Name: overnight cinnamon rolls with chai frosting
Ingredients: 1 cup whole milk; 1 packet dry instant yeast ((2 1/4 teaspoons)); 1 tablespoon honey; 2 large eggs, beaten; 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted; 3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ((plus 1/2 cup more, if needed)); 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt; 6 tablespoons salted butter, very softened ((plus more for greasing pan)); 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed; 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature; 4 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature; 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract; 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon

Imagine offering these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Chai Frosting to your family as they roam into the kitchen on that lazy weekend morning. It can happen.

Prepare the dough and form the rolls the night before. In the morning, bring the loaf to room temperature and bake up the goodness. A light coating of not-too-sweet icing and you’re all enjoying some .

What you’ll need to make these awesome Overnight Cinnamon Rolls…

Whole milk
Instant yeast
Honey
Large eggs
Salted butter
Unbleached all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Brown sugar
Ground cinnamon

Let’s get started on the dough.

It really is not as difficult as you may think. Especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a stand mixer with a dough hook.

As always, I choose to use a good quality flour when making the dough for these cinnamon rolls. My favorite is from Sunrise Flour Mill, which is certified as organic, non-GMO and free of any trace of glyphosate.

Of course, this can be mixed by hand. But get ready to use some muscle power.

Just don’t add all of the flour at one time. Gradually add it to the other ingredients, in small increments, using a wooden spoon or dough whisk to mix it in.

When it becomes too difficult because of the density of the dough, get your hands in there to finish the job. About five minutes of kneading should do it.

Cover that bowl and set it aside. In about one hour, like magic, your dough will have more than doubled in size.

This dough is super easy to work with. Almost like the consistency of Play-Doh.

Your goal is to have a rectangle measuring about 12-inches by 18-inches.
If you find that you’re ending up with more of a circle or oval shape, that’s no problem. Just trim some dough off the long sides and add those excess pieces to each end.
Once you finish rolling it out, you won’t even notice where you patched it.

Let’s continue with our art project.

Paint the entire surface of the dough with the very soft butter. I find that using some sort of pastry brush works well here.
Top it off with an even scattering of the cinnamon sugar mixture.

The next step can be a bit tricky but it’s not difficult.

Starting at the long edge closest to you, tightly roll up the dough into a log.
I find that it’s super helpful to nudge it along as I roll with my pastry scraper. It keeps it all from sticking to the surface.

Have your loaf pan buttered and lined with parchment paper.

Cut the log into six rolls.
Place them cut-side-up in the prepared loaf pan.

You decide on the timing.

You can let them rise at room temperature for about an hour then bake them.
Or place them in the fridge overnight. Give them time to come to room temperature before baking them in the morning.

Either way, be sure to place the loaf pan on a rimmed baking sheet before placing it in the oven. There will definitely be some dripping of yummy cinnamon filling involved.

While the cinnamon buns are baking, it’s a good time to prepare the chai frosting. What you’ll need…

Cream cheese – at room temperature
Salted butter – at room temperature
Pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Ground chai spices – cinnamon, allspice, ginger & cardamom

It’s a simple process of beating the soft cream cheese, butter & vanilla until creamy.
Then add the powdered sugar mixture. If you whisk the chai spices into the sugar first, you’ll be sure that all of that flavoring is well incorporated.

Let’s take a moment to talk about the term – chai.

When I hear the term, I think of a creamy spiced tea. It does typically consist of tea, spices, milk and sugar.

Actually, in India, where its people speak many languages, the universal word for tea is chai.

This frosting has no tea in it but there’s lot of amazing chai flavor. You may decide to use this very frosting on your next batch of cupcakes. It’s that good.

When the cinnamon rolls are nicely browned, remove them from the oven.

Let them rest in the loaf pan for about five minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack.

While still warm, give these beauties a generous coating of the creamy goodness.

Even though the frosting will melt a bit and drip into the crevices, be sure to offer some extra for those who may want to indulge in some extra sweetness.

Your batch of Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Chai Frosting is ready to be enjoyed.

If for some reason they are not devoured in minutes, they can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

Just be sure to gently reheat them before serving.