What do you do when your boyfriend tells you that he wants cinnamon rolls for breakfast? You wake up 2 hours early to prepare homemade cinnamon rolls only to realize that you actually needed 3 hours for homemade cinnamon rolls. Wait, scratch that. You buy cinnamon rolls in a can. Alright, alright. When your boyfriend tells you that he wants cinnamon rolls, you prepare them the night before so that you can wake up and bake some of the most delicious cinnamon rolls that he has ever had. Yes, that’s it.
I’ve adapted this recipe slightly from another one that I’ve found. This recipe offers a dash of spice into the cinnamon rolls and extra butter for a gooey treat. Since the dough will need to rise, you can make these the night ahead and refrigerate them until you’re ready for baking.
For the dough: In the bowl of your KitchenAid mixer, combine the yeast, water and sugar. Allow this to sit for 10 minutes. Add in the remaining sugar, brown sugar, egg and yolk, and vanilla and using a whisk to beat until well combined. Place the bowl on the stand and then attach the dough hook. Add in the flour, spices and salt and beat for about 4 minutes. Turn the speed to medium-high and kneed the dough for around 4 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place onto a floured workspace. Kneed an additional 1/3 cup of flour into the dough and then place it into an oiled bowl, cover and allow to sit in a cool place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
While the dough is rising you can make the filling (or go back to bed). Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl (minus the butter) and stir together. This should form a crunchy filling.
Once the dough has doubled in size, dump it onto a floured work surface and kneed for about 5 minutes, adding more flour as you need. Allow the dough to rest for 5 minutes before rolling it out. With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10×10 square. Brush the top of the dough with 1/2 of the melted butter and then sprinkle all of the filling evenly over the sheet. Press the filling into the dough and then carefully begin to roll it into a jelly roll, leaving the seam-side down. With a sharp knife, chop off both of the uneven ends. Cut the dough into 8 even slices.
Place the slices into a 13×9 baking pan that has been greased, evenly spacing them. Cover the pan and allow them to rise for an additional hour. This is where you can stop if you’re making these the night before, placing them in the refrigerator.
When you’re ready to bake the rolls, drizzle the remaining butter over the tops and bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Prepare the icing by combining the cream and powdered sugar while the rolls bake. When they come out of the oven, allow them to cool slightly and then drizzle the icing over the tops. Serve immediately with a glass of cold milk or coffee.
You are a good girlfriend…these look incredible!
Haha, thanks. This is the last time I’ll wake up early to make these but they were delicious!