Soft and sweet, these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls are a special treat! Make a heart-shaped batch for Valentine’s Day or Christmas morning!
I am in love with these cinnamon rolls! They’re soft and fluffy, delectably sweet with a perfect balance of cinnamon and sugar in the swirl. Top it off with gooey, melty frosting and you’ve got yourself a breakfast worthy of any celebration!
Cinnamon Rolls Holidays
I have 3 special times during the year when I simply *must* make cinnamon rolls for breakfast!
Christmas Morning
For us, Christmas breakfast has always been cinnamon rolls. It used to be the canned kind. After having these, those packaged cinnamon rolls didn’t stand a chance!
St. Valentine’s Day
St. Valentine is the patron saint of love, engaged couples and happy marriages, among other things. (Click here to learn more about St. Valentine.) I think that sweets (especially heart-shaped ones) are a perfect way to celebrate his feast day!
St. John of God’s Feast Day
St. John of God is the patron saint of people with heart problems. (Click here to learn more about St. John of God.) When our oldest daughter was 6 months old, she was diagnosed with an ASD (hole in her heart) that was going to need surgical intervention.
St. John of God became our favorite saint for her, and we celebrate his feast day each year with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls!
Secret Ingredient for Maximum Softness
The standard way of making cinnamon rolls is like any sweet bread dough. Dissolve yeast in warm water and then add everything else: eggs, butter, sugar, flour.
But here’s the trick for making better, softer cinnamon rolls that won’t dry out. Swap out some of the warm water for cooked oatmeal. You heard me right. Oatmeal. Cooked.
Here’s why it works: This is like the Tangzhong Method, which cooks a portion of the flour with water before adding it to the dough. But in this case, we’re using oats.
When making oatmeal, water cooks into the oats, making a sort of gel that can’t be baked out in the oven. The oats stay moist, keeping the dough moist.
How your rolls will change: Don’t worry. You can’t tell there’s oatmeal in the rolls. No one will feel, see or taste oatmeal. (Your secret ingredient will stay a secret!) It will, however, make your rolls softer, and they’ll stay soft for days!
Shaping Heart Cinnamon Rolls
Spread out half of the dough into a rectangle that’s 18″x12″ big. Spread with half of the butter and then sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. (This is my favorite step because it reminds me of playing in the sand at the beach!)
Using a pizza cutter, cut the long side (18″ side) into 12 pieces, each measuring about 1 1/2″ wide.
Cut 3 of the strips into thirds (measuring about 4″ long).
Roll up one small strip and place in the middle of a long strip. Roll each end of the long strip towards the middle. Meet the side-rolls over the top of the small central roll. Carefully place the heart roll in a greased 8 or 9 inch round pan.
Repeat with remaining strips. Then repeat with other half of dough, butter and cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Cover with a tea-towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Shaping Round Cinnamon Rolls
If you want to make these bad boys round instead of hearts, simply roll up the long strips into rolls! Place them into a square or rectangle greased dish and rise.
Baking Cinnamon Rolls
Bake in preheated oven (375°F) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Your house should smell like a bakery right about now!
Making the Frosting
Using an electric mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar. Add milk and vanilla. Beat on high for 1 minute to make the frosting light and fluffy.
Storing Cinnamon Rolls
Store tightly-covered at room temperature up to 3 days for maximum freshness.
Rolls made with the “secret ingredient” using the Tangzhong method will stay fresher and softer longer.
Store any leftover frosting tightly covered in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Reheating Leftover Cinnamon Rolls
If you plan on having leftovers, consider leaving the remaining rolls unfrosted. It will be easier to reheat them without worrying about your frosting melting off.
Microwave: These rolls reheat perfectly well in the microwave (even frosted).
Oven: To reheat unfrosted cinnamon rolls in the oven, cover with aluminum foil and place in preheated 300°F oven for 10 minutes or until warm. Frost before serving.
I would not recommend reheating frosted cinnamon rolls in the oven.
Happy Baking!
Heart-Shaped Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- electric mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter (recommended)
- 8" or 9" round cake pan or baking dish
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 4 ½ teaspoons active-dry yeast (2 0.25-oz packages)
- 1 ½ cups warm water (110°-115°F) (see NOTES for Secret Ingredient swap)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 ¾ – 6 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (720 grams – 780 grams by weight)
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- 1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- ½ cup butter, melted, divided
Frosting
- 6 Tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ Tablespoons milk (as needed)
Instructions
The Dough (Night Before)
- The night before you want to bake the rolls: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
- In bowl of electric mixer, combine eggs, butter, sugar, salt, 3 cups flour and yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a very soft, sticky dough.
- Do not knead. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Dough will not rise very much in fridge.)
Shaping Heart Rolls
- In the morning: Divide dough in 2 pieces. Roll one piece to a 18"x12" rectangle. Cover dough with ¼ cup melted butter. Combine ½ cup packed brown sugar with 2 teaspoons cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over butter.
- Starting on long side (18" side), cut 12 even strips of dough using a pizza cutter. (Each strip will measure about 1 ½" wide.) Cut 3 strips into thirds. Roll up a small strip and place in the center of a long strip. Roll both edges of long strip towards the middle. Meet the side rolls over the top of the small central roll. Carefully transfer heart to a greased 8" or 9" round pan.
- Repeat with remaining dough and cinnamon swirl filling.
Rise and Bake
- Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake cinnamon rolls 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Frosting
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and powdered sugar. Add vanilla and enough milk to spreading consistency. Beat on high for 1 minute.
- Spread frosting over warm rolls. Serve warm.
- Store leftover rolls tightly covered at room temperature up to 3 days for maximum freshness. Store leftover frosting tightly covered in fridge for 3-5 days.
Notes
- Secret Ingredient Method: For long-lasting soft and moist cinnamon rolls, decrease the warm water to 1/4 cup and add 1 1/2 cups COOKED oatmeal to the dough. (This is similar to using cooked flour in the Tangzhong Method. See the body of the post for more information on how this works.)
- To make 24 round rolls: roll out dough, spread with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar as outlined above. Cut into 12 strips, 1 1/2″ wide and roll into a round. Transfer each roll to a greased 9×13″ pan or square baking pan. Rise and bake as above.
- To reheat cinnamon rolls:
- Microwave: Reheat frosted or unfrosted cinnamon rolls in the microwave until warm.
- Oven: Unfrosted cinnamon rolls: Cover with aluminum foil and place in 300°F oven for 10 minutes or until warm. Frost and serve.
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