These light and fluffy buttermilk cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting are the best I have ever tasted. Most of the work is done the night before, so you can wake up to fresh cinnamon rolls!
Cinnamon.Rolls. Are there two better words in the English language? I really don’t think so. I think waking up on a Saturday morning to a freshly baked cinnamon roll might just be the best thing ever. But if you’re making the real deal from start to finish with the yeast and the rising and the rolling and the slicing, then you are looking at cinnamon rolls for lunch rather than breakfast! And that’s why overnight cinnamon rolls are here to save the day.
Before I continue though – did everyone enter my Hodgson Mill giveaway the other day? The giveaway closes tomorrow at 11:59 pm so head to this post to check it out and enter!
This recipe is one of my top five favorite things that I have ever made. Ever. Can you look at that picture and not drool? I can’t. The light and fluffy rolls with the brown sugar cinnamon mixture oozing out and the cream cheese frosting slathered on top?? Heavenly. But fine, if that picture doesn’t have you drooling then how about this one?
That right there is the best bite in the whole pan. Look at all that cinnamon!! I didn’t mess around with these cinnamon rolls – the more cinnamon, the better!
This recipe comes from Averie Cooks – check out her post for some great cinnamon roll making tips! But I’ll share some of my tips too.
I can’t lie and tell you these rolls were easy to make – they are definitely time consuming and are not the simplest things. But I really think they are worth every ounce of effort. Plus you can do the majority of the work the night before, so that when you wake up all you have to do is let them rise and bake them!
So the night before you want to eat these, you need about 3 hours to get everything ready. First you make the buttermilk dough – a stand mixer is extremely helpful for kneading this dough. It is a very sticky dough, and you want to add as little extra flour as possible so that they stay light and fluffy. Then the dough needs to rise for about 2 hours until it is nice and puffy.
Then you roll out the dough into a rectangle, slather it with butter and generously sprinkle it with brown sugar and cinnamon – that’s the good part!!! Roll up the dough into a tight log and then slice it into 12 rolls. Place them on your pan, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and into the fridge they go until the next morning!
Let’s talk about cream cheese frosting for a minute – you can make it the night before or the morning of. I like to make it the night before – less work in the morning! You just put it in the fridge with the rolls overnight, and then when you take the rolls out to rise, take out the frosting as well to come to room temperature.
My morning-of strategy is to wake up and take the rolls out of the fridge to rise. It will take about an hour for them to puff up and nearly double in size. While they are rising, I workout! Because trust me, you will not be able to eat just one of these – so a solid workout is necessary! Then after about an hour, pop the rolls into the oven and 22 minutes later, you will have the most gorgeous, puffy cinnamon rolls, and your house will smell incredible. Spread on the icing while the rolls are hot and devour immediately!
If you come to my house, this is how I will greet you:
Ha, ok, maybe not – but let’s pretend I always have a tray of freshly baked cinnamon rolls waiting for people 🙂
These light and fluffy buttermilk cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting are the best I have ever tasted. Most of the work is done the night before, so you can wake up to fresh cinnamon rolls!
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (plus extra if needed)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 3 large eggs, lightly whisked
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, warmed to the temperature specified on your yeast packet (usually 95 - 105)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), very soft
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- pinch of salt, if desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, stir together 4 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add melted butter, eggs, and buttermilk and mix until combined.
- Change to the dough hook and then knead the dough on medium-high speed. Check the dough after 5 minutes - if it appears really moist, slowly add a bit more flour. You want the dough to slightly stick to the bottom of the bowl, but not to the sides. The dough will be very sticky. Continue kneading for another 5 minutes (about 10 minutes total kneading time), until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Transfer the dough from the stand mixer to the oiled bowl and roll the dough ball to cover with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise for about 2 to 2.5 hours, or until doubled in size. You want to let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place.
- Line an 11x17 inch sheet pan with raised edges with aluminum foil, and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. (You can also use a 9x13inch pan - the rolls will just be a little more squished together)
- Once the dough is risen, turn it out onto a very lightly floured Silpat or counter and knead it gently for 2 minutes. Then stretch the dough into a rectangle shape. Using a rolling pin, roll it into a 16x12inch rectangle. If you are having trouble rolling the dough, leave it for a few minutes and then come back and try again.
- With a rubber spatula or your fingers, spread the very soft butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter, and then sprinkle the cinnamon over the sugar.
- Using a bench scraper and / or your hands, start to loosen the dough from the counter and get ready to roll. Staring with the long edge, roll the dough into a tight log. Pinch the dough together at the end to close the seam, and then turn the dough log seam side down on the counter. You want your log to be about 18 inches in length, so gently stretch it until it is that length. It is ok if your log is not perfect!
- Using a serrated knife, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls, about 1 1/2 inches each. Arrange rolls evenly on the pan. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick cooking spray and tightly cover the rolls. Place the rolls in the refrigerator overnight (up to 16 hours).
- The next morning, let the rolls sit at warm room temperature until they have nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour. Note that the rolls get even bigger in the oven.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Bake the rolls for 22 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Spread the cream cheese frosting on the warm rolls, and devour!
- If you make the frosting the night before, take it out of the fridge with the rolls so that it comes to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy. Taste and add more sugar and pinch of salt, if desired.
Notes
Recipe from Averie Cooks
If you don’t have time for overnight cinnamon rolls, try this one-hour version!
These cinnamon roll doughnuts are even quicker!
Cinnamon Cookie Butter Mini Muffins will satisfy any cinnamon craving!
I basically can’t think of anything I’d rather wake up to than these! Then again, cinnamon is my life. So it’s to be expected.
Cinnamon is the absolute best!!
This will be the best thing to wake up to or be greeted with. Wait when am I visiting again??
I know, I want to wake up to these every single morning!!
Do you deliver? Please?? Because I’d love to wake up to these tomorrow morning! Cinnamon and rolls are my new favorite words! 😉
Haha I wish I could deliver!! You should try this recipe, your family would be verrrry happy!!
Your cinnamon rolls look scrumptious!! I have yet to make one. I really better get on that ASAP!
Thanks, Connie!! You are going to be obsessed when you make cinnamon rolls!
These look delicious! Do you have any tips for rolling out sticky dough? Thanks!
Hi – Once the dough rises, it actually isn’t super sticky. But I like to roll out any dough on a silpat – that way, you don’t have to add too much extra flour. Have a bench scraper handy to help with loosening the dough if it does stick. And lightly flour your rolling pin so that the dough doesn’t stick to the rolling pin. Hope this helps!
I’m a sucker for cinnamon rolls! I love that all the work is done the night before. 🙂 These look absolutely scrumptious!
Thanks, Tina! I am such a sucker for cinnamon rolls too!
Expecting one of these to magically appear at my bedside when I wake up tomorrow morning.
Make it happen. These look crazy delicious!
Ha I wish I could make it happen!! Thanks, Graham!
These look wonderful! I’m a sucker for cinnamon rolls and especially sticky buns.
Thanks, Jessica! Sticky buns are next on my list!
Just gorgeous. Just made a big ole batch of cinnamon rolls for myself for Mother’s Day. I’m so good to myself.
Beautiful photos.
Have a terrific Tuesday!
Thank you so much, Melanie! I’m so glad you made yourself cinnamon rolls – you deserve them!!
Well, if you’re greeting guests with a pan of freshly baked, homemade cinnamon rolls, I fear you should start expecting guests all the time, girl! These sound INCREDIBLE. Who doesn’t love a good cinnamon roll to start off the weekend?
Haha, Erin you are so right – maybe I should be careful what I offer to people 🙂 Thanks for the sweet comment!
OH MY GOSH! These cinnamon rolls definitely look beyond amazing-and I love that you prepare them the night before!
Thanks, Kayle!! I love that I can wake up and have most of the work done!
i love soft cinnamon rolls. these look soft and delicious!
Thanks, Dina! They are sooo soft!
Gorgeous pics! And I loooove that green plate!!
These look delish … and I’m super excited they are made ahead! I would love to wake up to these on a Saturday morning! Or everyday! Is that wrong?? 🙂
Thanks, Gretchen! I would like these everyday too – not wrong at all! The green plate is from Williams Sonoma!
Oh my goodness, when am I invited? These truly do look worth every ounce of effort. 🙂
Helen you are invited any time!!
I want to go to your house! These look amazing 😀
Thanks, Chloe!!
Cate!!! These are gorgeous! Love. I have a one hour cinnamon roll recipe that I love but overnight would be even better. love that last shot of you holding the pan!!
Thank you so much, Karen!! I love the one-hour version too but the texture in overnight is noticeably better, so it is definitely worth trying sometime!
Love these and I love them even more that they’re overnight. Winner for me everytime!
Thank you! Winning recipe for sure!
i love cinnamon rolls! these look delish.
Thanks, Sarah!
I am drooling, your cinnamon rolls look delicious! Cinnamon rolls are one of my all time favorites! Another is Crème Brulee!
Michael
Crème Brulee:: http://michaelswoodcraft.wordpress.com/2014/01/23/making-creme-brulee/
Thanks, Michael!
Oh man those cinnamon rolls look perfect!! I could SO go for 1… 2… okay fine the whole pan right about now!
Thanks, Chris! I think I could go for cinnamon rolls any time of day!!
I know I’m behind but I just saw these as I was catching up on my feed backlog and WOW. They really caught my eye. All that effort looks like it was totally worth it!
I have an overnight cinnamon roll recipe that I make for Christmas morning…it’s so nice to just wake up and pretty much put them right in the oven! Yours look so ooey, gooey and delicious 🙂