Easy Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls

Who doesn't love a fresh, gooey cinnamon roll in the morning? Even me, a devoted 'salty over sweet' lover can't resist a freshly baked cinnamon roll or have my abode smelling like I live in a Cinnabon franchise! The problem is, I don't want to wake up 3 hours earlier to make said cinnamon rolls! Laziness always, ALWAYS trumps everything in my world!

I have made cinnamon rolls before and enjoyed them but had to get up at the crack of dawn to make them. Me at the crack of dawn is not a pretty sight, let me tell you. Nor does it make for a happy mom later in the day with three kids on a sugar high from these rolls. So I went on the net to search for an easier, quicker yet still tasty way to get cinnamon rolls in my belly while still allowing me to sleep in. A happy mom is a rested (and caffeinated) mom! Truer words were never spoken.

Eureka! This recipe was great for allowing me to get that extra beauty sleep and be able to eat the gooey goodness of cinnamon rolls with my morning java! There's also the added bonus of being able to make a double batch and freeze some for a later use so I can have cinnamon rolls on 'stand by' for those emergency situations.

I made these cinnamon rolls last weekend for our Easter breakfast extravaganza. I loved that I could prep these rolls the night before, pop them into the fridge then just have to make the icing the next morning while they were baking. You honestly can't get easier than this and I love that I let my bread machine do all the kneading for me! Plus I got to see my favourite little humans running around our house on their Easter scavenger hunt instead of rolling dough and missing part of the action!

Easy Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe From: http://cafecococreations.blogspot.com/2009/02/homemade-cinnamon-rolls-in-bread-maker.html (original recipe from Recipe Zaar)

Yield: 12-14 large cinnamon rolls

Rolls
1 (1/4oz) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt

Filling
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

Icing
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Make dough for rolls: Dissolve yeast in the warm milk. Pour into bread maker. Add white sugar, 1/3 cup butter, vanilla, eggs, flour and salt. Check your manufacturer's instructions for the order that ingredients should be put into your bread maker's pan. As long as you keep the liquid and yeast on the bottom and prevent the salt from coming into contact with the yeast you should be ok. Set machine on the Dough cycle (this should take about 2 hours).

If you don't have a bread maker just mix everything in a large bowl. Knead the dough into a ball with floured hands. Put it in a bowl and cover to let rise in a warm place for about an hour (it should double in size).

Pull dough out of bread maker (or bowl) and roll it out on a lightly floured surface to be approximately 12"x16" and 1/4" thick. Add a little extra flour if your dough is a little too sticky.

Prepare filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and 1/3 cup butter. Spread filling on top of dough evenly and as close to the edges as you can get. The topping is pretty thick. I used the back of a spoon to spread it out gently. Working from the long end of the dough, roll it tightly into a log. Cut the log into 1 3/4-inch slices and place the slices into a lightly greased baking dish.

NOTE: At this point you can choose to cover the rolls with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator or freezer for later use or you can bake them now.

If baking immediately -- Preheat oven to 400F. You can put the rolls into the oven to let them rise a bit more as the oven preheats. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

If the rolls are coming directly from the refrigerator -- pull the rolls out of the fridge about an hour before baking. Put the rolls into the oven as it preheats to 400F to allow for extra rising. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

NOTE: I popped my rolls directly from the fridge into the oven as the original recipe stated but I found my rolls a bit on the dense side. I think that extra hour of rising time would help make the rolls a little lighter.

While rolls are baking, prepare the icing. Mix butter, icing sugar, cream cheese, vanilla and salt together until smooth. When rolls are removed from the oven slather with frosting.

Enjoy!



I shared this recipe at the following Linky Party!!