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Overnight Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

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These outrageous Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls can be prepared the night before and baked fresh in the morning! Dripping with delicious caramel cinnamon roll icing and stuffed with pecans and raisins – these cinnamon rolls are irresistible! Make sure to try these S’mores Cinnamon Rolls with Marshmallow Frosting or Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls for an extra special treat!

overnight-cinnamon-rolls-recipe

Overnight Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Ahhhh. Cinnamon rolls. Just those two simple words can set my mouth to watering in anticipation. When I was growing up, cinnamon rolls were for special occasions only. Like Christmas. Maybe only Christmas now that I think of it. My mom would get up before the crack of dawn to get the dough going so there would be time enough for it to rise…but, clearly, I am not my Mom. Nowhere near as dedicated 🙂  I like shortcuts. I also like my sleep. As much of it as I can get 😉

caramel-pecan-cinnamon-rolls-recipe

Basically, I FULLY appreciate any breakfast that can be made in advance. Whether it’s my Freezer Breakfast Burritos or Make-Ahead Honey Vanilla Parfaits – time savers in the morning are essential in my household.

These easy overnight cinnamon rolls help me out…A LOT. I make them the night before. Let them get their second rise in while I’m watching TV with the hubs and then throw them in the fridge before I go to bed. First one up takes them out of the fridge and sets them in a warm area to let them come to room temperature before baking. If your oven has a proof setting – that is perfect!

How Do You Make Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon rolls can seem extremely difficult and challenging, especially if you’ve never made them be. I’m here to dispel the myth that cinnamon rolls are HARD. Anyone can make cinnamon rolls, I promise.

Cinnamon rolls can be made many different ways but here is the general process:

  1. Cinnamons rolls start with a dough that is slightly sweet and usually made with yeast.
  2. The dough rises until doubled in size before rolling out into a rectangle.
  3. The filling is usually a combination of butter, sugar and cinnamon. Brown sugar or granulated sugar can be used.
  4. The filling is spread onto the dough and rolled up into a log.
  5. The log is cut into slices using a very sharp knife or unwaxed dental floss.
  6. The cinnamon rolls rise again before baking.
  7. Warm cinnamon rolls are frosted and enjoyed.

cinnamon-rolls-rising

Cinnamon Roll Filling

I briefly mentioned the filling above and while that filing is delicious, for this recipe, we’re going all out. I included both brown sugar and granulated sugar in my filling as well as cinnamon, pecans, raisins, and of course butter.

The butter is what helps the filling “stick” to the dough and is super important. Don’t skimp!

cinnamon-roll-icing-recipe

Cinnamon Roll Icing

When the rolls are in the oven it’s time to get started on the caramel icing. The caramel icing is made with brown sugar, butter, heavy cream, vanilla extract and a little powdered sugar to thicken it up. Basically, calorie free.

The cinnamon roll icing takes only a few minutes to whip up and it is seriously yummy! I sampled it several times before pouring over the rolls so trust me, I know what I’m talking about here 😉  Once the rolls are done, pour the caramel icing over the hot rolls and keep pouring until you have just a small amount remaining in the pan – this is for those who like “extra” on the side OR for the cook who is now cleaning the kitchen.

caramel-icing

Now it’s going to look like a ridiculous amount of icing – and it is – but here’s a time lapse after pouring it on – you can see how it slips into all the cracks and crevices on the cinnamon rolls.

Yeah. You want this.

caramel-pecan-cinnamon-rolls

The pecans add a lovely crunch and the raisins are so sweet and chewy – they are really perfect in this cinnamon roll! If you have an aversion to one or the other – just leave them out – no biggie 🙂

Tips for the BEST Cinnamon Rolls

  • Check and then double check your yeast. It needs to be fresh and active or your rolls will not rise.
  • Allow yourself some time beforehand to read through the instructions. This is always helpful when trying out a new recipe.
  • Use a stand mixer if you have one. It makes mixing and kneading so, so easy.
  • Don’t add in too much flour. You may be tempted to keep adding in flour – don’t. The dough should be slightly sticky, slightly tacky. When you roll it out into a rectangle, even more flour will be incorporated into the dough so you really want to err on the side of not enough instead of too much. You can always work more flour into the dough later if needed.

What You Need To Make Cinnamon Rolls

  • I use a stand mixer. I have pretty bad carpal tunnel and I just can’t knead the dough properly with my hands like I used to. The dough hook is a lifesaver for me.
  • You’re going to need a 9 x 13 baking dish or two smaller dishes to bake the cinnamon rolls in.
  • A pastry mat or large cutting board to roll out the dough.
  • A pastry cutter or sharp knife or unwaxed dental floss to get nice clean slices.

cinnamon-rolls-caramel-icing

More delicious breakfast recipes:

How To Make Cinnamon Rolls

Print Pin

Overnight Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

These outrageous Caramel Pecan Cinnamon Rolls can be prepared the night before and baked fresh in the morning! Dripping with delicious caramel icing and stuffed with pecans – these cinnamon rolls are irresistible!
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon rolls
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 739kcal
Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

For rolls:

  • 4½ tsp OR 2 packages of active dry yeast
  • ½ cup warm milk (115°F)
  • 3 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp + ½ cup sugar divided
  • 1½ tsp salt
  • 4 to 5 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted

Filling:

  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • ⅓ cup chopped pecans
  • ½ cup raisins
  • 1 cup butter melted

Caramel Icing:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1⅓ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

For the rolls:

  • Mix together 2 tsp sugar, warm milk, and yeast in a mixer bowl. Let stand for five minutes.
  • Beat eggs, sugar, and salt until well combined.
  • Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and whisk to combine.
  • Add 1 cup of flour and continue mixing until smooth.
  • Pour in the melted butter and mix well.
  • Continue adding the remaining 3½ cups of flour, ½ cup at a time until dough is stiff but still slightly tacky. 
  • Move the dough to a greased bowl and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm area and let rise until doubled in size. Approximately 1 hour.
  • Meanwhile, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the filling. Chop the pecans and melt the butter.
  • Once dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board. Punch down down and roll out to approximately 12 x 16 inches.
  • Spread on the melted butter and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Next sprinkle on the pecans and raisins.
  • Starting on a long side, roll up the dough up into a cylinder and pinch the edge to close. Cut the cylinder in half and then cut each half into five rolls for a total of ten rolls.
  • Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish and place rolls in dish leaving a little room around each roll to allow for rising. Let the rolls rise for another hour or so and place in the refrigerator. {If baking now - do NOT put in refrigerator.}
  • Remove from refrigerator and let rolls come to room temperature in a warm area.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 20-25 minutes until golden brown in color.

While rolls are baking, prepare the caramel icing:

  • Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the brown sugar and salt and stir until combined. Continue cooking over low heat for another 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Add the heavy whipping cream and stir to combine.
  • Remove from heat and add vanilla.
  • Whisk in the powdered sugar until nice and smooth.
  • Remove rolls from oven and pour on icing immediately. Let cool slightly and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 739kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 626mg | Potassium: 207mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 1120IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 2.9mg

Originally published January 18, 2013.

caramel-pecan-cinnamon-rolls-collage

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Comments

  1. Nancy says

    Tried the overnight cinnamon rolls. I thought I blew the recipe by adding too much flour but they turned out great! We do Christmas brunch every year and these will be added to the annual menu.

    Reply

  2. Troy says

    Yum yum yum. Gonna make these awesome looking cinnamon rolls this weekend. But, my wife does not like pecans. Do you think they will still be good without the pecans?

    Reply

  3. Renee says

    This cinnamon roll looks amazing and I can’t wait to make them! I don’t know what Ap flour is. Could you please tell me. Thanks!

    Reply

  4. Stephanie Nichols says

    Hey! I’m making these tonight cause I’m bringing them to church in the morning. With the glaze, can i make it tonight and reheat it or would that not work the same?

    Reply

  6. Heather says

    I think this will be out new Christmas cinnamon roll!!!!! It looks to yummy!!! If my house is cold in winter morning do you suggest I take it out extra early in the morning to let it rise so I can cook it early to be ready for breakfast for the family?

    Reply

  7. Adeel says

    Hi Trish,

    Thank you so much for sharing great recipe.

    Can you please share VIDEO of making above recipe.

    Thanks in advanced.

    Adeel

    Reply

  8. Melanie Klem says

    Ummmm, yuuuum!!! Can’t wait to try these!! Can these be frozen before baking? At what point in the recipe/rising process would you freeze them? Thanks! 🙂

    Reply

  9. Heidi N says

    Hi, I made the rolls this afternoon! For the filling I melted one cup of butter, spread on top of rolled out dough and it made such a mess. Did I do something wrong? Is that the correct amount of butter? I did not use raisins or nuts. Help! Thanks

    Reply

    • Greg-Pigseye Barbecue says

      So I am wondering if the butter amounts are off? As I type this I have a pan of rolls in the refigerator waiting for morning, but adding 1/2 cup of butter to the dough and one cup for the filling???? Definitely I cut back on the filling amount and will experiment with the amount for the carmel. Anyone else have comments?

      Reply

  10. Ellen says

    I bake things quite a bit for my medical school class, and decided to make this recipe today to make for a more cheerful Monday. What a hit these were! I had three people tell me this was the best cinnamon roll they’ve had in their life. Great recipe!!!

    Reply

  11. Nicole says

    Holy moly. It is unreal how delicious the caramel icing is. I don’t know how much will actually make it onto these rolls. There is way too much sampling going on.

    Reply

  15. Kogie says

    Hi has anyone tried making these eggless? Or any suggestions on how I can bake these ommitting eggs? I’m thinking of using buttermilk instead maybe…..

    Reply

    • Trish - Mom On Timeout says

      I just found this:
      Whisk/blend together 1 teaspoon of flax seed powder with 1/4 cup of water for each egg to be replaced.
      You can also replace with applesauce and just increase leavening ingredients by about 25%.
      Good luck!

      Reply

  16. Sally says

    Ok looked it up and should have done this prior to writing to you, but these really look delicious and have to try the out 🙂 AP = All purpose 🙂

    Reply

  17. Sally says

    Hi Trish,

    I live in Copenhagen Denmark, but have also lived in the US for 11 yrs. I saw your recipe and notice a remark about wheat flour. I notice your recipe mentions AP flour. What type of flour is that exactly? Here the normal flour I would use for baking is wheat flour.
    /Sally

    Reply

    • Trish - Mom On Timeout says

      Hi Sally! AP is all-purpose flour. It’s flour that has been “enriched”. That is so interesting that wheat flour is standard in Copenhagen. It can definitely be used in this recipe! Enjoy Sally!

      Reply

  25. Carol says

    I just printed this wonderful recipe, will be making today and baking tomorrow, Easter morning for brunch. Can’t wait! Thank you.

    Reply

  27. Michelle says

    I made these a few weeks ago and they were divine!!! I cut the butter in the filling down to 1/4 cup and cut the sugar in the dough by just a little too. The whole family loved them. I love the caramel icing; best part.

    Reply

  28. Peaches says

    Oh gosh they look divine! Can’t wait to try them! Can I substitute all purpose cream for whipping cream? I wan’t to try baking these babies tomorrow but I only have all purpose cream right now.

    Reply

  30. Inga says

    We had them for breakfast last Sunday! I loved the idea to prepare the dough already the day before, so they are really easy to make. They are delicous, I only made half the recipe of the dough and 1/3 of the icing, and this was just the right amount for our sweet tooth.
    I will definitely make them again for our next brunch with friend & family.

    Reply

  42. emily says

    oooo wonderful!! I’ve been wondering about putting dough in the fridge overnight… Haven’t tried it, but you having given me the inspiration I need!

    Reply

  51. Cranberry Morning says

    It was like an out-of-body experience when I saw myself hitting ‘print’ on this recipe. I mean, it’s not like I need another irresistible carbful recipe to compete with my treadmill time. But oh my goodness, they look amazing! I’ll save it for company – that will make me feel less guilty. 🙂

    Reply

  56. Sue says

    I have been making these over the past few hours. It’s cold here and the rising is taking more time than I thought it would. I have a question on the caramel icing. The amount for the whipping cream and the powdered sugar is unclear. I think it should read “cup”, but it’s not stated. Can you clarify for me. Am really looking forward to eating these.

    Reply

    • Trish - Mom On Timeout says

      Sorry Sue! You’re right – it’s 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream and 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar. To help the rolls rise you can turn your oven on the lowest temp, let it heat up, turn it off and then put the rolls in. Let me know what you think when you get them all done!

      Reply

      • Sue says

        perfect timing for your response Trish. I was just starting the icing and was going with what I thought about it being cups. I also didn’t have the whipping cream so I substituted Half&Half instead. I think that should work. I also didn’t use all the butter for the rolls. I only used just over 1/4 cup melted butter and and also brushed it on the dough while rolling it up. One other thing I did was used some cherries & pecans for a portion of the filling and the raisins and pecans for the other part. I like to experiment. This takes a good deal of time to put together, but it was a good day to do it. I will let you know what I think later. I would probably make them again, but only for a special occasion due to the time it takes to put together.

        Reply

    • Michael Turner says

      If the weather is cool, try turning the oven light on a few hours before the proving, and place it in the oven. You can also do this to bring the dough back to room temp faster. My roommate uses the oven with just the oven light on to cultivate yogurt overnight.

      Reply

  58. Vanessa says

    Oh my! Those look so good. That picture with the caramel dripping is making me hungry, mmmm. Bread making is one of my favorite things do do and I’ve been looking for a good cinnamon roll recipe. I’m definitely going to try these.

    Reply

  65. Dee says

    Have you ever tried this with wheat flour? What about with almond milk? Thanks for this recipe. I plan on trying it, but was curious if you (or any of your followers) have tried it with the other ingredients. Thanks! Love your blog.

    Reply

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