Prepare these the night before for the perfect lazy morning.
Baking soda regulates the dough's pH, helping it brown in the oven.Nothing kicks off a holiday celebration quite like waking up to the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting from the oven, especially when I don't have to lift a finger that morning except to preheat the oven. That's the magic of this recipe for overnight cinnamon rolls, which ensures all the heavy lifting is knocked out a day in advance.
For the frosting, I keep things super simple, just beating a bit of cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar together in a When it's light and creamy, I scrape the frosting into a disposable pastry bag, then stash it someplace cool. So long as room temperature doesn't get warmer than 74°F , it's fine to leave the frosting out overnight, but otherwise, I prefer to pop it in the fridge or freezer, depending on how far in advance I'm plotting my meals.
I fold the dry and liquid ingredients together with a flexible spatula to get the dough started, then let my stand mixer do the rest. Since the dough's so rich, it's tricky to knead by hand, and even on a stand mixer, it will take a while to turn elastic and smooth—20 to 25 minutes, depending on the wattage of a given mixer.
Roll the log up as tight as you can, ending seam side down, then cut it into 12 portions using a strip of unflavored dental floss or butcher's twine.