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This Overnight Cinnamon Rolls recipe are the perfect make-ahead breakfast item. These rolls are soft and buttery. They have have a punchy cinnamon flavor and are topped with a fluffy cream cheese frosting. The best part about this recipe is that you can split up the work, dividing it into two days.
I am currently writing this while it is hailing outside (!!) while a very vintage (circa 2011) episode of Real Housewives of New York plays on in the background. I guess you could say it’s a splendid, wonderful day filled with positivity and bright light!
These rolls are sooooo good. I’m not gonna lie, cinnamon rolls are a labor of love. They require two rises, making three separate components (the dough, the filling and the glaze), assembling, chilling, slicing, etc. Hence why I like to divide the dough into two days. It makes it so much easier. You end up waking up to rolls that are ready for baking.
Ingredients for Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Flour – This gives structure and body to the rolls.
- Butter – This provides richness and flavor.
- Cinnamon – We cannot have cinnamon rolls without cinnamon.
- Eggs – These provide richness to the dough and make it taste oh so good.
- Active yeast or instant yeast – We need lift and rise and we get it from yeast!
- Brown sugar – Brown sugar and cinnamon are best friends. (PS: If you have rock hard brown sugar, here’s a post on How to Soften Brown Sugar that is very helpful.)
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe card below!
How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Ahead:
Day #1 do this:
- Make the dough
- And then make the filling
- Make the glaze
Day #2 do this:
- Assemble the rolls
- Slice up the rolls and place them cut side up in a baking pan (assembly and slicing them will take about 30 minutes)
- Let the rolls rise in a greased bowl in a warm place
- Bake them
- Make the cream cheese frosting and glaze with room temperature butter/cream cheese. It’s super easy and delicious
- Smother them with the cream cheese frosting
See! So much better. Doing this all in one day (if you’re not a pro-baker and used to projects), might be a bit aggressive. If you do make these straight through, here’s how the steps will go:
Tips and Tricks
- Activating yeast can be tricky! You want to wait until it gets nice and foamy. If no foam or bubbles form, you’ll have to start again to ensure activation.
Recipe FAQs
If you like, you can assemble the cinnamon rolls, put them in the baking dish you’re using and cover tightly with plastic wrap and transfer to the fridge to rise overnight. They might NOT rise very much in the fridge; that’s ok! Allow them to rise on your counter for 1 hour (until doubled in size) and then proceed with baking them. That way, when you wake up in the morning, all you have to do is bake them off and then smother them with the cream cheese frosting!
For cinnamon rolls you really want–what is called–“an enriched dough.” This means that instead of just combining yeast, flour and water (think: baguettes, boules, etc.), you want to add things that will make it soft and billowy. To achieve a soft cinnamon roll, we add butter, milk and sugar. These three ingredients will give you that soft dough that is oh so lovely in a cinnamon roll.
Sure! People swear this makes the gooey-est most delicious cinnamon rolls. I say go for it! I would pour about 1/4 cup to the bottom of the baking dish and spread it around. Then add the cinnamon rolls on top. OR you could drizzle a little on the top right before baking.
Instant yeast is different than active dry yeast. Active dry yeast has to be activated in liquid until it’s foamy and alive. Instant yeast can be added to dry ingredients. You can use instant yeast with this recipe. To do that, mix into the dry ingredients (you can skip activating it).Â
What to Serve with Overnight Cinnamon Rolls:
- Best Blueberry Muffins
- Chilaquiles
- Iced Pumpkin Spice Lattes
- Breakfast Burritos with Crispy Cheese
- Olive Oil Fried Eggs
If you tried this Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Equipment
- 1 (quarter) baking sheet or (9×13) baking dish
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast, (see below for instructions on using *instant* yeast)
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, beaten in a bowl
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- Pinch kosher salt
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
To Make the Dough:
- To the bowl with of a stand-up mixer (alternatively, you can do this in a large bowl by hand), add the lukewarm milk. Mix in the active dry yeast and allow to stand and activate, about 8 minutes, until foamy and alive!Â
- To a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. To the bowl with the yeast mixture, add the beaten eggs and vanilla extract; then all at once, add the flour mixture. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and mix on low until the dough starts to become cohesive. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the cubes of butter.
- Knead on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Alternatively, if you’re doing this by hand, you’ll need to knead the dough for about 10 to 15 minutes. The dough will go from crumbly and separate to completely cohesive and smooth. The dough shouldn’t be sticky. Remove the dough from the hook and the bowl and form it into a ball.
- Transfer the ball of dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl (I used the flour bowl and just wiped it clean with a kitchen towel and then greased it). Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and transfer to the fridge to rise for at least 2 hours or overnight.
To Make the Filling:
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (with the paddle attachment) or using a medium bowl and a fork, add the butter, cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla and salt. Mix and mash until the filling is completely smooth.
- *If you’re looking to save yourself a step in the morning, you can make this filling let it sit on the counter overnight so it stays softened.Â
To Assemble the Cinnamon Rolls:
- The following morning (or after the 2-hour mark), remove the dough from the fridge. Lightly flour your work surface and place the dough into the center. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll the dough into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle that measures 15“ x 22“ If it’s not a perfect rectangle, then that’s totally ok.
- Add the filling to the dough and spread into a thin layer, using a butter knife or offset spatula. I smeared the filling pretty close to the edges. Starting from the edge furthest from you, roll the dough towards you, horizontally, into a firm log.
- Slice the dough into two and transfer and carefully transfer them to a cutting board. Place them in the freezer to chill for 10 minutes. I find that slicing cold dough is WAY easier.
- Remove from the freezer and slice the rolls into 1 1/2-inch rolls, about 12-16 rolls, trimming the ends off.
- Transfer to a greased 9 x 13 baking sheet (or something comparable). Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for an additional 45 minutes, or until doubled in size. *If you're house is particularly cold, it may take longer for the rolls to rise. I like to place my cinnamon rolls by the oven because it's usually warmer in that part of my house.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
To Make the Cream Cheese Icing:
- To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (or a large bowl) with the paddle attachment, mix together the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugars, vanilla paste, salt and heavy cream. Beat for about 20 seconds.
To Serve:
- When the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, pour the icing over the cinnamon rolls and smother them with icing. *See below for instructions on assembling the rolls and then allowing them to rise overnight in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easiest recipe by far. Do have one question is there trick for the filling. During baking most of mine ended up on the pan instead of staying inside roll.
Hi Adrianna,
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe! I tried it for the first time last weekend and it turned out so delicious! I don’t even know how to describe the rolls. They were soft, chewy, buttery? haha. Everyone who tried it loved it too!
I just have a quick question. If I would like to make more ahead of the time, how can I store them in the freezer?
Thank you!
PS: this was my first time making cinnamon rolls ever! 🙂
AMAZING to hear! Love it. Some people have told me that they’ve made them and baked them (without the glaze) and put them in the freezer and warmed them up with success. But I’ve never tried this so I can’t attest to them being good! 🙂
Absolutely loved this recipe! Was so delicious and worth and energy and time put in. Just have to ask though – where did you find that adorable wooden icing spatula?? It is so cute! I would love to get my hands on one
Hi Maya! I got it from Crate and Barrel! So glad the recipe was great. 🙂
Okay, these were A-MAZ-ING. Perfect recipe. Easy to understand, easy to follow and execute. Thank you!! KitchenAid mixer was my best friend for all of this, too. I used instant yeast and it turned out perfectly. Question: how do you store these? Are they ok to be left out at room temp, or would you recommend refrigerating them?
YAY!! So I store them in a tupperware with a lid at room temp. If your kitchen is super hot, you may want to put them in the fridge or just in a cool place, i.e., out of the sun! 🙂
These are a win!!! The ONLY thing I would change is the amount of cinnamon. I will decrease it to 1/4 cup rather than the 1/3 cup it calls for next time as the filling is a bit dryer and a tad chalky for my liking. Otherwise, these are delicious!! SUPER soft dough and lots to go around! I will be saving this recipe and sharing!.
These were to die for. I’ve made three or four other cinnamon recipes claiming to be “the best!” and they were “Not the best”. Very easy to follow instructions and I love splitting them into two days. I made the filling the night before and mixed that by hand just for ease of not having to was out my Kitchen Aid bowl again.
I cannot roll a rectangle for the life of me so I ended up with 14 rolls of various sixes but that’s great for sharing! 10/10 will bake again.
I am so glad I found this recipe. I refrigerated the dough overnight and made them this morning. Light and yummy. I just made a simple glaze.
Fellow quarantiners/self-isolationists, fret not, this recipe is so generous with substitutions. We only had one more stick of butter (!!) and no dairy milk. I subbed oat milk everywhere it called for cream or milk. I subbed 1/3 vegetable oil for the stick of butter in the dough (because I felt that the filling really needed that butter). No butter for the icing, just used a little extra cream cheese. I was also too excited to wait over night, and with a 2.5 hour proof in the fridge and all these substitutions these still came out wonderful!! To be expected with a Cozy Kitchen recipe…
These were sooo yummy! I had to add almost an extra cup of flour though because my dough was still so sticky… did I do something wrong? It made it so the cinnamon rolls were a little on the dry side. What would you suggest the next time I make them?
Hey. First time following a recipe of yours. This is the easiest cinnamon roll recipe I’ve ever made. The dough was so easy to work with and the texture came out perfect. I’m a huge fan of kitchen conundrums and this recipe was even better than that one. Thank you!