Imagine waking up to the amazing scent of soft, gooey, and delicious homemade overnight cinnamon rolls baking in your oven. Spoil your family with these make-ahead cinnamon rolls with homemade orange cream cheese frosting.
Whisk together warm milk, honey, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it sit until foamy and doubled in size. Looks Like: the top of a super creamy root beer! If you have instant yeast, skip this step and combine the yeast, honey, and milk along with the dough ingredients together and follow directions in the next step (Step 1 under "Make the Dough".
1 cup milk, warmed to 110˚F, 1/4 cup honey, 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
Make the Dough
Add flour, sugar, eggs, salt, and butter to the proofed yeast in the stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment on the stand mixer, mix the dough at "stir" or "2" until it is a solid mass and the sides of the bowl are clean (about 2 minutes). If the dough is still super sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it is no longer sticking to the sides.
2 large eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup salted butter
Gather the dough in one hand and quickly grease the bowl (I use a drizzle of olive oil). Place the dough back in and cover bowl with a clean damp kitchen towel. Let it sit until the dough has doubled in size (about 1 hour). Looks Like: a puffed up mass of dough with the top sides pulling away from the bowl.
drizzle olive oil
You can also proof your dough in an Instant Pot using the yogurt setting and a glass lid. Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the instant pot insert and add the dough. Cover with the glass lid and press "yogurt" and set the timer for 30 minutes. Check after 15. It will take 15-40 minutes to double in size.
Assemble the Cinnamon Rolls
Sprinkle a bit of flour onto a clean surface. Make a ball out of the dough and gently press it with your hands to create a rectangle.
Roll out the dough to make a large rectangle (about 18x22 inches).
Spread softened butter over the dough, leaving a small butter-less perimeter around the outside. Cover with brown sugar and top with cinnamon.
1/2 cup salted butter, 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed, 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
Starting with the long edge of the dough furthest from you, tightly roll the dough towards you until you have a solid "roll".
Cut into 12-15 (~1.5-2 inches wide) rolls. Pro tip: using a bread knife (aka serrated knife) will create the cleanest cuts.
Grease a 9x13 baking pan. Place the cinnamon rolls into the dish. Set aside in a warm place until the rolls have doubled in size (about 1 hour). Looks Like: the cinnamon rolls will have "fluffed" up and are likely touching each other in the dish.
Tightly cover the pan and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours. (You can also bake them right away if desired).
Preheat the oven to 350˚F degrees. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
Make the Frosting
While the cinnamon rolls are baking, combine butter and cream cheese in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium until soft and fluffy.
3 oz cream cheese, 3 tbsp butter
Reduce the mixer to low and add the powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time.
1 cup powdered sugar
Add in the vanilla and almond extract and orange juice and slowly increase the mixer speed to medium or medium-high until well combined.
1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/8 tsp almond extract, 1/4 cup orange juice
Pour/spread the frosting over warmed cinnamon rolls.
Notes
If using instant/rapid yeast, you can skip step 1 of proofing the yeast.
Types of milk - I would recommend 2%, whole, or buttermilk. Results with 1% or lower are generally poor.
Make sure you spoon the flour into the cup, rather than scoop the measuring cup into the flour. This can pack the flour in, causing too much flour to be added, resulting in dry, dense cinnamon roll dough.
No stand mixer? You can technically mix the dough by hand, but be prepared for it to take about 10 minutes.
To freeze: press a piece of plastic wrap over the cinnamon rolls after the second rise. Tightly wrap the pan in foil and freeze unbaked cinnamon rolls for up to two months. To thaw: place in the fridge overnight. Bake as normal.