Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
In the years since I’ve been writing this blog, someone — who shall remain nameless — has been pestering me for an “easy cinnamon roll” recipe. As my mother will attest, I was raised “a pleaser” and really wanted to comply with this request. But with every cinnamon roll recipe I searched out, “easy” seemed an impossibility. With one or two rises plus jelly roll-like rolling — to say nothing of the fact that this all has to be done hours before you might actually want breakfast — it seemed I was trying to fight a losing battle. And I’m not into that. So the easy cinnamon roll recipe languished.
Anyone who knows me will probably guffaw right out loud with this next sentence, but: I love mornings. Or, shall I say, I love the idea of the morning. And much as I wish I were built to get up and embrace the day with a five-mile jog, my physiology seems to resist this with its every joint, fiber, and ligament. Mornings, my mind and body seem to agree, are for strong coffee, reading in bed, and quiet games of chess. Eventually, it is nice if a steward or lover brings you bagels or pancakes while you’re propped on pillows, but you’ll rarely find me making elaborate breakfasts on a weekend. I have to laze for approximately an hour and half before I am adequately awake.
That is why I have never made cinnamon rolls. My friend Katie makes the best sticky, cinnamon-y, nutty rolls of goodness, but she is, of course, the very essence of a morning person. She doesn’t even need a cup of coffee to come to life, and she is an inspiration to lazy bones like me.
But you can’t fight nature — at least, you can’t if you haven’t a tremendous amount of discipline and self-will. In other words, I can’t. So this cinnamon roll recipe, in which night owls can roll their buns in the evening hours and wake up only with enough energy to make the coffee and shove these in the oven, is heaven-sent.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
makes 12
I have to admit, I’m rather proud of this recipe. After months and months of searching for the perfect cinnamon roll to suit my needs, I ended up combining a little of this, a little of that, and in one round, managed to mix together what is, for me, the perfect cinnamon roll. No raisins, a powdered sugar glaze rather than cream cheese frosting, and a dough that was a buttery beauty.
dough
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup white sugar
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
filling
1 1/3 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup maple sugar (if you can’t get maple sugar, use 2 cups powdered sugar, and you could add some maple flavoring, if desired)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons (or more) whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add eggs and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding more flour as needed, about 5 minutes.
Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together filling ingredients.
Roll out dough into a 9×12 inch rectangle. Spread dough evenly with filling mixture. Roll up dough from the long end and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in a 9×12″ baking pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, remove cinnamon rolls from refrigerator and let sit on the counter for about 30 minutes to take the chill off. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until browned. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together glaze ingredients, adding more milk to thin glaze, if necessary. Remove rolls from oven, and pour glaze over hot cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
Kristina: Those look marvelous! I’m intrigued by the maple sugar– seasonally appropriate, and I bet it tastes amazing, too.1 year ago
The maple sugar IS amazing. It was one of those whim ingredients, but it smells so delicious but isn’t overpowering in the glaze — just wonderfully complementary.
Honestly, I had to give the whole pan away after Sebastian and I each had one — they were just too dangerously delicious to have around.1 year ago
NIta Boyer: Do you dissolve the yeast first in the lukewarm milk or put it into the dry ingredients just the way it comes in the package?1 year ago
Nita, You put the yeast directly into the dry ingredients. I was suspicious of doing this (I usually like to activate the yeast in water with sugar), but it worked just fine.1 year ago
Lisa (dinner party): Good lord those look amazing. And maple sugar! Swoon.1 year ago
Sophie: MMMMMM……this looks so appetizing!!! Wow!!!1 year ago
Laura [What I Like]: In high school I used to work for a bakery that made Morning Buns…croissant dough wrapped up with cinnamon and sugar. not that it’s the same, but maybe puff pastry (store bought, obviously) might make your life a little easier?1 year ago
Laura, That sounds like a worthy experiment. Great idea!1 year ago
Brenda Leyland: Yum! I could get excited now too about cinnamon buns.
Had to LOL at your description of mornings, and can totally relate! Especially the part about ‘liking’ the idea of mornings, but prefer strong coffee, reading in bed, etc. etc…..1 year ago
Adrienne: I have the fondest memories of cinnamon rolls at this cafe my parents used to take us to after church… I think it was called the Lovin’ Spoonful? Anyway, no cinnamon roll has lived up to that memory, but maybe if I make my own, the straight-out-of-the-oven bit will help. Love the overnight rise idea - who on EARTH wants to wait over an hour for breakfast? Ridiculous.1 year ago
kim: If you weren’t already engaged to Sebastian I’d ask you to marry me. Those look amazing.1 year ago
Yazmena: Oh yum. I too love cinnamon rolls in the morning but hate the work. I have a recipe from sticky buns that allows me to freeze them for up to 2 months so that I can just pull them out, pop them in the oven and make the glaze whenever I want to. But I now I have to try your overnight recipe because a girl can never have enough different versions of a sticky bun, in my opinion.1 year ago
Sara Rose: I need a cinnamon roll RIGHT NOW.1 year ago
Dana McCauley: Who can wait overnight? I’d never sleep!1 year ago
Rachel Cunliffe: I’m worried that I’ve read this recipe! I was one addicted to buying these from a local cafe. Looks absolutely yum!1 year ago
Rebecca: This look amazingly yummy! And I am all for the make ahead the night before thing. I am so not a morning person even though my little ones seem to think that I should be. Why can’t they figure out that 6 am is way too early to be up?1 year ago
Rekaya Gibson: You had me with the first picture. I would love to blog about this and share the recipe with my audience. They would enjoy this. Thanks for sharing!
Rekaya Gibson, Author
The Food Temptress1 year ago
rose: I to would love to wake up to this - except I would use the filling and the glaze- But would make it eaiser by using the frozen bread dough from the freezer section of the store . Just let it get to room temp and roll out the dough and make the filling and the glaze . the same as the first recipe but a little eaiser.1 year ago
clotilde: I, too, have always wondered how anyone could produce freshly baked, yeast-raised goods at breakfast time, and this sounds like the perfect strategy. Plus, who can resist the idea of “rolling their buns in the evening hours”?
1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: I am so with you on your perfect cinnamon rolls recipe–no raisins + powdered sugar glaze!1 year ago
MrsB: Woman! you’re a genius! x1 year ago
Andrea: I love breakfast and I especially love overnight recipes - I’m going to try these soon. With a mimosa of course. I used to work at a bed and breakfast and have their recipe for stuffed french toast that you prep the night before and bake in the morning. I used to make it every Saturday (bad BAD!)1 year ago
jinto: This is very defficult. Can you recoment a few desserts for 800 students1 year ago
Dalila: Thanks for sharing this recipe!
It looks great and I’m thinking of giving it a try tonight!1 year ago
EB: I am SO with you on this!! No raisins! A sugar glaze! AND I can make these at night to shortcut the morning?! AWESOME1 year ago
rocky: I can’t wait to try it! THANKS1 year ago
Julia: omg this is the cinnamon bun recipe i too have been waiting for!1 year ago
Puddin: If I made this overnight could they stay in the fridge until the next evening? I work during the day and was just wondering if I could bake them after work (8pm)
OR since I’m off today, could I make them up and stick them in the fridge for about 6 hours and bake them tonight?1 year ago
Puddin, Not sure you could leave them in the fridge for 24 hours — they might rise too much (is that possible?) I would go with the 6 hour rise and see how that goes. Good luck and happy baking!1 year ago
Allison Conley: Sarah, I would like to order a pan of these!! They look fabulous! Very pleasing…1 year ago
Mom, You can place an order whenever you like and I will bring them to you. They are best warm!1 year ago
Nan: I made these last night/this morning. While they came out very tasty I have 2 comments. First, the dough was so sticky it was near impossible to knead- no matter how much flour I added. I didn’t want to add a ton of extra flour so I eventually gave up. Also, they didn’t rise at all overnight. They did rise in the oven and turned out very tasty. So was the glaze. Thanks for the recipe!1 year ago
Nan, I’m so bummed that the dough turned out too sticky for you! I don’t know why that would be, but I am glad they turned out tasty in the end.1 year ago
rachael: I just ate my lunch and now I am hungry again…this is what this blog does!1 year ago
Kendra: I made these cinnamon rolls last weekend and they came out perfectly! And the smell! Oh the smell of them baking was enough to warrant day before prep. I ate too many of them… but I’m going to make them again for Easter along with other sinful breakfast treats.
I didn’t find the dough difficult to knead and I am a no-kneading kind of girl– in fact, I was hesitant to make these because I have a fear of kneading. They rose only slightly overnight, but rose dramatically in the oven.
YUM.1 year ago
Kendra, So glad they turned out. I’m trying to remember my experience with the dough as vividly as possible — I may have added more flour as needed, in which case I will adjust the recipe. The smell of them baking is divine, and so perfect for easter! Yay — so, so glad you liked them!1 year ago
Cristina: Every Sunday morning I bake something for my mom and brother and to bring into work for all of my friends, and after getting rather tired of baking the usual cupcakes, brownies, and cookies [no matter how creative], I sat up browsing the internet for new ideas. And then I remembered your cinnamon rolls, and at 12:30 on Saturday night I threw together two batches for the next morning. They were some of the simplest and tastiest delights I’ve had in a long while! After eating 4, my 18 year-old brother told me I was going to make someone a great wife someday, haha. Thanks so much for the recipe! I’m definitely going to add it to my stash of go-to baked goods.1 year ago
Cristina, That is such a great ritual! And I am so glad they turned out! Yay, yay, yay!1 year ago
Tracie: WoWee!! My 13 year old daughter and I had a not-so-good day yesterday, and consoled ourselves by whipping up this recipe last night and sticking it in the fridge. I got up this morning, baked them, and woke her up to the most heavenly smell . . . she drizzled glaze, we made tea and ate cinnamon buns. Need I say that today was a MUCH better day! I think I’ve discovered a new coping mechanism - cinnamon bun therapy!1 year ago
MsGourmet: I think you have struck perfection here!1 year ago
Ellie: I have been looking for a good overnight recipe! Cinnamon buns are a HUGE fave in my house so I make them often. I am always on the look out for a new recipe. The recipe I usually do is very long and high maintenance, so it gets made for afternoon rather than breakfast. Will try these tonight as my DD has a few friends sleeping over and I can just pop these in the oven in the morning end let kids fend for themselves.1 year ago
Tracie, You are an awesome mom. So glad you and your daughter liked them!
I hope it works out for you Ellie!1 year ago
Margaret: Ok, I know I’m way behind the ball here, but I guess it took that long for me to screw up the courage to attack my first ‘yeast’ project. As a person with very little counter space and the tendency to get flour EVERYwhere, I had been avoiding real bread until I move again. But this, and Sarah’s kind encouragement, helped me step up.
Now, my question: yes, of course they are best warm, but is it inevitable that after a day the rolls will get crusty and when you cut them up, the sides will never soften, even when stuck in the toaster oven to warm? I’ve tried this and it hasn’t worked… what else is one to do with all the leftovers? I sent a friend home with 3, gave one to a neighbor, and I still have 5 to work through 2 days later! Help! How to salvage them?1 year ago
Margaret, I guess these are best for a party or a crowd so they can get eaten up as quickly as possible. I sent the leftovers to work with Sebastian and the cast and crew gobbled up what was left — I never heard anything about their crustiness. My best guest would be the toaster oven, but if that didn’t work, I don’t know! I guess you could feed them to the birds!
1 year ago
Linda: Hi,
Will definitely try these!! Have a suggestion for Margaret–I’ve had good luck with other bread by wrapping it in a slightly damp paper towel and microwaving for a very few seconds–kind of steams the moisture back in. Hope this works for these rolls!1 year ago
Karen: Absolutely amazing! I make these gluten-free because our middle child has celiac, and I have to chase away the rest of the family so that he get’s a chance to eat them, too! My friends here in Germany beg me to bring them to birthday parties. You hit the jackpot with this recipe!43 weeks ago
Katherine: I’ve just made these. They are the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Just out of interest, does the dough freeze?38 weeks ago
Katherine, I’m so glad you loved these! As for the freezing, the only other yeast dough I’ve ever frozen was pizza dough. I think if you were going to try to freeze these, they’d have to have risen and be in the pan you were going to bake them in…but this is really just my best guess! Let us know how it goes if you do trying freezing.37 weeks ago
marybelle clymer: would appreciate a gluten free dough recipe for this cinnamon roll recipe please37 weeks ago
sorry, marybelle, but i am no gluten-free expert! i wouldn’t even begin to know how to change these. my suggestion is to head over to gluten free girl for her recipe. she rocks.37 weeks ago
Sophie: Sarah, these are AMAZING. I just ate one straight out of the oven and had to tell you.
Instead of maple sugar I used a maple/pecan spread I happen to have and it was delicious. I had to bake these for 35 minutes but that’s my 1950’s oven’s fault. Thanks for this!36 weeks ago
Lisa: LOVED these rolls! thanks for posting the recipe! i found it by googling overnight cinnamon rolls. so glad i found it!
in my experience, they didn’t rise much overnight, but a lot more once inside the oven. i was a little doubtful because the recipe said to add the yeast to the dry ingredients but it all turned out okay and i will never be doubtful again!31 weeks ago
Hi Lisa, I’m so glad you loved the recipe! When I made these a second time they didn’t rise much in the fridge either, but a trip to the oven did the trick. And I too was dubious about adding the yeast to the dry ingredients, but it really does work. Phew!31 weeks ago
Maddie N: I just found this the other day and, despite it being summer, I felt compelled to make them! I usually shy away from baking anything that involves dough (thanks to a disastrous bread project), but these turned out perfectly.
Some people were over afterwards, and I’m glad to say they were a marvellous success!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe
30 weeks ago
Lindsey: Hi - just found these yesterday and made them for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast. Delicious! Thank you
29 weeks ago
Erica: OK, I even blogged about these, gave credit where credit was due. These were delicious, will be making them again. love love love the recipe and how easy and fun it was, yes I did say fun. I had no problems with the dough rising. I did however run out of confectioner sugar the other day… so I improvised with sugar and water with syrup, boiled and let cool and then spooned it over. made them a little bit stickier but still oh so delicious!25 weeks ago
Chantal: I loved these! My roomie was having an off-day and I wanted to make her something special for the morning. I recently bought one of Alton Brown’s dvd set and he made overnight cinnamon buns but when I read the reviews everyone was saying the dough was too stiff! Yikes - Alton, thats surprising. But anyways I stumbled on to your blog and gave these a try. They were delicious. Thank you for sharing! I have posted the recipe along with some of my comments to my blog and of course provided a link back to your’s as well!
24 weeks ago
Emily: My son loves cinnamon rolls but I had never made them before. These seemed so easy I had to give it a try. I made them about 2pm and left them in the fridge overnight. When I awoke at 7am they hadn’t risen AT ALL! I was worried that putting the salt and the yeast in together had killed the yeast, but they rose in the oven and are DELICIOUS! The only thing I might do differently next time is wait 10 minutes or so before pouring on the glaze. The rolls were so hot the glaze just melted into all the cracks and ended up in a pool at the bottom of the pan. Still, it’s easy to scoop it up after taking a cinnamon roll out and put it back on top, or just eat it off the spoon. Thanks so much for the recipe!5 days ago