on time, there’s no shame in buying a tube of biscuit dough. Or, even better, buying some store made pizza dough and using that.
Make ahead cinnamon bites
If you want to make these the day before then bake them in the morning for a warm treat, it’s absolutely doable. Make the bites up until everything is ready in the pan before baking. Wrap the pan up and put it the fridge right away. The next day, take it out and leave it on the countertop while you heat your oven. Bake as usual and enjoy hot and fresh.
How to store
Cinnamon bites are best right out of the oven, but if you have leftovers, store them in an air tight container on the countertop for up to three days. Reheat before enjoying.
How to reheat
Pull of the cinnamon bite balls and simply microwave on a plate for 10-15 seconds, or until warmed through.
How to tell if my cinnamon bites are ready
Sometimes it can be hard to tell if your cinnamon bites are ready. The easiest way to tell if they’re cooked is to use an instant read thermometer. Just stick it right into the middle. If it reads 190°F, you’re good to go! If you don’t have an instant read thermometer, use a wooden skewer. You’ll know the cinnamon bites are ready when the tops of the balls are puffy and crisp and a wooden skewer comes out clean with no crumbs when you poke it into the thickest part.
Happy cinnamon ball rolling! These really are the best fall-winter baking treat, I hope you get a chance to try them.
xoxo steph
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2.25 tsp instant yeast ~1 envelope
- 3/4 tsp salt
Cinnamon sugar syrup
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
Vanilla icing
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk whole milk preferred
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the milk, sugar, egg, egg yolk, and melted butter. Stir in the flour, instant yeast, and salt with a wooden spoon until everything comes together into a ball of dough.
- Knead with the dough hook on medium for 8 minutes. Alternately, knead by hand for 8-10 minutes on a floured surface. Lightly oil and large bowl and place the dough inside.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
- Melt the butter and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon.
- Shape the balls. Punch the dough down and divide and roll into small balls, about 1 to 1 1/4 inch in diameter. If you want to be precise about it, each ball should weigh about 15 grams.
- Dip the balls into the butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mix. Place each coated ball into your pan, repeating until you finish all of the dough. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let rise for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Optional: While the oven is warming up, mix the butter with 2-4 extra tablespoons of melted butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Just before you put the cinnamon bites into the oven, pour the cinnamon sugar syrup evenly over the balls of dough.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Cover with foil if the top starts browning too quickly. When baked through, pull from the oven and cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes.
- Make the icing by whisking all of the icing ingredients together. Drizzle on generously and enjoy the cinnamon bites warm.
Hi,
it seems like the recipe does not mention the amount of flour needed. Gorgeous photos, as always. 🧡
thank you, fixed!
these are very dangerous, to me, I can easily see taking one, then two, then so forth, very dangerous, it’s the cinnamon that hooks me, so must make this in company of other eaters! but very nice dessert, thank you!
Where is the recipe using biscuts
it’s under “easy cinnamon biscuit bites” :)