It is true. The Eickelbergs love us some cinnamon rolls! They have become our “special occasion” breakfast. Is it your birthday? You get cinnamon rolls. Is it a holiday? You get cinnamon rolls. Does Dave have a day off from work? Cinnamon rolls it is. What’s that? It’s Saturday?! Cinnamon rolls for everyone!
Are they good for you? Not at all.
Are they awesome? YES!
I’m sure we could do some research and find a great recipe to make some from scratch. But seriously, who has time for that? If we made them only once or twice per year, maybe we would start making them from scratch, but we make them all the time so we want cinnamon rolls that are fast and really good. So to finish off Breakfast Week at 1 cup Awesome, today’s Food Face-Off Friday is:
Pillsbury Grands Cinnamon Rolls
Cost: 50¢ per cinnamon roll at Target
Nutrition: Serving size 1 cinnamon roll: Calories 310, Total Fat 9g, Sugars 22g
Taste: The cinnamon flavor in these was great and they looked perfect. The rolls were pretty dry around the outside and the frosting was sugary. They were good, but had kind of an artificial taste to them.
Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls
Cost: 30¢ per cinnamon roll at Target
Nutrition: Serving size 1 cinnamon roll: Calories 280, Total Fat 8g, Sugars 19g
Taste: Good cinnamon flavor. The rolls were really soft and chewy and the frosting was creamy. Tasted like the cinnamon rolls we both grew up eating for school lunch on chili day.
Cost Breakdown: Though the Rhodes were more expensive up front, they are actually a much better bargain. You get twelve in a package instead of five and they come with two frosting packs, which is convenient if you only want to make six at a time.
Cost Winner: Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls
Nutrition Breakdown: Pretty close on nutrition. The Rhodes are slightly lower in calories, fat and sugars, but they are also a little smaller.
Nutrition Winner: Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls
Taste Breakdown: While the Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls had a good cinnamon flavor and a gooey bite in the middle of each roll, every bite of the Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls was soft and gooey. They just melted in your mouth!
Taste Winner: Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls
Overall Winner: Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls
The Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls may look more appetizing and are good for a spur of the moment craving for cinnamon rolls. You take them out of the fridge, throw them in a pan and cook them for 25 minutes and you are good to go. The Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls take a little more planning. They come frozen and need some time to rise before baking. There are a few different ways to accomplish this, but the fastest way takes 1 1/2 hours for the rolls to rise and 15 minutes to cook. So you’ll need to know about 2 hours in advance in you want to make Rhodes. This is never a problem for us since they are pretty much always on our minds!
What’s your favorite cinnamon roll? Did you grow up eating cinnamon rolls with chili like we did? If not, you need to try it! It’s an amazing combo!
*Sarah would like the records to show that she did not spread the frosting on the Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls. Dave was in a big hurry one morning and spread the frosting on and then took a quick picture. Upon seeing the frosting job that Dave had done, Sarah said, “Seriously? That’s what they’re gonna look like?” The spreading of the frosting is in no way indicative of the taste of those bad boys!
I have time for “that”
I love homemade- but when it comes to bread products I always prefer homemade! Also- just FYI, you can make a TON, freeze them before the second rise, and take out as many as-needed on a particular day, let them rise/unthaw, and bake ‘em off…homemade in a flash, easy, and fabulous 
Just a thought!
That is a great idea! It’s essentially the same concept as the Rhodes Cinnamon Rolls, but homemade so we get to control the ingredients more. You’ll have to send us your recipe!
You guys are brilliant! I love the Friday Face-Off. I was spoiled growing up and my best friend’s mom actually did slave over those homemade rolls (to.die.for). But chili and cinnamon rolls?!? We’ll have to give it a try.
Thanks Kelsey! We love Food Face-Off Fridays as well. Maybe we need to get some friend’s mom to start making us homemade cinnamon rolls once per week. That would solve all our problems.
The flavors of chili and cinnamon rolls really compliment each other. Especially, if you use a hint of cinnamon in your chili. You take a spicy bit of chili, then a sweet bite of cinnamon roll. WINNING!
If your goal was to make my mouth water, you have succeded. I didn’t mention the shady frosting job until I read the disclaimer, but Dave, I know you can do better than that. I guess you will have to make some more to give it another shot…
The school cafeteria served cinnamon knots on chili days. That and the pizza days were always my faves. Pretty much any homemade cinnamon roll is way better than those canned rolls. The Pioneer Woman’s recipe with the maple frosting may just be my favorite…
We need to check out the Pioneer Woman’s recipe. Since posting this, we’ve been offered numerous homemade cinnamon roll recipes. Guess we’ll just have to suffer through and try them all
Friday faceoff is one of my favorite things!! I love it. As for the cinnamon rolls…… I love to turn Rhodes into caramel pecan rolls. I make the “goo” from Sue Johnson’s recipe in the Eickelberg cookbook, then put the goo in a 9 x 13. Place rolls in the pan and let rise. Dump out on a cookie sheet once they are baked. I feel bad tossing the frosting that comes with the package…but I like the goo topping better than the frosting included.
Love this! I’m going to have to try the Rhodes rolls…I usually just grab the Pillsbury rolls when I am in a hurry! My favorite cinnamon roll is my dad’s homemade rolls…he preps them the night before and they have to be kneaded a million times…they are so good!
Pioneer Woman DOES make a fabulous cinn roll recipe. And it makes a ton. I love her frosting!
I have never met a roll that I did not like…..sigh. Homemade are best, obviously, but frozen dough can be used. Doctor it up a little. Sprinkle on some extra cinnamon and sugar before baking. Use butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon with or without pecans for gooey rolls. Create.
Rhodes are the best ever. My grandpa’s sister works there, so we get them for FREE! It may just be that I’m bias, but you can’t get a more homemade taste than Rhodes!
Are you kidding me?! We would not make it past 40 years old if we had access to free Rhodes Cinnamon rolls.