Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
Love the thought of homemade cinnamon rolls but dread the early mornings to make them happen? Then this Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls is for YOU! And it uses two tricks that take them from basic to mindblowing!
We Love This Overnight Cinnamon Roll Recipe
Fill your home with the cozy smell of freshly made cinnamon rolls without sacrificing sleep or causing a kitchen mess first thing in the morning! Don’t worry; this isn’t too good to be true. This recipe for Easy Overnight Cinnamon Rolls delivers ALL of that AND more!
These Overnight Cinnamon Rolls allow you to do the work the day (or night!) before so all you have to do is slide them into the oven and bake in the morning! This way you can skip spending time in the kitchen and soak in a slow morning with your family!
Start a new Christmas Tradition by making these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls on Christmas Eve to enjoy Christmas morning!
They’re also a must-have delicious choice year-round, especially for slow weekends at home or to even enjoy as dessert!
When creating this recipe, I didn’t just want a convenient overnight recipe, I also wanted the cinnamon rolls to be the softest EVER and even a bit gooey!
Therefore, I made them using THREE secret methods that create the softest, fluffiest cinnamon rolls to make them just like your favorite bakery or even Cinnabon Style, for that matter! Keep scrolling, and I promise I’ll spill them shortly!
Rebecca’s Recipe Review
Taste: All the nostalgic flavors of classic cinnamon rolls as your taste buds cozy up with the taste of sweet cinnamon and delicious vanilla!
Texture: The texture in these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls is as mouthwatering as the flavor! You’ll experience it all from gooey to tender to fluffy!
Ease: 6/10
Pros: Everyone loves homemade cinnamon rolls! These are especially perfect for special occasions, slow weekends, and Christmas.
Cons: Though the step-by-step instructions make this super easy to follow, there are a lot of steps and wait time, while yeast recipes can be tricky in general. However, the time and effort are rewarded with the best homemade cinnamon rolls you’ll ever have!
Would I Make This Again? Yes, my family looks forward to a batch on slow weekends, and I make these every year around the holidays.
Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients
- whole milk
- water
- bread flour
- powdered milk
- granulated sugar
- instant yeast
- salt
- large eggs
- additional large egg yolk
- salted butter
- vegetable or canola oil
- dark brown sugar
- corn starch
- ground cinnamon
- heavy cream
- powdered sugar
- vanilla bean paste
Rebecca’s Secrets For The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever!
Secret #1
This overnight cinnamon roll recipe is not only the most convenient recipe it also yields the softest cinnamon rolls EVER! This is because the dough is made with tangzhong which is a paste-like mixture that’s created by cooking bread flour with whole milk and water on the stovetop.
Once the tangzhong is incorporated into the dough it locks moisture into the dough which then turns to steam during baking. This then delivers fluffy, light cinnamon rolls that are unforgettably delicious, even days later!
Once the fluffy dough is ready it’s covered in a sweet, cozy cinnamon sugar mixture, rolled up, and baked to pillowy perfection!
Secret #2
Oh yes, we’re bringing in Taste of Lizzy T’s famous heavy cream hack that everyone uses to make TikTok Cinnamon Rolls – I promise these homemade ones are WAY better!
The cream gets poured over right after shaping the rolls and placing them in the pan, then absorbs into the dough as it rises and bakes for an extra gooey bottom, just like Cinnabon!
Secret #3
To finish them off, they’re covered with a homemade 4-ingredient vanilla icing that doesn’t include cream cheese – although you could if you wanted to.
The icing is made with heavy cream instead of traditional milk to make it extra rich and thick, and the addition of vanilla bean paste just takes the flavor over the edge!
While Cinnamon Rolls can be time-consuming (hey, rise time) and maybe even a bit daunting to make, I promise this recipe is pretty simple and you can find a step-by-step instruction and photo guide (and video, too) with FAQs and Tips and Tricks below the recipe card!
How To Make Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Prepare the tangzhong by whisk whole milk, water, and bread flour together in a small saucepan over medium heat until smooth. Cook the mixture until it thickens and becomes gelatinous, and then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
- Combine the bread flour, powdered milk, granulated sugar, instant yeast, and salt together in a large bowl or stand mixer that’s fitted with a dough hook attachment.
- Mix in the whole milk, large eggs, and additional large egg yolk.
- Add in the melted salted butter and the prepped tangzhong. Mix the dough until it’s thoroughly combined and resembles sticky dough.
- Cover the bowl of dough and allow it to rest.
- Once the dough has rested, knead it at medium-high speed until it becomes smooth and elastic. After kneading the dough, add vegetable oil to a large, clean bowl and turn the dough out into it.
- Rotate the dough in the bowl so that it becomes oiled on all sides. Afterward, cover the bowl with cling wrap and allow it to rise somewhere warm in your home until the dough doubles in size.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down in the center and then transfer it to a lightly floured surface.
- Step 8: First, shape the dough into a rectangular shape using your hands and then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a rectangle.
- Step 9: Brush partially melted butter all over the surface of the rolled-out rectangle dough.
- Step 10: Stir together dark brown sugar, corn starch, and ground cinnamon in a medium bowl until the filling mixture is thoroughly combined.
- Step 11: Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling mixture over the buttered dough.
- Step 12: Use a rolling pin to roll over the filling, pressing the sugar into the dough.
- Step 13: Cut the dough into a dozen strips with cuts starting from the shorter end of the dough. Then, roll up each strip of dough into a pinwheel and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Step 14: Pour the heavy cream over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Next, cover the rolls with plastic wrap and transfer the covered pan of rolls into the refrigerator for a second slow rise.
- Step 15: Bake the overnight cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven on the lowest rack of the oven until they become golden brown. Then, transfer the pan of homemade cinnamon rolls to a wire rack to cool.
- Step 16: Prepare the icing as the cinnamon rolls cool by first melting salted butter in a medium bowl in the microwave. Then, whisk powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla bean paste into the melted butter. Finally, use a rubber spatula or spoon to spread the icing over the top of the warm rolls!
Rebecca’s Tips
- Accurate Measuring – I included gram measurements for this overnight cinnamon roll recipe as measuring with a kitchen scale is the most accurate way to deliver the best tasting homemade cinnamon rolls! Though if there is only one ingredient you measure accurately let it be the flour since this ingredient is commonly measured incorrectly and has a large impact on overall recipe. Therefore, use a kitchen scale or check out these other easy methods to measure flour correctly!
- Yeast – Since yeast is the leavening agent to deliver soft, fluffy pillows of dough it’s important to choose a high-quality one and double check its expiration date before using it in the recipe.
- Rising – Be sure to place the bowl of dough in a warm spot in your home to get the perfect rise, just be careful not to overproof them! To check, gently press a finger into them after the rise time; the dough should spring right back. However, if the dough is over proofed, the indent from your finger will remain in the dough and not spring back.
- Shaping – I have found that it’s best to use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut the strips of dough. From there I suggest rolling the strips starting with the fully sugared end and then securing it with the exposed buttered end without sugar on it. Be sure to tightly roll it up and if needed you can brush more butter onto the outside of the roll to secure the end.
- Baking – Pay close attention to the cinnamon rolls to ensure they don’t over bake and turn out dry! To check for doneness, insert a kitchen thermometer into the center of the rolls. Once the thermometer reads 190 degrees F the rolls can be transferred out of the oven and onto a wire rack for cooling.
Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe Variations
- Christmas Morning Variation – Add some holiday flavor to these overnight cinnamon rolls by using eggnog instead of heavy cream.
- Extra Gooey – Double the icing recipe to enjoy extra gooey cinnamon rolls that will have you licking your fingers!
- Less Gooey – For a less gooey treat you can omit the cream altogether.
- Cream Cheese Frosting – Top these overnight cinnamon rolls with your favorite cream cheese frosting instead of icing!
How To Serve This Overnight Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Serve these cinnamon rolls up smothered with vanilla icing while they’re still warm! Pair it with a tall ice-cold glass of milk or your favorite up of coffee or tea.
Enjoy overnight cinnamon rolls on and around the holidays, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas! They’re also a great weekend treat that you can just pop in the oven upon waking up.
Treat friends and family to a batch at brunch or bring them into work for co-workers to devour!
How To Store Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls
Place any leftover homemade cinnamon rolls into an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 3 days. Since this overnight cinnamon roll recipe is made with tangzhong you’ll be able to enjoy their soft, fluffy for the entire three days!
How To Freeze Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls
These Cinnamon Rolls can be frozen after rolling and placing in the pan BEFORE the second rise and then taken out of the freezer and allowed to thaw at room temperature and rise as indicated in the recipe.
You can also freeze fully baked cinnamon rolls (unfrosted) and thaw at room temperature.
Do NOT freeze between the second rise and baking.
More Cinnamon Roll Recipes:
- Cinnamon Roll Shortbread Bars – Tasty cinnamon roll flavor collides with shortbread!
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls – Finished off with a thick layer of sweet, cream cheese icing!
- Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls – An elevated breakfast treat for chocolate lovers!
- Easy Cinnamon Rolls – Made with NO yeast, NO rise time, and ready in under an hour!
- Cinnamon Roll Casserole – An easy breakfast casserole made with canned cinnamon rolls!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Cinnamon Roll Recipe (Overnight)
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- ½ cup whole milk 118ml
- ¼ cup water 59ml
- ¼ cup bread flour 35g
Dough
- 4⅓ cups bread flour 574g, spooned and leveled, plus extra if the dough is sticky
- ¼ cup powdered milk 35g
- ¼ cup granulated sugar 56g
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast 8g
- ½ teaspoon salt 4g
- 1¼ cups whole milk 290g, room temperature (250g/cup)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 additional large egg yolk room temperature
- 6 tablespoons salted butter 84g, softened
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil for coating the proofing bowl
Filling
- ½ cup salted butter 113g, softened
- 1 cup dark brown sugar 215g, packed
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Topping
- ¾ cup heavy cream
Icing
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add ½ cup whole milk, ¼ cup water, and ¼ cup bread flour to a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat until smooth. Cook until thick and gelatinous, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Dough
- In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, mix together 4⅓ cups bread flour, ¼ cup powdered milk, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon instant yeast, and ½ teaspoon salt.
- Add in 1¼ cups whole milk, 2 large eggs, and 1 additional large egg yolk and mix for 15 seconds.
- Mix in the melted 6 tablespoons salted butter and the tangzhong that was prepped earlier and mix until thoroughly combined and the mixture resembles sticky dough.
- Cover the dough and let it rest in the bowl for 20 minutes.
- After resting, knead for about 10 minutes at medium-high speed (speed 6 on a stand mixer) until smooth and elastic. Resist the urge to add additional flour.
- When the dough is ready, it should feel tacky (but not sticky) and pliable. Add 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil to a large clean bowl and turn your dough out into it. Rotate the dough so it’s oiled on all sides, then cover it with cling wrap and let it rise somewhere warm. It should double in size within 1 hour in a warm home or 75 to 90 minutes in air conditioning.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down in the center, then transfer it to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a rectangular shape, then roll it out into a 16×18-inch rectangle measuring; it doesn’t have to be exact.
- Line a large 12×17-inch rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.
Filling
- Partially melt ½ cup salted butter in the microwave for 15 seconds, then use a pastry brush to stir and brush the butter all over the surface of the dough. Yes, we are partially melting already room temperature butter because this allows us to do a quick partial melt and stir the butter into a creamy paste-like consistency for brushing. You don't want to use all melted butter for this step because it's too thin and won't hold the filling in as well.
- In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons corn starch, and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon with a fork until mixed.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the butter, and leave a ½ to 1-inch border at one of the shorter ends. Then use a rolling pin to roll over and press the sugar into the dough.
- Use a pizza or pastry cutter to cut the dough into 12 strips about 1⅓-inch wide with, the cuts starting from the shorter (16-inch) side of the dough.
- Roll up each strip of dough to create a pinwheel, starting with the fully sugared end, making sure it's fairly tight, then securing with the exposed buttered end without sugar on it. You can brush more butter onto the outside of the roll if needed to secure the end.
- Place the rolls on the parchment-lined baking pan with a little space between.
- Pour ¾ cup heavy cream over the top of the cinnamon rolls right before covering for their second rise. (You can skip this step if desired and carry on with the recipe with no additional changes).
- Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and transfer the covered rolls to the refrigerator immediately after placing them on the pan for a second slow rise for 8 to 12 hours. The rolls should be touching and crowding each other and be fairly puffy once proofed.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Bake the rolls on the lowest rack of the oven for 24 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. When done, the center of the rolls should read 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.
Icing
- Prepare the icing by melting 2 tablespoons salted butter in a medium bowl in the microwave and then whisking in 1 cup powdered sugar, ¼ cup heavy cream, and ½ tablespoon vanilla bean paste until smooth. If you want extra gooey cinnamon rolls, you can 1.5x this recipe.
- Use a rubber spatula or spoon to spread the icing over the top of the warm rolls.
Video
Nutrition
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Hi Rebecca, I have someone who would like more filling added…because they want more cinnamon. Can you tell me a safe way to increase the filling? I had thought of starting increasing by half (I.e. 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon extra). I am worried it might not too much for the dough. I just didn’t want to add just cinnamon alone because it would take away the sweet taste.
It would be too much for the dough to add more, as it will just fall off when you roll. If they just want more cinnamon, then you could add another teaspoon or two to the filling. You could also add a little cinnamon to the dough itself.
Hi, I have a few questions. I’m in the middle of making your recipe. Why don’t you roll up the dough like a jelly roll and then slice the rolls instead of doing strips? I’ve never seen a recipe that cuts the dough and strips and rolls them up that way… yours is the first so I’m kind of puzzled. Also, can I use light brown sugar instead of the dark because I keep light brown sugar in the house all the time, the last question is I prefer the cream cheese icing that normally goes on the cinnamon rolls will that work with your recipe? Thank you very much. I hope you respond and don’t delete my comment. Thank you.
Hi Georgianne, Sorry for the delayed reply, I was away last week. To answer your questions, cutting and rolling instead of rolling and cutting results in more even-sized rolls; it also ensures that they don’t get smushed when cutting and leaves beautiful swirls. I personally just think it’s much easier overall. Light brown sugar is perfectly fine to use, and cream cheese icing is perfectly fine to use on this recipe; you can find my recipe for cream cheese icing in my Amish Cinnamon Roll recipe!
These are incredible!