Cinnamon Roll Pops: Skewered Sticky Cinnamon Pastries

Why does food on a stick always seem more appealing? This isn’t just a regional quirk — food on a stick delights people everywhere. Every culture has its favorite skewered treat, from corndogs and candied apples to grilled skewers at street markets.

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of fairs and festivals, the convenience of eating with one hand while holding a drink in the other, or simply the fun of a portable treat. Whatever the reason, sticky hands and smiling faces follow a good stick-based snack. Next time you walk a fair, watch the crowd gathered around the corndog or candy-apple stand — you’ll see it in the smiles.

Speaking of universally loved foods, let’s talk about cinnamon rolls. Whoever created the first cinnamon roll deserves praise — that combination of tender dough, butter, sugar, and cinnamon is pure genius. There are countless variations now, but the core pleasure remains the same: warm, buttery pastry with a cinnamon-sugar spiral.

If you’ve spent time on food blogs, you’ve probably heard of the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon roll recipe. It’s popular for a reason: the dough is forgiving and delicious. Family members of mine raved about it until I tried it myself. I made a batch of the dough and chilled it in the refrigerator, as suggested, and then procrastinated for a while before getting to the fun part.

When I finally rolled the dough out, inspiration hit. I had a package of caramel apple sticks on the counter and decided to put a spin on the idea: cinnamon rolls on a stick. The dough rolled beautifully, I brushed it with melted butter, sprinkled raw sugar and generous cinnamon, rolled it up, sliced it, and started skewering like a woman possessed.

The original recipe makes a very large batch, so I used half of it for skewers and baked the rest in pans. If you’d like fewer rolls, the ingredients can be halved. For the skewers, use sturdy popsicle sticks or caramel-apple sticks and insert them carefully into the side of each rolled slice so they stop short of poking through the other side.

Instead of glazing the rolls individually, I made a warm, creamy vanilla bean glaze for dipping. The glaze turned out incredibly popular — my kids dunked rolls and then their fingers, leaving evidence of happy snacking everywhere. Lesson learned: make the glaze in a sensible quantity unless you want to be cleaning up sticky prints for days.

Cinnamon rolls on a stick were an immediate hit at my house. Kids lounged around, contentedly munching through the batch with big grins. They are a fun, portable twist on a beloved breakfast treat and would be perfect wrapped in cellophane with a ribbon for bake sales or gifts.

P.S. A small tip: serve the rolls completely cooled on the stick, and offer the glaze warm for dipping. Trying to eat them straight from the oven on the stick can cause them to fall apart.

P.P.S. I always chuckle at the instruction “cool to lukewarm.” My little brother Luke gets an imaginary temperature check whenever I read it — a private joke that makes recipe writing more entertaining.

Cinnamon Rolls on a Stick

Rebecca Lindamood

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Melt-in-your-mouth, buttery, tender Cinnamon Rolls on a Stick served with warm, creamy Vanilla Bean Glaze for dipping. Breakfast just got seriously fun.

Ingredients

Ingredients for cinnamon roll dough:

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast
4 cups +1/2 cup separated, all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Ingredients for filling:

1 stick melted butter 8 tablespoons
1 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup ground cinnamon

Ingredients for Vanilla Bean Glaze Dip:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup warm whole milk or half and half
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract preferably with flecks of real vanilla bean
Optional: 1 teaspoon ground vanilla see below recipe for source

Instructions

Stir together milk, oil, and sugar in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat.
Heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is hot and bubbles form around the pan’s edge.
Remove from heat and cool until lukewarm.
When lukewarm, sprinkle yeast over the mixture and let sit undisturbed for 1 minute.
Mix in 4 cups of the all-purpose flour until no dry pockets remain.
Let the dough rise for about an hour in a warm, draft-free place.
After an hour, stir in the baking soda, baking powder, and the remaining 1/2 cup of flour until you have a cohesive dough.
Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days if not using immediately.

To prepare the rolls:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 4 cookie sheets or half-sheet pans with parchment or grease well.
Flour a clean counter and turn the dough out, patting it into a rectangle.
Roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/4-inch thick.
Pour melted butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle raw sugar and cinnamon evenly on top.
Starting at the edge nearest you, roll the dough tightly into a tube and pinch the seam to seal.
Cut the log into 1-inch rounds using a bench knife or sharp knife.
Place rounds on prepared pans, leaving 3–4 inches between them.
Carefully insert a popsicle or caramel-apple stick into the side of each roll, turning slightly as you push so the stick seats well without coming through the other side.
Let the rolls rise for 30–40 minutes until puffy, then bake 18–20 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Cool on the pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely before serving with warm vanilla glaze for dipping.