Incredibly soft and melt-in-your-mouth overnight cinnamon rolls with lots of tangy cream cheese frosting AND a time-saving overnight option. These classic cinnamon rolls are the ultimate breakfast indulgence!
Place warm buttermilk in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook OR a large bowl. Dissolve yeast in buttermilk and let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
Mix honey, eggs, and salt into yeast mixture until smooth. Add 3-1/2 cups flour to bowl and mix on low speed OR with a wooden spoon if making dough by hand until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 2 minutes of mixing (if dough seems a bit wet, add additional flour by the tablespoon until dough pulls away from sides of bowl)
Add softened butter by the tablespoon while mixer is running or fold in by hand with a wooden spoon until butter is combined in the dough.
If making dough in stand mixer, knead dough in mixer on low speed 5-7 minutes until dough is stretchy and elastic. If making dough by hand, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until dough is stretchy and elastic, about 10 minutes of kneading.
Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place at room temperature 1 to 1-1/2 hours until dough is doubled in size.
Cinnamon Filling
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine sugars and ground cinnamon. Set aside for a moment.
Punch risen dough down and turn onto a floured surface. Roll dough out into a 12x16 inch rectangle and spread softened butter and cinnamon sugar to within 1/2-inch of edges.
Tightly roll dough up and pinch at ends to seal. Cut into 12 even pieces and place rolls in prepared baking dish. Cover pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or up to 16.*
When ready to bake rolls, remove pan from refrigerator and allow rolls to rise at room temperature 1 to 1-1/2 hours until rolls are puffy and doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 350F. Bake cinnamon rolls at 350F 25-30 minutes until rolls are a light golden brown (you want to underbake them just a bit so they stay soft) Allow rolls to cool on a wire cooling rack 20 minutes before icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
In a medium bowl, beat powdered sugar and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla and just enough milk to achieve a thick drizzling consistency.
Spoon icing over slightly cooled cinnamon rolls and allow to set 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
*to skip the overnight chill step and bake rolls right away after shaping, allow rolls to rise at room temperature 45-60 minutes until doubled in size. Proceed with recipe instructions for bakingStoring InstructionsCinnamon rolls are best if served immediately after baking. If storing is needed, refrigerate rolls up to 2 days and reheat before serving.