Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

Fresh out of the oven. Yum!

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Rest Time: 2-2.5 hours
Rise Time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes


Yields 12 rolls

   

Ingredients:

Dough:

4 large egg yolks, room temperature
1 whole egg, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1 package instant dry yeast, or 2 1/4 teaspoons
1 1/4 kosher salt
vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Icing:
2.5 ounces cream cheese (about 1/4 cup) (I used 4 oz)
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Dough:  In an electric mixer whisk egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, & buttermilk.  Add 2 cups of flour, salt, & yeast.  Whisk until moistened and just combined.  Remove whisk attachment and add dough hook.  Add all but 3/4 cup of remaining flour and knead on low for 5 minutes.  Check the consistency of the dough.  It should be moist but not sticky.  Add more flour if necessary.  Knead on low for 5 more minutes or until the dough clears the side of the bowl.  Turn out the dough on a lightly floured work space and knead by hand for 30 seconds.  Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl.  Lightly oil the top of the dough and cover for 2-2.5 hours.  Until the dough has doubled in size.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, & salt in a bowl and mix very well.  Set aside for later use.

Butter a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Place dough on a lightly floured work space.  Shape into a 12x18 rectangle with the long side facing you.  Brush the dough with melted butter leaving 1/2 inch boarder on the top edge.  Sprinkle sugar mixture leaving 3/4 inch boarder from top edge.  Gently press filling into the dough.  Tightly roll the dough starting with the edge closes to you.  Pinch seam and place seam side down.  If needed squeeze the dough until it is an even thickness.  Slice dough into 1.5 inch rolls (yields 12).  Place rolls cut side down in buttered pan.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the  refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove rolls from refrigerator (remove plastic wrap) and place in the oven (turned off).  Place a shallow baking dish on the oven rack just below the rolls and fill with boiling water.  Close the oven and let rolls rise until they are slightly puffy (about 30 minutes).  Remove rolls and pan with water and preheat oven to 350 degrees.  When oven is preheated place rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown (about 30 minutes).

While rolls are cooling make your frosting.  Whisk cream cheese in electric mixer until it is creamy/fluffy.  Add milk, whisk.  Add powdered sugar, whisk.  Spread over the rolls.

----I doubled this recipe and stored the other prepared cinnamon roll log in the freezer.  I will post again on how they do when we decide to eat them.  :)
 





I don't know a single person who doesn't like a cinnamon roll.  All that gooey brown sugar/buttery goodness on the inside with a delicious frosting seeping down into the creases coating every inch to make each bite insanely satisfying.  Who could hate that?  Not me!  :)  My husband and I both love cinnamon rolls so I am so happy to finally have found a recipe we both like, including the frosting (he is picky about the frosting).

Mmmm...a sea of cinnamon rolls.

My first attempt at making these were at my parents house.  My dad was out of town so the kids and I were keeping my mom company.  We planned on going out to dinner so I made the dough before we left so it could rest.  When we got back 2 hours later the dough hadn't budged.  The fire in the stove went out so the house was a little on the chilly side for the moment and the bowl the dough was resting in was cold.  I also waited to add the butter when it had cooled considerably.  All 3 things added to my loooong night (knowing night feedings were destined to be in my very near future).  My mom set the bowl on the wood stove and finally after a couple hours it had doubled (not as well as my second attempt though).  Finally around 11pm I finished the rolls and put them in the fridge.  They came out great but I told myself I was never going to make cinnamon rolls again.  They are too much work!  Later in the week I kept thinking about different things that went wrong.  Then I realized I had to try them again because I wasn't able to make them properly the first time.

When you have your eggs and buttermilk out to bring to room temperature I recommend setting your yeast out if it is kept in the fridge.  This will help the yeast react better.  The first time I let my butter cool before adding it to the mixture, but this time I added it straight from the microwave.  It adds that little extra heat the yeast needs.  Then I followed everything as directed.  The only bummer I find about the dish is how long it takes to get the cinnamon rolls in the morning.  They rise for 30 minutes and bake for 30 minutes.  An hour for cinnamon rolls seems like a lifetime when I am hungry, but they are well worth it.  There are two things I recommend for these rolls.  One is use a deeper dish for the boiling water to go in.  I have two 9x13 glass pans so I used the second one for the water.  The second thing is I would double only the cream cheese for the icing.  I did this by accident the first time I made these and didn't realize I did that until I made the frosting for these.  There is a slight cream cheese flavor but it is not over powering.  It also keeps the frosting from being too sweet with all that powdered sugar. 
 
Cinnamon rolls take some work, but they are so- much better than the store bought kind.  Especially, the canned kind.  These are soft and flaky, light and fluffy, and ohhh so yummy.  Go and make them for a loved one this weekend.  :)  They will appreciate it and so will their tummy.


 (Recipe source: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/overnight-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/index.html)


****So I baked the frozen cinnamon rolls.  I took them out the night before and set them in the fridge overnight to defrost.  Then I followed the directions from there.  They didn't seem to rise quiet as high or fluffy as the ones that were not frozen.  My husband and I also thought they had a yeasty taste to them.  Would I freeze the dough again?  No, it did not taste good enough for all the work that goes into them.