Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Prep these cinnamon rolls the day before and bake off fresh in the morning. These overnight cinnamon rolls bake up super fluffy and are slathered with cream cheese frosting!
OVERVIEW
- Skill Level: Intermediate
- Components Used: Enriched Sweet Dough Master Recipe, Cream Cheese Frosting
Did you know you can prepare cinnamon rolls in advance? Some people think that you have to bake yeast doughs the same day. Using the refrigerator to cold proof the dough overnight slows down the fermentation process making it easier to fit making homemade bread into your schedule.
There’s nothing better than homemade cinnamon rolls and this recipe makes it even easier to have them on your table! They’re incredibly soft and gooey topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting.
This is one of those recipes I come back to over and over. Is there a big holiday or birthday coming up? Then you know I’ve got a batch of unbaked cinnamon rolls ready to go. Everyone loves a soft, homemade cinnamon roll and they can’t wait to enjoy them!
Why you should make overnight cinnamon rolls
- Convenience! Whenever I’m having guests in town, I always whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls and either store them in my refrigerator or freeze them for later. It makes preparing for big gatherings that much easier.
- Holiday brunch like Christmas and Thanksgiving are never complete without homemade cinnamon rolls, these overnight rolls are perfect for special holiday mornings.
- The texture and flavor of these rolls can’t be beat. They’re gooey and soft filled with cinnamon sugar and topped with decadent cream cheese frosting.
How to make overnight cinnamon rolls
Cinnamon rolls are made with an enriched dough (also known as a sweet dough). This master recipe for enriched dough is used to make not only cinnamon rolls but soft dinner rolls, sticky buns, donuts, and more.
Make the dough & Bulk Ferment
The first step in this recipe is to make the cinnamon roll dough. If you are unfamiliar with the process of making an enriched dough, here is a step-by-step tutorial with photos.
After kneading the dough, move it to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, and cover with a piece of plastic wrap or damp cloth to bulk ferment. Ferment until doubled in size, about 1 hour for quick rise yeast and 2 hours for active dry yeast.
Shape the rolls
After the dough has bulk fermented, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out into a rectangle. Spread the melted butter all over the dough leaving about ½ inch (1.2 cm) of the dough free from filling at the bottom long edge. Combine the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the butter.
Starting on the long edge that does have filling, tightly roll the dough up into a log. Pinch the clean edge to the log to seal. Use a serrated knife to divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Now cut each quarter of the log into 3 equal pieces to get 12 rolls.
Transfer the cut rolls into a greased baking dish and cover with plastic wrap.
Proof the Rolls Overnight
Refrigerate the rolls overnight or up to 24 hours. If you go longer than 24 hours, the filling will start to seep out and they may over-proof.
To bake the same day, proof the rolls at room temperature or near a warm oven for about 45 minutes if using quick rise yeast and about 75 minutes if using active dry yeast, until about doubled in size. Once the rolls are puffy, remove the plastic wrap and bake.
Make the Frosting
As the rolls are proofing or while they are baking, make the frosting. Whip together the softened cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer. Whip until the mixture is light in color.
Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar to the bowl and mix on low until the sugar is combined. Turn the mixing speed up and whip until fully combined and the mixture is light and fluffy. Set aside while the rolls bake or if the rolls are still in the refrigerator, store the frosting in the refrigerator as well.
Bake
About 2 hours before baking, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature and rise. It takes about 1 hour for the rolls to come to room temperature and about another hour to proof and become puffy. You can place the pan next to oven while it preheats to speed up the process.
Once the rolls are puffy and about doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and bake as directed or until golden brown and set in the center.
As an optional step before baking, you can pour about 1 cup of heavy cream over the tops of the rolls. This will keep them very moist, soft, and will give them a gooey final texture.
After the rolls come out of the oven, use a spoon or butter knife to spread the frosting over the tops. Do this while the rolls are still fairly warm so that the frosting seeps into all the crevices. Cinnamon rolls are best served warm.
FAQ
Can I use sourdough starter to make cinnamon rolls?
Yes, you can! Here is my recipe for cinnamon rolls made with sourdough starter. Follow the same process outlined in this recipe if you’d like to refrigerate overnight and bake off fresh the next day.
How do I store leftover cinnamon rolls?
Store leftover cinnamon rolls wrapped in plastic wrap or in a storage container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Because these rolls are topped with cream cheese frosting, do not store at room temperature.
To reheat, microwave individual rolls for about 30 seconds until warmed through.
Can I freeze cinnamon rolls?
You can freeze unbaked rolls for up to 2 months. When ready to bake, move them to your refrigerator and let thaw overnight. About 2 hours before baking, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature and rise. You can place the pan next to a heating oven to speed up the process.
When the rolls are doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and bake.
MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might like to try these other delicious sweet roll recipes.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Prep these cinnamon rolls the day before and bake off fresh in the morning. These overnight cinnamon rolls bake up super fluffy and are slathered with cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry or quick rise yeast
- 227 grams (1 cup, 240 milliliters) whole milk, lower fat or non-dairy can be substituted
- 50 grams (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 480-600 grams (4-5 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 85 grams (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, very soft
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
For the Filling
- 56 grams (¼ cup, ½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 200 grams (1 cup) brown sugar, light or dark
- 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the Frosting
- 113 grams (4 ounces) full fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 56 grams (¼ cup, ½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 240 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Rolls and Proof Overnight
- Warm the milk (227 grams/ 1 cup) to about 110-115°F/43-46°C. In a large mixing bowl add the warm milk, the yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons/ 1 package), and a large pinch of the sugar and stir to combine. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until you see some bubbles and foaming.
- Add the smaller amount of flour (480 grams/ 4 cups), the rest of the sugar (50 grams/ ¼ cup), salt (1 ½ teaspoons), very soft butter (85 grams/ 6 tablespoons), and eggs (2 large) to the mixing bowl. Use clean hands to mix together until a sticky dough forms.
- If kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a floured countertop. Dust flour over the top of the dough and knead the dough by hand for about 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. If kneading with a stand mixer, fit the mixer with a dough hook and knead at medium speed for 6-8 minutes. Add more flour as needed while kneading the dough. When the dough is finished being kneaded it will still be slightly sticky to the touch, but feels smooth and elastic and should stand tall when rounded into a ball.
- Move the kneaded dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turn to coat, and cover with a piece of plastic wrap, a damp cloth, or a shower cap (my preference) to bulk ferment until doubled in size, about 1 hour for quick rise yeast and 2 hours for active dry yeast.
- After bulk fermentation, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and roll it out into a rectangle about 18 x 12-inches (46 x 30 cm) in size.
- Brush the dough with the melted butter (56 grams/ ¼ cup) leaving about ½ inch (1.2 cm) of the dough free from butter and filling at the bottom long edge. Sprinkle the brown sugar (200 grams/ 1 cup) and ground cinnamon (3 tablespoons) over the butter.
- Starting on the long edge that does have filling, tightly roll the dough up into a log. Pinch the clean edge to the log to seal.
- Use a serrated knife or a bench knife to divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Now cut each quarter of the log into 3 equal pieces to get 12 rolls.
- Transfer the cut rolls into a greased 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or up to 24 hours.
Make the frosting
*Make the frosting while the rolls are either proofing or baking. If making the day before baking, store the frosting in the refrigerator overnight.
- With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the room temperature cream cheese (113 grams/ 4 ounces) and butter (56 grams/ ¼ cup) until light and fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar (240 grams/ 2 cups) and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) and mix until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Bake
- About 2 hours before baking, take the rolls out of the refrigerator and let come to room temperature and rise. You can place the pan next to a heating oven to speed up the process.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/ 175°C.
- Once the rolls are puffy and about doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and set in the center. Let cool slightly then frost and serve.
- Store leftover cinnamon rolls in the refrigerator for up 1 week.
Notes
*To bake the same day: Instead of moving the cut rolls to the refrigerator, proof the rolls at room temperature or near a warm oven for about 45 minutes if using quick rise yeast and about 75 minutes if using active dry yeast, until about doubled in size. Once the rolls are puffy, remove the plastic wrap and bake them at 350°F/ 175°C for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and set in the center. Let cool slightly, then frost and serve.
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164 Comments on “Overnight Cinnamon Rolls”
Hi, I have made cinnamon rolls dozens of time and wanted to try your recipe. I was concerned about the amount of flour, but trusted the process. I did everything but still they came out very DRY!! I loved the rise I got. Best yeast ever. I don’t know what happened. I won’t bake these again unless you can advise me what could have went wrong. Thanks
Did you weigh your ingredients? I thought 600g of flour was too much too but the dough is beautiful. Not dry at all.
LOVE IT!!!!!!!! I’ll never buy any cinnamon rolls outside anymore! It was also so much fun to have my two boys making them with me! I even have friends wanting to “buy” the rolls from me ^^
Your youtube tutorial was very detailed. If it wasn’t for your video, I don’t think I would ever want try baking them. Thank you so much!
Question:
If I want bake on the same day. Can I just leave them out to double in size and then bake?
I’ve been making cinnamon rolls for years, but I’ll have to try this recipe. In an interview, the owner of Ann Sather’s said that one of the ingredients is soda.
Interesting! I love Ann Sathers.
Hi there, what a wonderful recipe! This might seem like a silly question but I was wondering if you take off the plastic on top of the rolls when you take them out of the fridge to come to room temperature? Might seem a little obvious, but just wanted to make sure 🙂
Thanks!
You can leave it on! It will come to room temperature and proof just fine with it on. Not a silly question at all.
In an internet world full of content, I find your site to be easy to read and useful. You’re detailed but not pedantic. You give great information on the technical side of cooking. I also feel like your recipes are all just a little special. I’m an old broad and have been cooking a long time, so I just wanted to say thanks!
You’re welcome! You are so kind! Thank you!
I would like to use this recipe for my yeast rolls. What temperature do I bake them and for how long?
Hi Linda, I have a specific recipe for yeast rolls if you search “Baker Bettie Yeast Rolls”. That will have all the info you need.
Hi,
wondering if we could freeze the rolls instead of putting it in the fridge. And putting it in the fridge the night before cooking?
These freeze really well! Yes, move from the freezer to the fridge the night before and then proceed with the instructions as is.
This recipe looks amazing. I want to try and make them for Christmas morning. But I also host Christmas Eve. Would it be too long on the fridge if I make them 24 hours before hand and just let them stay in the fridge until I bring them out for their room temp rise? Thanks for the help! I would hate to mess it up and disappoint everyone on Christmas morning
It’s not too long! That will be perfect.
Hi! I tested these out the other day in preparation for Christmas morning. Great recipe and easy to follow, thank you! The only problem I had was that some of the filling oozed out and burned on the bottom or caramelized (not sure which haha). Any suggestions to help mitigate that?
Hi! I’m so glad you liked them! I would suggest rolling your rolls a little bit tighter that should help with the filling.
My dough is currently proofing. But I can never seem to kneed to a point where it makes that beautiful ball and doesnt stick to my hand. Any tips?
Hoping these turn out, they look amazing
If it’s still sticking to your hand, you can use a little flour on your fingers. And then keep on kneading! By the time it’s done kneading it should be soft and but not sticky enough to really stick to you.
Hi!! Was super excited to make these but somewhere I messed up because I didn’t even get a rise out of them the first time. Fresh yeast and made sure my milk wasn’t to warm and it still didn’t work out 🙁
Can I freeze these raw and defrost and bake when I need them? There are only two of us we can’t all of them in one go
You can! Just be sure they come to room temperature and then puff up a little bit before baking.
made this but into monkey bread. i bake it 350 for 40 minutes and made the icing a little thinner . absolutely dangerous . so delicious hard not to eat it all
Wonderful!
I love these rolls! Can I prep them Friday night and refrigerate until Sunday morning to bake them?
Absolutely! Just let them sit out at room temperature for a couple hours before baking on Sunday.
My husband will not eat anything with cream cheese frosting. Could you suggest another topping for the cinnamon rolls?
You can use a vanilla buttercream recipe, try my “Homemade Vanilla Buttercream Frosting”. Or you can do a simple vanilla glaze, my recipe is titled “Basic Powdered Sugar Glaze”.
Super excited to make my first batch of homemade cinnamon rolls. Quick question, why 4-5 cups of flour. The video shows 4C plus more for dusting surface when rolling. How much flour do I put use for making the dough. Thank you!!
Chili! Yes, it’s a thing!
How do you determine how much flour you put in to start. I realize you can add flour as you are kneading, but how much do you put in for the mixing.
To start, you will use the smallest quantity from the ingredient list and then add more as needed.
Hi! I’ve worked with some of your recipes before with my classes and even consulted with you about a chocolate cake problem I was having. Now, I want to do these cinnamon rolls with my cooking class, but because of timing, need to split it into a 3 day lab. Can you suggest how to do that with this recipe and still have it be successful?
Hi! You could make the dough day one and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Shape and fill the dough day two, let it sit in the fridge overnight. And then bake it on day 3.
This was the first homemade cinnamon roll I have ever made. Baker Bettie’s recipe was so easy to follow with easy techniques. I did, however, watch a lot of her video’s prior to making these so I had some knowledge before I started. The dough was nice and soft and the taste was what you would expect from yeast dough. The filling was fabulous! Definitely take the time to make these even if you’re a beginner baker. You won’t be disappointed! I’m on to lemon blueberry scones now. Thanks Baker Bettie!
Thanks so much for the kind review!
Looking forward to making these for Christmas morning but I would need to prep them earlier than the night before, more like the morning before. Would they still be okay to do it this way. Thanks for any help on this.
Yes, that’s fine!
Can you freeze these cinnamon rolls? If so, At what point in the process?
You can! After you fill them, roll them up, cut them and place in a dish then you can freeze the whole dish. The night before you are ready to serve, leave them in the fridge overnight to thaw. In the morning let sit out at room temperature for 2 hours before baking.
Can you explain to me the flour measurement you have listed.. (480-600)g flour
what are you looking for with the dough to determine how much you use?
thanks
My recipe says 4-5 cups of flour. I used 4 cups and added a little more for rolling out. The dough was soft and easy to work with
I am going to try these my go to is the cinnamon roll recipe from wY back in the day Putman City cafeteria cinnamon rolls they are delicious ooey gooey soft fluffy
Yum! Hope you love these!
I have needed cinnamon rolls twice now and love them. If I wanted to use the same recipe and bake them all in the same day so I don’t have to get up 2 hours before my toddler gets up how much time after rolling do they need to rise before they go into the oven.
I heard about a roll they used ground up Red Hot Candy for the filling have you heard of this instead of Cinnamon and Sugar?
I haven’t!
I love everything you do. You are a beautiful lady and have a sweet husband, very supporting for you. I wish I could talk to sometime. I live in South Carolina.
Ann Garland
Thanks Ann!
Greetings from Canada,
I’ve started learning baking and your site and youtube channel are a godsend. So far my favorite recipes have been these cinnamon rolls and scones. Thanks!
Bettie–thanks again for providing all of us who wanna know what is behind all of these delicious recipes we try, love or decide to tweak so we love them. I love the chemistry that’s such an integral part of baking.
I live at 7500′ and need to tweak recipes all the time to have a successful outcome. Question: might there be some additions that can be put next to the ingredients such as flour, leavening, liquid, temperature, and time amounts? While I’ve learned to do that constantly, I am sure there are others who could benefit from seeing places in a recipe where increases/decreases need to be made–even temperatures and length of time for baking/boiling–to encourage better baking with Bettie! No more sunken cupcakes!
Thanks so much!I hope your newest endeavor in Chicago is an absolute blowout success!!!
Hi Bettie, Making these for my grandsons for tomorrow. While spooning out the cinnamon to 36 grams, it seemed more than 3 tablespoons worth. I double checked; 1 tablespoon is equivalent to 7.8g, so I reduced the cinnamon to 24 grams, hoping that is correct. Thank you for your enjoyable recipes.
Homework #10: Easy Weekend Brunch Recipes
I chose Cinnamon Rolls
This is the first time for me to make one from scratch. Honestly, i was nervous at first but eventually got my confidence as I worked through it. It looks so good and taste amazing! My family loved it. Thank you Bettie!
Great job!!
I make my cinnamon rolls the night before and put them in the refrigerator, I will set my alarm for 4 hours prior and put them in the oven with the light on in the oven. It usually take about 4hours to rise and be ready for baking.
Enjoy!
I have a question would this dough make a good version of twisted cinnamon bread.
If these are so good why do you put cream cheese frosting on them? Doesn’t that cover up the taste of the rolls? I lost my tried and true recipe and have been looking for a replacement. Most of these have cream cheese frosting which makes me think that they aren’t very good. I think I will keep looking.
Cinnamon rolls are traditionally served with cream cheese frosting. It doesn’t cover up the taste of the rolls, it’s a complimentary flavor.
I would love to try your cinnamon roll recipe in my FACS class, but we only have 50 minute class periods. Do you think I could spread this recipe out over 3 days, so we would prep dough on day one and then refrigerate. Day 2 I would have to let it rise for 1 hour prior to class, then prepare filling and form rolls and refrigerate again. On Day 3 I would have to take out to warm again prior to class but then bake and frost during class. Do you think this process would work?
I love using your recipes and videos with my students. Thanks for your advice and great information!
I use a lot of your recipes and follow that exact with a scale however, making them the dough came out extremely dry when measuring out 600 g of flour I know it has a ratio, but I went with the exact amount.
Hi Brittany, when there is a range of ingredients always start out with the smaller amount as you may not need the whole amount. If you think it’s too dry you can add a splash more milk.
Can I put them in my oven on the proof setting to help them rise after shaping? I think that setting is 95 degrees?
I followed the recipe to the letter and refrigerated overnight. They puffed up to fill the pan and cooked beautifully. They were perfect! I usually fail at baking breads and rolls so this was a wonderful surprise. If I can do it, anyone can. I had guests for coffee and they loved them. Thank you.
I’m so glad everyone loved them! Great job!
I made these according to the recipe, and they were delicious. I used dental floss to cinch-cut the rolls, which worked very well, as they kept their shape. The only modification I made was adding a tablespoon or two of brown sugar to the frosting, as the vanilla extract made the cream cheese kind of beige colored, so I decided to embrace it and also added a couple pinches of cinnamon. Everyone loved them. I was able to get 16 out of the dough, but they all fit in the 13×9 pan. This will be be my new standard recipe.
Hello again, just a quick question please. In the new year i would like to take a few of your courses but want to know if you offer any discounts as im on a low wage due to my disabilities please? Im enjoying the intro fundamentals at the moment, def food for thought haha, sorry. But love the bread course. As part of the course do i get a chance to email in with questions please? Many thanks
Cinnamon yeast Rolls making first and follow recipe precisely,
Final result: rolls got burned before reaching 35 min
Measurement of ground cinnamon was off for me.
Per recipe: 3 TBSP (36 g) cinnamon
We ground Ceylon cinnamon from sticks and measured by TBSP. 3 TBSP of ground cinnamon was equal 17g not 36g … looks like 36g is way a lot for the filling.
I will try make it again and adjust oven temp. or bake time to 20min.
This recipe is fantastic! I made two batches for Christmas and my family raved about them. Followed the recipe exactly, except bake time for me was shorter, around 22-23 mins. Thanks for a new family favorite!
You’re so welcome! I always make these at Christmas time too 🙂
1st try – baked for 28 mins (instead of 35mins stated in the recipe) and they were overdone and dry. 2nd try – I baked then for 22mins and they came out soft. I would probably use slightly less sugar next time in the cinnamon filling or in the dough itself. Found it overly sweet. But all in all they are tasty buns. Thanks for the recipe!
Can these be refrigerated 2 days in advance?
The kids and I made these for my wife for Mother’s Day breakfast in bed and they were AMAZING!! First time ever making cinnamon rolls and the recipe was so easy to follow!
Thank you!
How wonderful! I’m glad you all enjoyed them.
These are great cinnamon rolls. Thirty-five minutes is too long to bake in my oven. I kept watching them and took them out at 30 minutes and I should have taken them out even sooner.
Hi Earleen, I’m glad you like them! I wonder if you’re oven runs a little too hot. Do you have a thermometer to check?
Can you freeze the unbaked rolls a few weeks ahead?
Thank you for your wonderful recipes. You have never let me down. My only complaint, my very large family’s continual request for more.
What a nice complaint! You’re so welcome.
Any tips for someone who always thinks cinnamon roll filling is too sweet?