This delicious recipe for cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese glaze is easy to make ahead. Shape the dough the night before you want them, refrigerate them, and bake them the next morning.
Cut 3 tablespoons butter into chunks. Combine milk and butter; microwave for about 30-60 seconds until the butter melts. If it doesn't all melt, the stand mixer will still incorporate the warm butter. (Don't overheat the milk; if it's too hot, it may kill the yeast.)
Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer and add 1 ½ cups of the flour, ½ cup sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat with dough hook on low speed for 3 minutes. (Not enough in your mixer? You can add a little more of the flour.)
Add remaining flour and beat on low to mix. The dough should be sticky. Knead longer on low, until dough is smooth and elastic. This took me 4 minutes in a stand mixer; may take 8 minutes if kneading by hand. If dough is too sticky, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time. The finished dough will be tacky, sticking to your fingers like a post-it note, without leaving much residue on your hands.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a 15x11 inch rectangle. Spread 4 tablespoons of softened butter over the dough, leaving a ½ inch border along a long edge. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the butter.
Facing the sugared long edge, roll the dough up in a roll toward the unbuttered border. Pinch the seam closed and place log seam side down. Use a serrated knife to cut log into 16-18 rolls (¾ inch wide).
Grease two 9-inch pans (or one 9x13-inch pan) well, or line with parchment paper. Place rolls cut side down in pans. Cover with plastic wrap, then let rise in a warm kitchen until doubled, about 45 minutes.
To bake these the next morning, place the rolls in the refrigerator after this rise. The next morning, pull them out for 20-30 minutes to let them come up to room temperature. However, be careful with this if baking in glass as the sudden change in temperature from cold fridge to hot oven can break the glass.
Bake at 375F until the edges are golden, about 20 minutes. If they're browning too much, cover them or remove them from the oven early. (Their temperature, if you take it with a probe thermometer, will be around 195F when done.) Do NOT overbake.
Combine softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons softened butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer, beating until smooth. Spread on rolls. Serve warm (my preference) or at room temperature. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
After the 45 minute rise in the baking pans, place pan in freezer. Freeze until solid - about 4 hours.
If using parchment in 9-inch pans, remove the rolls and parchment from the pan. Place in a gallon sized freezer bag. Squeeze as much air from it as possible.
If freezing in the pan or the rolls won't fit in a freezer bag, wrap the frozen rolls/pan twice in plastic wrap. Use tape if necessary to help seal. A layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap will also help protect them from cold air.
To thaw, remove rolls from freezer the day before baking. If rolls are not in a pan already, place them in a pan. Remove plastic wrap from top, and drape it loosely over the rolls so it's still covering the rolls/edges but not touching the dough.
The next morning, remove rolls from fridge when you preheat the oven. Bake at 375F for 20-30 minutes; they may take a few extra minutes to cook, depending on how many you are baking.
Frosting may be made in advance and stored in a separate freezer bag. Thaw with the cinnamon rolls. Bring to room temperature when the cinnamon rolls bake.
Frozen dough will last at least 4 weeks.
I always make these for an overnight rise, so that I can have cinnamon rolls first thing in the morning.
I also usually freeze half of the rolls, before baking, to have on another day. Always label your frozen rolls with any baking instructions (thaw the day before in the refrigerator, bring to room temperature while preheating, bake at 375F for 20-30, instructions for frosting) so you don't have to search for the recipe later.
Do not add too much flour to the dough or it will be stiff and hard to work with. The rolls will also not be tender.
I find softened butter, rather than melted butter, to be best to spread over the rolls for the filling; it is less messy.
adapted from Epicurious via Smitten Kitchen