Fluffy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Soft, and unbelievably rich and fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls with lots of frosting AND a time-saving overnight option.  These classic cinnamon rolls are the ultimate breakfast indulgence!

I’m a sucker for freshly-baked homemade cinnamon rolls.

I mean, give me a choice between a fresh cinnamon roll and basically any other baked breakfast goods, and I’ll take the cinnamon roll every time.

It definitely sets my morning off to a good start. 🙂

I’ll also take mine with extra frosting, please.

Mhmm. I like a little cinnamon roll with my frosting. Doesn’t everybody?

Warning: Photo overload coming your way. I went wayyy overboard taking pictures of these little babies. 😀 Hope you’re hungry.

This recipe has been in the works for a loooooong time. I first made these cinnamon rolls over 6 months ago adapting it from Averie Cook’s original recipe. Over those 6 months, I must have made these cinnamon rolls at least 15 times, (no joke) tweaking things a little bit and putting my own spin on classic cinnamon rolls.

I’m pleased to say that over half a year later, these cinnamon rolls are now, indeed perfect. They’re soft, melt-in-your-mouth, filled with tons of cinnamon-buttery goodness, and topped with tons of frosting.

And did I mention FLUFFY?!! They’re so fluffy I’m gonna die! (sorry, just had to say that)

They’re so perfect in every way, I make them practically every week. Can’t get enough of ’em.

So what’s the big deal with “overnight cinnamon rolls”? Let me tell you: Next to coffee, they’re the best thing ever invented. All you do is make your dough the night before, let it rise, fill and shape into cinnamon rolls, stick in the fridge overnight, then pop ’em in the oven the next morning while you’re sipping your 2nd cup of coffee.

It really doesn’t get any easier than that. And it’s a pretty good motivation to get out of bed, if you know that breakfast is practically already made. 😀

So what makes these rolls so soft and fluffy? It’s all “in the dough”. Buttermilk, melted butter, and 3 eggs make up most of the richness and softness in these rolls. Then, it’s just basic yeast roll ingredients from there: Flour, active dry yeast, honey, and salt.

The first rise time for these rolls will take around 2 hours. I’ve found that you can speed up the rising time of my yeast dough, by placing the bowl in a slightly warm oven. Just make sure that the oven isn’t TOO warm, otherwise you’ll kill the yeast.

Once your dough is doubled in size, give it a big ‘ol punch and then roll onto a floured surface into a 15×12″ rectangle. Then generously spread with softened butter and pat a bunch of cinnamon sugar over that.

Roll ‘er up as tightly as possible on the long side and then pinch edges to seal. Then cut into 1-in rolls and place in a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Now at this point, you have choice: You can cover your rolls with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge to rise overnight, OR you can let them rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes (or until doubled in size) and then bake them. Totally up to you, but I definitely prefer the overnight option. Simplifies my mornings sooo much.

My cinnamon rolls took precisely 30 minutes to bake, but I would recommend checking them around 25 minutes. You don’t want the tops to get TOO overbrowned and you want the inside to stay soft and somewhat “doughy”, if you will. 

Frosting? Gotcha covered. Literally. These cinnamon rolls are smothered in frosting and seriously, it’s the only way to go. Is there such a thing as too much frosting? Umm, no.

It’s just a simple vanilla glaze, but it really transforms these cinnamon rolls from “okay” to “WOW, GIMME ANOTHER ONE!”

Just look at all that luscious frosting. ‘Dontcha just wanna lick the screen??

Me? I kinda want to faceplant into the screen. 😉

These cinnamon rolls are freaking HUGE. Like half the size of your face. One of these rolls usually always satisfies me, but sometimes I end up having one for lunch too. They’re just too good. Soft, rich, fluffy, buttery, and everything a good ‘ol classic cinnamon roll should be. ♥♥

My family can’t get enough of these cinnamon rolls. You know, now that I think about it, these cinnamon rolls must be pretty dang good, because my family didn’t complain once during all of my recipe testing. 😮 That’s pretty miraculous…

Oh, and be sure to stay tuned, because during those 6 months of cinnamon-roll testing, I made some pretty amazing different variations of cinnamon rolls that I can’t wait to share with you. 😀

What are you waiting for?? Grab a fork and dig into your effortless, perfect-in-every way cinnamon roll.

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Fluffy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Soft, and unbelievably rich and fluffy homemade cinnamon rolls with lots of frosting AND a time-saving overnight option. These classic cinnamon rolls are the ultimate breakfast indulgence!

Prep Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

• DOUGH:
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/3 cup butter softened
• 1 pkg active dry yeast 2-1/4 teaspoons
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 to 4-1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• FILLING:
• 1/3 cup butter softened
• 1 cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ICING:
• 1 cup powdered xylitol or powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5-6 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

• Place buttermilk and butter in a small saucepan, heat over medium-high heat until liquid registers 120F degrees and butter is mostly melted. Remove from heat and pour into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Dissolve yeast into buttermilk mixture and let sit 5 minutes or until foamy.
• Prepare the dough: On medium speed, mix in honey, beaten eggs, and salt into yeast mixture until smooth. Add 4 cups flour to liquid and mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, adding more flour if needed.
• Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. (dough should be smooth and not at all sticky) Place dough in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Prepare the filling: Punch risen dough down and turn onto a floured surface. Roll out into a 15 x 12" rectangle. Spread with softened butter. Combine coconut sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over butter to within 1/2-in of the edges.
• Starting with the long side, tightly roll up dough. Pinch edges to seal. Using a bench scraper or a sharp knife, cut dough roll into 1-in rolls. Place rolls swirl-side up in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (rolls may be refrigerated up to 15 hours) OR let rolls rise at room temperature 30 minutes, or until doubled and bake as directed below.
• Preheat oven to 375F. Remove rolls from refrigerator (or from the counter) and bake at 375F 25-30 minutes or until golden-brown.
• While rolls are baking, prepare the icing: Place xylitol (or sugar) in a small bowl. With an electric handheld mixer, beat in vanilla and heavy cream by the tablespoon until icing reaches drizzling consistency. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
• Allow rolls to cool 10 minutes before drizzling with icing. Serve immediately.

Notes

Rolls are best if eaten on the day they are made.

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