Recipe: Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls

I’ll be the first to tell you that homemade cinnamon rolls are truly something spectacular. But more often than not, when the craving hits, you’ll find me popping open a store-bought tube of the sweet, swirly rolls. You too, right?

There’s no shortage of options, and each has mastered the art of the lightly-sweetened, doughy bun, swirled with cinnamon and sugar and blanketed with an irresistible layer of icing.

Here’s my other trick: I skip the oven and go straight to my slow cooker. Sure, it takes a little more time (although not nearly as much as making these rolls from scratch), but the tender, fluffy result is well worth it. Trust me.

Unlike your oven, the slow cooker traps moisture inside, leaving you with the most moist and tender cinnamon rolls that cook into one another to create one giant pull-apart roll. You can expect them to be just lightly browned on the bottom and around the edges, with a pillowy-soft, gooey center.

One of the best features of a slow cooker is that it lets you tackle two things at once. Without the need to keep an eye on the oven, you have time to hit the gym, do your weekly grocery shopping, or finish up those last-minute chores around the house before your friends come over for brunch. The slow cooker is also your answer when you’ve got other things cooking in the oven at a different temperature, like smoky bacon or an egg casserole.