Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

Key Ingredients

Full ingredient measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Yeast: Both active dry and instant yeast work. I find it works just as well to mix the yeast with the flour as to proof it with milk, just like I do when I make English Muffins - the flour acts as a buffer between the yeast and the milk, and it eliminates a step.

Unsalted butter: Makes the cinnamon rolls rich, and goes in the dough, filling, and glaze. It's melted for the dough, and softened for the glaze. I spread melty (but not fully melted) butter on the rolled out dough before adding filling; melted butter alone is too messy, while cinnamon sugar doesn't stick to softened butter as well as I'd like.

Brown sugar: Adds more flavor to the cinnamon swirl than granulated sugar does.

Cinnamon: Grocery store cinnamon is what I use here, but be sure it's fresh; it loses flavor over time. I find that Ceylon cinnamon (or true cinnamon) is too mild for these.

Cream cheese: Adds richness to the glaze to contrast with the sweetness of the rolls. If you love sweet cream cheese richness, you should check out my Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars, easily my favorite cheesecake dessert.

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze

I assume you're using a stand mixer to make this dough, but I've made it by hand before as well since it's soft enough. See the Troubleshooting section for details.

One: Heat the milk and butter briefly. Aim for 115-120F; any hotter can kill the yeast when you mix the dough. Butter doesn't have to be fully melted; the mixer will work it into the dough.

Two: Mix together 3 cups of flour and the rest of the dough ingredients. Beat on low with the dough hook for 3 minutes, scraping up the bottom to be sure everything is mixed. It'll be loose and even batter-like; this is okay.

Three: Stir in remaining flour to make a sticky dough that will leave a lot of residue on your finger if you touch it. Beat on low for another 4-6 minutes, until the dough is soft, smooth, and tacky. Tacky dough is like a Post-It note - it clings to your finger, but leaves little-to-no residue behind. Add more flour if needed, one tablespoon at a time.

Four: Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.

Filling and Rolling

Five: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Pat it out, then roll it into a 11x15-inch rectangle with a long side facing you.

Six: Microwave the butter for the filling for 10-15 seconds, until it's melty but not fully melted. Spread it along the dough, leaving a ½ inch border along the long edge at the top.

Seven: Mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and a dash of salt, and sprinkle it over the butter. It should start to melt when it hits melty butter (unlike in the photo above, where my butter wasn't melty enough).

Eight: Starting at the long edge closest to you, start to roll up the dough firmly. I roll, then tuck or pull it in to tighten it, and repeat, all the way up.

Nine: Place the rolled dough seam-side down, then cut into 16-18 rolls with a serrated knife.

Ten: Place rolls cut side up in two greased or parchment-lined 9-inch round pans, or one 9x13 inch pan. Cover and let rise until doubled - 45 minutes in a normal kitchen, up to 90 in a cold one.

Overnight Rest

While you can bake the cinnamon rolls at this point, I always refrigerate them overnight.

The main reason to refrigerate the cinnamon rolls overnight is so that you can bake them at your leisure. Cinnamon roll dough is enriched with sugar, butter, and egg which slow the rise, so the rolls must rise at room temperature. Unlike lean dough (just flour, yeast, salt, and water), enriched dough won't rise in the refrigerator.

Often my rolls start to deflate a little by the time I pull them out; however, this doesn't affect how they bake. Don't leave them in more than 18 hours.

The next morning, pull the pan out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before you want to bake them to get the chill off.

Baking and Frosting

Eleven: Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, until golden on top. If you're unsure, take their temperature; they should register 195F. A 9x13-inch pan takes slightly longer than two 9-inch pans.

Twelve: When you pull the rolls from the oven, make the cream cheese icing. With an electric mixer, cream the softened cream cheese and butter, then beat the powdered sugar and vanilla into it until creamy and fluffy. It's often called a cream cheese glaze, but it's actually more like an icing or frosting - thick enough to spread with a knife.

Thirteen: Spread all the icing over the warm rolls. It will thin and spread out some with the heat, but won't entirely slide off since they've been out of the oven for five minutes.

Freezing Unbaked Dough

My family of 3 shouldn't eat 18 cinnamon rolls! So when I make cinnamon rolls, I almost always freeze half of the dough and half the icing at the same time.

1. Decide if you're going to keep the rolls and the pan in the freezer. If you need your pan back, line it with parchment.

2. After the rolls' second rise, place them in the freezer until solid - around 4 hours or overnight.

3. Remove the rolls and their parchment from the pan, and wrap in a tight layer of plastic wrap. Then fit them into a freezer bag, squeezing as much air from it as possible before sealing. If they won't fit in a freezer bag, wrap in additional layers of plastic wrap, covering it with foil to be sure it stays secure.

4. Scoop half the icing into a sandwich bag, squeeze out the air, and store with the frozen rolls.

How long does the frozen cinnamon roll dough last? At least a month, and maybe longer. After that, the yeast may start to die. Yeasted dough is very cold-sensitive, but this one is a little more stable since it's enriched.

To bake, remove the rolls from the freezer the night before, and thaw them in the refrigerator.

1. Unwrap the rolls. Place them (and their parchment) in their baking pan.

2. Cover them with plastic wrap, draping it so it doesn't touch the dough. The plastic will tear the dough if it sticks to it while they thaw.

3. Store in the refrigerator overnight, preferably closer to 12 hours. If you froze frosting, move it to the fridge now.

4. The morning you want to bake them, pull them out 30-60 minutes before baking; they may not be fully thawed yet.

5. Bake as usual. Frozen cinnamon rolls sometimes take a few minutes longer to bake. I recommend taking their temperature in addition to seeing how golden they become.

Serving and Storage

Serving: Serve warm shortly after baking, or at room temperature. They're perfect on their own but would also be right at home alongside a St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake for a fuller brunch spread. I served these with Strawberry Bellinis the last weekend I made them; Decadent Hot Chocolate would go well with them in colder weather.

Storage: Refrigerate leftovers after 2 hours; they shouldn't be left at room temperature for longer, due to the cream cheese icing. These are best on the day they're made if eating at room temperature.

Shelf Life: Cinnamon rolls last up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Reheat each cinnamon roll individually immediately before eating. I recommend microwaving in 10-second bursts, until soft and warm. Don't overheat; if you do, they'll become hard and unpleasant while they cool.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze FAQs

Other Sweet Weekend Breakfast Recipes

I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.