Easy Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting~ and a GIVE AWAY!!!!

The easiest “cupcakes” you’ll ever make- plus the yummiest cream cheese frosting ever!

This recipe has a story (and my very first give-away on easybaked!!!)

Awhile back, a lovely lady named Karin emailed me with a dilemma. She had recently started a business called Baketown Girls, making products for use in the kitchen. She hired a designer to create her logo and product labels, but a short time after receiving her product she was googling “cupcakes” and immediately saw a photo of our Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes, and realized that her designer had stolen my photo for use on her product. Sigh. I cannot even tell you how many times that photo (in particular) has been stolen- people email me all the time about seeing it on products and logos. I’ve thought about slapping watermarks across all of my photos, but that’s just so SAD. I just shake my head and wish the world was a better, more honest place.

In any case, Karin felt bad, and offered to send me her product to try out. I’ve never use silicone cups (and actually never understood why you would use silicone cups), so I agreed.

About a week later, I got a box with 3 sets- one for me and 2 sets to give away to you all! More about that later.

I didn’t know how I would use them. I figured I could try making cupcakes in them, but (to be honest) my favorite part of cupcakes is matching fun liners with the cupcake recipe and these came in 6 colors which meant that no matter what, I’d be stuck with a variety of those colors. My other question- how do you give these away? I give away 99% of my blog desserts. Do I give away unwrapped cupcakes? That seems odd. And messy.

The day after I received this package of silicone cups I needed to make a batch of cinnamon rolls from one of those refrigerated tubes. I opened it (which is always a traumatic experience when it explodes open) and was ready to set them on a cookie sheet when I thought, “I should bake these in those silicone cups”. I sprayed 10 cups with non-stick spray and squeezed each roll into a circumference that would sit in the bottom of each cup and baked them according to the package.

They were AMAZING! They came out looking like little cupcakes and they were so much more moist than when they are baked on a cookie sheet.

I was genuinely surprised. I removed them from the cups, drizzled them with the provided icing and took them along with me to the event I was attending. People loved them.

I knew that if I added my favorite cream cheese icing on top that they would be even better….

They are cute in the colorful cups, but easily lift right out and can be served without the cups too. I’m a big fan of that, because I can bring them to events and not worry about tracking down my silicone cups.

Here’s how we made these cute little treats:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tubes of refrigerated cinnamon rolls- just the basic kind- not the super-sized jumbo rolls (makes 16-20 rolls, depending on the brand you use. I tried 2 brands, Pillsbury and a generic store brand, and both worked great) 
• 4 oz (1/2 package) cream cheese (softened)
• 1/4 cup of butter (softened)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• dash of salt
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips (melted)

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to temperature required by package of rolls.
• Set appropriate number of silicone cups on a cookie sheet with edges, and spray lightly with non-stick  spray.
• Open tubes of dough and squeeze each roll into a taller, smaller diameter size so that it will sit flat on the bottom of each cup.
• Set each roll into individual cups.
• Bake according to package (watch to make sure you don’t over-bake)
• Serve warm with provided icing drizzled on top, OR cool and top with cream cheese icing:
• On medium speed, beat together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt until creamy.
• Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth.
• Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring between, until smooth.
• Add melted white chocolate to icing and beat on low until completely combined.
• Place in a zip-top bag fitted with a decorating tip and pipe frosting on top of cooled cinnamon rolls.

Aren’t they fun?!?

Ok- so I have 2 extra sets of cups that I’d love to share with my readers! I looked into the various “raffle” sites available to host give-aways and they all seemed so complicated. I decided I will just do this myself.

Only 2 things I’d love to have you do (I can’t require them, but it would make me super happy!!):

1. Follow Easybaked here, by subscribing in the sidebar.

2. “Like” Easybaked on Facebook (here)- and COMMENT under this recipe. I will choose my winners (TWO of them) randomly from comments on Facebook under this recipe- so you actually do have to comment to be entered).

This is available for all readers in the United States (or readers who can have these cute little cups shipped to a US address).

The contest begins NOW and ends on Monday, 3-23-15 at 11pm.  Good luck!!

PLEASE NOTE: THIS CONTEST IS FINISHED 🙂 Cups have already been given away!

A special thanks to Karin for providing us with these fun cups to give away. Stay tuned for another fun use of these next week here on Easybaked!

If you don’t end up winning, you can find them at this link on Amazon.com:Baketown Girls Silicone Baking Cups.

Love cinnamon? So do we! Try some of our other yummy cinnamon recipes by clicking on a photo: