Fluffy Overnight Apple Butter Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls

If you’re a lover of warm, comforting flavors, then these Fluffy Overnight Apple Butter Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls are the best thing you’ll ever taste–seriously! Not only are they super thick,  fluffy, tender, brioche-like rolls, but they come completely bursting with apple butter flavor and smothered in a rich, but light eggnog cream cheese glaze. Hands down——these cinnamon rolls will be the newest Holiday craze! Easy make ahead and overnight dessert choice.

This post contains affiliate links.

Fluffy Overnight Apple Butter Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls. Yes, you read that right. These beauties are EVERYTHING and more! 

Honestly, this might be the first official overnight cinnamon rolls recipe on Orchids + Sweet Tea, although many of my cinnamon rolls have an overnight option. 

And while many of you might know me making cinnamon rolls to perfection, I must admit that these rolls are one of my top contenders, although these Delicious Homemade Classic Cinnamon Rolls seems to beat out all the others over and over again!

Now that we’re officially in the countdown to Christmas and these cinnamon rolls have landed on Day 21, I’m so excited to share the final recipes with you all! In case you haven’t been following our 25 Days to Christmas Recipe Countdown, I highly recommend checking out our Instagram for all the goodness. Also, be sure to tag us #orchidsandsweettea whenever you make one of our recipes!

Apple Butter + Eggnog? Seriously?

I know that this might sound crazy to many of you, because before making these, I honestly would have never thought about putting Apple Butter + Eggnog together. It almost sounds insane, right? Yes, but it WORKS, ya’ll! Both flavors are so bold on their own, but together, they truly compliment each other. 

You’re sure to get a warm, bold spice feel from the Apple Butter while the Eggnog (plus Cream Cheese) adds a nice mellow comfort. Such a beautiful tie together, trust me.

OK, So What is Apple Butter Exactly?

If you’re new to the entire Apple Butter scene, then welcome to the club. Me too! Trust me, you need to try it though—-it’s so good! Basically, Apple Butter is a highly concentrated butter sauce made by the long lengths of cooking your apples (typically with some form of liquid) to the point where the sugars in the apple caramelizes, turning it to a deep brown color. It’s technically concentrated applesauce. Haha. If you’re familiar with brown butter, then you can understand the process.

The Process of Making Apple Butter in 3 Simple Steps:

When it came to making my Apple Butter, I chose to cook it in a slow cooker overnight which was so easy and convenient. You literally just set it and forget it!

What You’ll Need:

• 16-18 Gala apples
• 2 Tbsps vanilla extract
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1 cup cane sugar
• 1 cup organic brown sugar

Here’s how:

• Begin by prepping your apples—-peel, core, + slice. 
• Add apples, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, + cane sugar to your slow cooker, stir/toss together, and cook on low for 8-9 hours. 
• After the allotted time, gently mash apples until completely broken down and continue to cook for another 6 hours. Mash again (or use a hand blender) until fully pureed and Wallah!

What You’re Guaranteed to Love About these Rolls.

OK, so if you’re still not entirely sold on these cinnamon rolls, then let me tell you what’s so great about them. They are SOFT, FLUFFY, + BRIOCHE-LIKE in texture. Yup. I love making my cinnamon rolls more brioche-like. Who doesn’t love the extra ‘pillowy-ness’ of it all?

I know—-I totally made up that word. Haha.

Oh and these rolls do live up to the hype of being called delicious—-Apple Butter + Eggnog is incredible together! Lately, I’ve been so in love with the combination after making these and I’m now obsessed!

How to Ensure that Cinnamon Rolls are Moist.

When it comes to ensuring that your cinnamon rolls are SUPER moist, I recently came across a trick which was adopted by Sarah Keifer from The Vanilla Bean Blog. In her swear by trick, Sarah mentions adding half of your frosting to your warm cinnamon rolls the moment that they are removed from the oven, so that it melts and soaks into the rolls. Then letting them cool completely per usual and adding your final coating of frosting. Just GENIUS!

Looking for Unique Cinnamon Roll Recipes? 

Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls 

Vegan Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls + Maple Pecan Glaze 

Greatest Challenge with Cinnamon Rolls.

Cinnamon rolls specifically, are a bit more challenging when it comes to the making of the dough and rolling, however, it’s nothing that a little practice can’t fix.

I remember the moments in the beginning of my baking journey, where I HATED making cinnamon rolls because I felt that they were so hard to master. It’s MESSY with the inside filling and rolling and cutting and fixing them into perfect little rolls.

However, after making cinnamon rolls enough times, I’ve learned to add a little less filling to the tops of the dough before rolling and also adding a bit of the filling into the butter mixture after they are rolled so that I can brush the tops and allow it all to seep through that way. 

The SECRET to My Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls!

As I’ve mentioned many times before, I love adding Bob’s Red Mill Organic Bread Flour to my cinnamon rolls as a secret ingredient because it creates such fluffy rolls.

This bread flour is made with premium high-protein flour milled from America’s highest quality wheat. While using all-purpose flour can achieve soft cinnamon rolls, there’s just something special about the rolls when this type of flour mixes in. I don’t know how to explain it, but mixing in this bread type allows for the rolls to be thicker, airy, fluffy, soft, and just GOOD!

In general, this bread flour is perfect for baguettes, pizza crust, dinner rolls, no-knead breads, and more. However, I think that we can add cinnamon rolls to the list. Haha.

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls Overnight?

Not only are overnight cinnamon rolls super easy and convenient to make, but they also come out to be incredibly soft and fluffy in addition to my secret ingredient! Honestly, making these cinnamon rolls fully overnight was the best decision ever! 

If you don’t want to make your Cinnamon Rolls on the same day, you can simply follow all steps (including the initial 1+ hour rise) and after cutting rolls and placing them into your baking pan, just cover them tightly (using foil paper of plastic wrap) and refrigerate them overnight or for 8-12 hours instead. The following day, remove from refrigerator and keeping them covered, let cinnamon rolls rise at room temp 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Can I Make these Cinnamon Rolls without a Long Rise?

Absolutely! When it comes to these cinnamon rolls or any for that matter, you always have the option of making them the traditional way which requires a 1-2 hours initial rise and then another 20-25 minute rise before baking OR an overnight option.

However, if you’re in a rush to make these or don’t want to deal with a long rise time, you can simply create your dough and do a quick rise (20-25 minutes) and placing them straight in the oven to bake. Either way, cinnamon rolls are AMAZING and worth whatever wait time you choose!

RAPID (INSTANT) RISE YEAST VS. ACTIVE DRY YEAST.

If you’re not using the Rapid Rise Yeast for this recipe, please know that the rise time will be twice as long (about 3 hours) since regular Active Yeast doesn’t work as quickly.

How Long Can I Store Leftover Cinnamon Rolls?

Leftover Cinnamon Rolls can be kept fresh at room temperature when tightly wrapped or sealed for up to 3 days. Fresh for up to 1 week in the Refrigerator. Baked rolls (unfrosted) can be frozen up to 2 months and reheated once ready to serve.

6 Tips for Making the Perfect Cinnamon Rolls.

But before we head over to the full recipe, here are a few tips that I’ve learned along the way to ensure that I make the perfect Cinnamon Rolls:

• LIKE I SAID—NEVER OVERHEAT THE MILK. WARM IS THE GOAL!

• USE VERY SOFT BUTTER AT ROOM TEMPERATURE.

• MIX, MIX, MIX THAT DOUGH TO RELASE THE GLUTEN! 

• OVERNIGHT IS BETTER!

• USE BREAD FLOUR TOO.

To read each tip is detail, be sure to check out my Delicious Homemade Classic Cinnamon Rolls recipe!

Fluffy Overnight Apple Butter Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Rising Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Total Time: 2 hrs 20 mins

Serves: 12 servings

Print It Pin It

Ingredients

Overnight Apple Butter Dough:

• 3 cups Organic All-purpose flour (I use Bob's Red Mill; See Notes!)
• 2 cups Artisan Bread flour (I use Bob's Red Mill; See Notes!)
• 1 packet Rapid Rise Yeast (That's 2 1/4 tsps!)
• 1/2 cup Homemade Apple Butter (See Notes!)
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar + 1 Tbsp (I use Sugar in the Raw)
• 1 1/4 cup Almond milk  (You can use your fave plant-based milk OR whole milk!)
• 1/4 cup WARM water
• 2 large eggs, room temp.
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (That's 4 Tbsps!)
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• pinch of allspice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Filling:

• 4-5 Tbsps unsalted butter, melted
• 3 Tbsps Homemade Apple Butter (See Notes!)
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup organic brown sugar (I use Sugar in the Raw)

Eggnog Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 4-5 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
• 4 oz. organic cream cheese, at room temp. (That's 1/2 a pack!; I use Organic Valley)
• 2-3 Tbsps high quality eggnog, warmed slightly (I use Organic Valley)
• 2 Tbsps unsalted butter, softened 
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Overnight Apple Butter Dough:

• Start by combining the yeast and 1 Tbsp brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and then slowly pouring in the warm water, while stirring everything together. Allow 10 minutes for the mixture to sit and the yeast to activate (It'll become foamy when done right!).
• Meanwhile, melt the butter and milk together over the stove top on low to medium heat, stirring frequently until the butter has fully melted. NOTE: You don't want the mixture to get too hot or boil! Set aside and let it cool until WARM.
• Add lukewarm butter-milk mixture to yeast and mix until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time and continue mixing on low speed until well combined. Add in apple butter and mix until well combined.
• Next, combine the all-purpose flour, bread flour, brown sugar, sea salt and spices to the wet ingredients and mix on low-speed until well combined. 
• Change “mixer head” to kneading accessory and knead dough for 5-10 minutes on medium-high speed until dough ball becomes smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed with 2 fingers. NOTE: If dough is too sticky, add 1 Tbsp of flour at a time until texture is achieved!
• Once dough ball is perfectly kneaded, add it to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it sit and rise for 1 hour to an hour + 15 minutes.
• In the meantime, you can work on the filling!

The Filling:

• Melt butter and mix in the apple butter and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine cinnamon and brown sugar and set aside as well.
• Once the hour has gone by and your dough has risen (about double it's original size), flour a flat surface and place the dough on it and using a rolling-pin, roll it out to a rectangle (approximately 9"x14), trimming the edges if needed. NOTE: Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!
• Then, generously brush apple butter-melted butter mixture overtop of dough and spoon the cinnamon-sugar mixture over the butter. NOTE: I also use a 'pastry brush' to sweep sugar mixture evenly across the dough to ensure that every bite is sweet!
• Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a pastry cutter, cut dough into 1.5" rolls, placing each roll (cut side down) into a large baking dish (lined with parchment paper!).
• Then place plastic wrap (and foil for security) over the baking dish with rolls and place your prepped rolls in the refrigerator to chill overnight (minimum of 8 hours).
• Once they've been chilled overnight, remove rolls from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature + rise for 1-2 hours. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and brush the tops of the rolls with a little more of the apple butter-melted butter mixture and then bake them for approximately 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While all the baking magic is happening, make the Eggnog Cream Cheese Glaze and set aside.

Eggnog Cream Cheese Glaze:

• Simply combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer & beat together on medium-high speed until fluffy.
• Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, and eggnog, continuing to mix on medium speed until you reach the desired consistency. **Add more eggnog (1 Tbsp at a time if too thick) or powdered sugar (for more thickness).*
• Remove the rolls from oven and wait 15-20 minutes or so (until it completely cools), and then spread the glaze atop the rolls using a rubber spatula.
• Bon Appetit!

Tips & Tricks

• TO STORE: Cinnamon Rolls can be kept fresh at room temperature when tightly wrapped or sealed for up to 3 days. Fresh for up to 1 week in the Refrigerator. Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2 months.
• RAPID (INSTANT) RISE YEAST VS. ACTIVE DRY YEAST: If you’re not using the Rapid Rise Yeast for this recipe, please know that the rise time will be twice as long (about 3 hours) since regular Active Yeast doesn’t work as quickly.
• HOMEMADE APPLE BUTTER: To see how to make this easy apple butter, see the post above!
• STORE APPLE BUTTER: Store leftover apple butter in a tightly sealed mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 months. Can be frozen for up to 1 year.
• FLOUR: If you don’t have bread flour, you can always just use all-purpose flour entirely instead. 

DID YOU MAKE THIS recipe?

Tag @orchidsnsweettea_ on Instagram and hashtag it #orchidsandsweettea

Fluffy Overnight Apple Butter Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls.

Love this Post? SHARE!