My husband is a huge fan of cinnamon rolls and I wanted to create a recipe for him that would be reminiscent of the rolls his grandmother used to make. While I don’t know if I can compete with grandma, these rolls are easy to make and the best part is you can make them the day before and let them rise in the fridge overnight.

We made these for Christmas Eve morning and they were delicious. Light and fluffy with ooey gooey cream cheese frosting which I think is the best part.

INGREDIENTS

For the rolls-

1 cup warm milk

2 pkgs active dry yeast

4 Tbsp sugar, divided

3 cups flour + more for rolling

1 egg

2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp salt

 

for the filling-

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

2 TBSP ground cinnamon

for the cream cheese icing-

4 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

How to make overnight cinnamon rolls.

In a stand mixer with the dough hook attached, add milk and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 2 TBSP sugar and whisk until blended. COver with towel and let rise for 45 minutes. It should look puffy.

Whisk in 1 egg, 2 TBSP sugar, 1 TBSP butter and salt.

Add remaining flour and mix for 10 minutes until it is no longer sticking to the side of the bowl. Cover with towel and let rise for 2 hours. Dough should double in size.

Dust a clean work surface with flour and roll out dough to a large rectangle.

Spread the softened butter on top of prepared dough.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle liberally over the top of the butter.

Roll the dough up along the long side, keeping a tight roll. Slice into 12 even pieces. I use unflavored dental floss to make my cuts.

Spray the sides and bottom of a 13×9 baking pan. Evenly place rolls in dish cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake rolls for 20 minutes.

Make the icing while the rolls are baking. Simply combine the ingredients for the icing and blend at medium speed until light and fluffy. Approximately 4 minutes.

Take the rolls out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes and then spread the icing over the tops of the rolls. Be generous!