“I would love to make cinnamon rolls, but I just don’t have time.”
“Oh, how I wish I could treat my family to hot cinnamon rolls in the morning without getting up at 4 to make them.”
“Our family enjoys cinnamon rolls, but they go stale before we can eat them all.”
If you’ve been hesitant to break out your leaveners and whip up a batch of hot, gooey cinnamon rolls for any of those reasons, I might have a solution that both your schedule and your family will appreciate.
Baking two dozen cinnamon rolls from scratch takes me about 2 1/2 – 3 hours total. Much of that time is in the rising, though. They certainly aren’t labor intensive! But 3 hours before breakfast? Um, I’m not willing to get up at 4 AM, either.
Homemade cinnamon rolls are not known as a convenience food, but I do know of two pretty simple ways to enjoy hot, fresh rolls for breakfast without popping open a can!
Refrigerator Method: If you have some time in the evening, go ahead and mix up a batch of dough. Give it a rise, roll them out, then stick your rolls in the refrigerator covered with a lightweight towel. They will slowly rise through the night. In the morning, set them in a warm place for 30 minutes to an hour to finish rising, and bake.
Freezer Method: Mix your dough at any time. Once you’ve flossed your rolls, lay them in a pan and freeze them immediately.
Once frozen, bag your rolls and stick them back in the freezer.
To bake, simply place the desired number of frozen rolls on a pan and set out overnight on the counter, covered with a lightweight towel. They’ll be ready for the oven in the morning!
Convenience without the can! Here are my favorite cinnamon roll recipes:
– Amy is a tiny-town wife and mother of three with a new little one on the way. Enjoying a hot batch of cinnamon rolls is one way she Embraces the Extraordinary in Every Day. You can find her writing about just that over at The Finer Things in Life.
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I have never done this!!! i am going to so have to try it!
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Thank you SO much for this! We used to use the canned every weekend, but stopped when I couldn't find any good info on freezing them. [I felt like the store bought were probably overpriced and less healthy than homemade] Time to return to cinnamon rolls! Yay!
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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for this! You know I’ve been yearning to try Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls but I hear it makes 7 pans…and I didn’t know if you could freeze them or not! Who in the world wants SEVEN PANS of cinnamon rolls? NOT ME! This is SUCH FANASTIC NEWS!!!
I am SO digging your site! I think I”m going to link to every single one of your recipes as I make them and blog about them!!!
I even started my household binder.. it’s still being tweaked but I’m loving it!
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Jessica Reply:
March 13th, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Yeah for the household binder! And yes, I was surprised to find your comment in moderation. I know you’re on LAM, but this must have been a secret I was keeping from you.
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Found this via Pinterest…and I can’t believe I never thought of doing this. I, too, will NOT get up early to make homemade cinnamon rolls but I so love the early morning smell of them baking in the oven
Thanks for sharing your ideas!
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The recipe links take me to a site that is under maintenance! I would love to make these. Hmmmm
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Jessica Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
@Shonda, you can use my recipe until hers is available: http://goodcheapeats.com/2009/10/whole-grain-cinnamon-rolls/
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you have just made my life easier! thanks so much
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Thank you! This is so helpful! I have used it with both cinnamon and peanut butter rolls.
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Thanks for the freezing tips and the recipe links! I’m definitely making these for Thanksgiving breakfast (start the day out with as many calories as possible! haha) It will be wonderful getting some preparations done ahead of time.
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Hey! Hopefully you get this… But I was wanting to make my cinnamon rolls two days in advance… would they last in the fridge or should I freeze them?
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Jessica Reply:
December 20th, 2011 at 7:34 pm
That’s a tough call. Def. to fridge one day in advance. Otherwise freeze. OR bake them a day ahead.
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I am trying this out today! We have dramatically cut our grocery budget for the four of us, but with fresh cinnamon rolls throughout the month, it won’t seem so bad! I linked this page to my blog and I hope that is okay. I just wanted to share this great idea with my readers!
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Jessica Reply:
January 2nd, 2012 at 7:16 am
Absolutely. Link away.
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Jonna Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:11 am
@Jessica, I made these and they were fabulous! So delicious! I am so pleased that I will be able to offer these to my family on a regular basis without having to toil away each morning. These cinnamon rolls may become a Sunday morning tradition!
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Jessica Reply:
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:48 pm
@Jonna, so glad you enjoyed them!
How long will they last in the freezer? I have made the pioneers woman’s recipe for awhile now and yes it is 7 pans but i have alot of people come over and take their own pan home…lol. I have never tried freezing them but i will now but again how long do you think they will last and do you think freezing them in a freezer bag or a tray like you showed in the picture?
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Jessica Reply:
April 5th, 2012 at 1:07 pm
I typically freeze them in bags. Remove as much air as you can first. They should be fine for a month in the refrig/freezer or 2-3 months in the deep freeze.
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I never thought about freezing them! My recipe is from a cookbook and makes jumbo sized, but it’s hard for us to get through a whole pan before feeling like we’ve OD’d on sugar. Freezing half and baking half is the perfect solution! Thanks!
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