I love Cinnamon Rolls, but I hate waking up at 4 am to make the dough, roll out the rolls, and let them raise. This recipe lets the rolls rise in the fridge over night and then you bake and glaze them in the morning!
I have seen many over night recipes that do not turn out well. They either don't raise, take too much time in the morning, or taste rubbery or gross. These rolls, on the other hand, taste soft, airy and delicious.
You do have to let them rise for an hour in the morning, so I just get up an hour early, take them out of the fridge, then go right back to sleep!
I would start about 5-6 the night before. I made these while I was making dinner so they could have long enough for the yeast to raise and the dough to poof.
First, you need to let the yeast poof a little. In a big mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. I add a little of the sugar at the point since it seems to give the yeast a little boost in poofing.
Once it has "dissolved" into the water, whisk the mixture until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 cup of flour, cover, and let rise 30 minutes until nice and bubbly.
Next, we are going to mix the rest of the ingredients together.
Add in the rest of the flour, the salt, eggs, sugar and butter. I stirred mine by hand until it was to hard to stir. Then I kneaded until all the flour is incorporated. You want the dough to be smooth but still a little bit sticky (not stiff). If you have a mixer with a dough hook, mix on medium speed 10-12 minutes until smooth. If you need to, add a bit more flour to reduce sticky-ness.
(Don't forget the salt and butter like I did the first time)!
Cover with plastic wrap and a light towel. Put in a warm spot until doubled. (mine took about 1 and a half hours).
When the dough is almost there, melt your butter and add your sugar and cinnamon. It is very thick, don't worry about that.
Grab out a 9x13 inch pan and butter the bottom very well. No one likes it when the rolls stick to the pan!
Once the dough is doubled, punch it down and transfer it to a floured work surface. Roll it out to a 10 x 15 inch rectangle (Tip: the sharper the edges and more rectangular it is, the more rolls you can make).
Now it is time to get messy: spread the butter, sugar, cinnamon onto the dough using the back of a spoon or your fingers. I found it was easier to spread with your fingers. Try to make it as even as possible so each roll can get some yummy goodness. Once the mixture is spread out, roll up the dough so you have a dough log.
Ready to cut the dough? Using a piece of string or dental floss (not mint flavored) cut the dough log into about 10-12 rolls. To do this, slide the floss under the dough, cross the string over the top of the dough, then pull the string ends to cut the dough without squishing the rolls!
Put the rolls in your 9x13 inch pan cut side up. Brush with the extra 2 TBSP melted butter.
Cover tightly with plastic wrap then place in fridge overnight.
In the morning, let the rolls raise for 1 hour outside the fridge. Preheat the oven and cook for 30 minutes until golden brown.
While the rolls are cooking, mix the glaze ingredients together until smooth.
Let the cooked rolls cool for at least 15 minutes before glazing them. If you pour the glaze on too fast, it will melt and not stay on top of the rolls.
ENJOY!! I know my students did - they ate the whole pan in about 20 seconds!
Over-Night Cinnamon Rolls
Dough
1 TBSP active dry yeast
1/2 C warm water (105 deg F)
4 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C real butter at room temp
Filling
1/2 C + 2 TBSP butter at room temp, divided
3/4 C packed brown sugar
1 TBSP cinnamon
Glaze
1 C powdered sugar
2 TBSP butter, melted
2 TBSP milk or cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
In the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle the yeast over the water, allow to bloom for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. Whisk in 1/2 C of the flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.
Add the eggs, sugar, butter, salt, and remaining 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and knead on medium speed until smooth 10-12 minutes. Add a bit more flour to reduce stickiness if needed.
Cover with plastic wrap, set in a warm spot and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
While dough is rising, prepare filling. Beat butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined, about 1 minute. It will be rather thick.
Butter a 9x13 baking dish. Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out into a rectangle about 15x10 in. Spread filling onto dough. Use a spoon (or your fingers) to spread it out evenly and then roll up length-wise.
You can cut the rolls to your liking. This will make 12 small rolls, 10 medium ones, or 8 large rolls. I made 12 rolls and they were still a good size. Place cut side up in baking dish. Melt the reserved 2 T butter and brush on top of rolls. This will keep rolls from drying out. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight.
The next morning, remove from refrigerator and let rise until half again as high, about 1 hour.
While rising or cooking mix glaze ingredients until combined.
Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Spread the glaze over them and serve.
