Refrigerator Cinnamon Rolls
Submitted by medic33
Overnight cinnamon rolls that rise in the fridge while you sleep, ready to bake fresh and warm in the morning. Soft, glossy yeast dough swirled with cinnamon sugar and crowned with vanilla glaze.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
45 minCOOK
30 minREADY
8 hrsThese are make-ahead cinnamon rolls built for actual mornings, not Pinterest mornings. You make the dough the night before, roll it out, fill with cinnamon sugar and butter, slice, arrange in the pan, and refrigerate. The cold slows the yeast to a crawl, so the rolls rise gently overnight instead of overproofing. In the morning you let them warm at room temperature, slide the pan in the oven, and walk back out with bakery-style cinnamon rolls about twenty-five minutes later.
The thread-cutting trick the recipe calls for is genuinely useful. Slicing rolled cinnamon dough with a knife crushes the spirals and squeezes filling out the sides, but slipping a length of thread under the log and pulling tight cuts cleanly without compressing. It’s the same logic as cutting cheese with wire. The rolls go into the fridge straight after cutting, so the next morning the work is done and the kitchen smells like a bakery before your coffee finishes brewing.
Pro Tips
- Roll the dough thin (about ¼ inch) and use plenty of butter on the surface. Thin dough means more cinnamon swirl in every roll.
- Pull the rolls from the fridge at least 20 to 30 minutes before baking so they come to room temperature and finish their final rise.
- Underbake slightly. Pull the rolls when the centers just barely look set. Carryover heat finishes them and keeps the centers tender instead of dry.
- Glaze while warm but not hot. Hot rolls melt the glaze into a puddle; warm rolls absorb it just enough.
Variations
- Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the cinnamon-sugar filling for crunch.
- Stir grated orange zest into the glaze for a citrus-cinnamon finish.
- Substitute brown sugar for half the white sugar in the filling for a deeper, caramel-leaning roll.
Ingredients
Directions
For dough, heat milk to simmer.
Stir in ½ cups sugar, salt and margarine; cool to luke warm.
Sprinkle yeast over warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar in large bowl; let stand until bubbly.
Stir in milk mixture, beaten eggs and half the flour.
Beat until smooth.
Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
Turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
Place in lightly greased bowl; turn once to grease surface. cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 1 hour.
Punch down; turn out onto floured surface.
Cover; let rest 10 minutes.
For cinnamon filling, mix sugar and cinnamon.
Brush a 13×9 inch baking pan with melted butter.
Roll dough on lightly floured surface to a thin rectangle.
Brush dough with melted butter.
Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture.
Roll up jelly-roll fashion starting at the narrow end.
Cut rolls at 1½ inch intervals, using the following method: Place a piece of thread under the rolled dough and pull thread up and around side. Criss-cross thread at top, then pull quickly.
Put rolls, cut sides up, in the prepared pan so that the spiral shows.
Drizzle any remaining melted butter over all.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate overnight.
Next morning, preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
Meanwhile, let rolls stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
When oven is heated, bake rolls until puffed and golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool in pan for 10 minutes.
Unmold and drizzle with glaze made with powdered sugar and milk.
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