By Karrie on | Updated | 40 Comments
Now that Easter is in the books, it’s time to start thinking about Mother’s day. I think every mom deserves to have this easy cinnamon roll recipe in her back pocket to make the morning extra special! Now, if you have a husband andchildren who know their way around the kitchen and love to shower you with a delicious morning brunch inthe comfort of your bed…text me sometime, I want to know your secret.
However, if you’re like me, and you love thethoughtthat goes into therubbery eggs and dry toast, but not the actual taste, join me! Youcanmake this easy cinnamon roll recipe weeks in advance, then detail it with heating instructions andpop it in the freezer. Then you just have to drop a few heavy hints to the hubster, and let the heavenly smell of sugary carbs ease you awake on your special day.
Try andmake the dough the day before rolling the rolls. It only takes about 20 minutes.
Your dough should look like this. I had to use my hands to kneed in the last couple cups of flour. But just until incorporated! Cover the pot (I would suggest Saran wrapinstead of the pot lid) and let it rest in the fridge overnight.
Cut the dough into thirds and roll out one of the sections into a rectangle. Seriously though, does anyone really achieve the rectangle shape? It’s usually an awkward oval at best for me. Moving on. Slather that puppy in butter, like a Paula Dean amount of butter, and sprinkleheavily distribute your cinnamon sugar mixture. Rub it into the layer of butter so they can be an ooey-gooey duo upon baking. Roll up tightly.
Use dental flossto cut rounds and place onto a large greased pan.
Let the cinnamon rolls rise for 2-3 hours until double in size. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, and prep your cream cheese frosting. The key to this frosting is towhipthe butter and cream cheese together for 2-3 minutes prior to adding your remaining ingredients. And another minute on high after you’ve added the ingredients and scraped the bowl.
BEHOLD.
If you are not aware, thereare two ways to eat a cinnamon roll 1.With melted frosting 2.With firm frosting. And let me tell you, the decision is a heart-wrenching one to make. For picture purposes, I let the cinnamon rolls cool before applying the frosting. But usually I slap on a couple coats before I even turn the oven timer off. The frosting melts into the cinnamon sugar and the rest is history.
My favorite part about this easy cinnamon roll recipe is that it makes ALOT! So you can have a pan for today and a pan to freeze for Mother’s Day!
So while you are licking your plate and reaching for second helping, you can prep your Mother’s Day breakfast!
Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe – Freezer Directions:
1. Follow all the steps up until baking(yes, you let them rise).
2. Select the pan that you are going to freeze andpar-bake them. Meaning, bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven and let cool.
4. Place rolls into a large ziplock freezer bag(or in quart bags for smaller batches, I like batches of four) and place in the freezer.
5. Reserve aportion ofthe frosting into a small ziplock bag and freeze with each batch.
6. The night before serving, take rolls out and place on a baking sheet. Cover with saran wrap and place in the fridge to thaw along with the frosting.
7. The next morning preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for about10 minutes. Watch closely!
8. Cut the tip of the frosting bag and pipe it on to the cinnamon rolls.
I know you will love these cinnamon rolls as much as we do around here. Try them out and let me know what you think! I’ve included an easy to follow printable recipe below!
And if you want to make your day extra easy, try prepping one of these slow cooker freezer meals to grab out of the freezer and pop in the crock pot, then you can spend the rest of your day making your kids give you foot massages.
Recipe Card
4 from 4 votes
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Published By Karrie
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon rolls
Servings 36
Prep Time 1 hour hr
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Save your money and leave the tube of cinnamon rolls on the shelf! These cinnamon rolls are light and gooey, and with a little planning can be baked up in half the time as store-bought!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Rolls
- 1 cup Water
- 1 cup butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold water
- 4 eggs slightly beaten
- 2 packages yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons)
- 7 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/3 cup cinnamon
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 4 oz cream cheese softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cinnamon Rolls
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add butter, sugar, and salt. Heat through until sugar is dissolved.
Add the cold water to the mixture. Mix to cool it down slightly.
Take 1/2 cup of this water-sugar-butter mixture and add to a separate small bowl. When it's luke warm - or around 110 °F (not too hot or you'll kill your yeast) sprinkle yeast in and mix gently to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast is foamy.
While waiting, beat eggs in a separate small bowl and add them to the main dough mixture.
Stir in yeast and then the flour and mix until gently combined
Cover the pan tightly and let rest in the fridge overnight.
When ready to roll out, divide dough into thirds. Flour surface and roll dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Spread each rectangle with softened butter.
In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon, and add it on top of the butter, being sure to leave enough to repeat with each section of dough.
Roll up like a jelly-roll and use floss to wrap around a 1 1/2 inch section, pull cross-wise to cut through the dough.
Place in a greased baking sheet and cover loosely with greased saran wrap. Let raise for 2-3 hours until doubled in size. Bake one sheet at a time at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream together softened butter and cream cheese on high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add remaining ingredients and beat on high again until soft and light. Spread over warm cinnamon rolls.
Notes
Freezer Directions
1. Follow all the steps and let the dough rise 2-3 hours. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Lable a freezer bag with cooking directions. Place the cinnamon rolls one by one in a single layer. Add the frosting to a smaller ziplock and add to the bag. Freeze for up to 6 weeks.
3.The night before baking, individually place rolls onto a greased pan. Cover and place in the fridge to thaw along with the frosting.
4. In the morning bake pan at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Snip one edge of the frosting bag and pipe onto warm cinnamon rolls.
Nutrition
Serving: 1g | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 240mg | Potassium: 53mg | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 385IU | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 1.4mg
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About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
