Refrigerator Dough Cinnamon Rolls

I had never made cinnamon rolls from scratch before. They always seemed to take too much work. Previously, if I wanted cinnamon rolls, I bought a can of Grands Cinnamon Rolls, popped it open and baked. But lately, I have been trying to make more of our foods from scratch (and frankly, a can of cinnamon rolls from the store just doesn't make it into our food budget...ever). Maybe that's why I sat up and took notice when I was re-reading The Tightwad Gazette III book and came across the recipe for Potato Refrigerator Dough. The author of the book made doughnuts with the dough...and cloverleaf dinner rolls...and breadsticks...and CINNAMON ROLLS! To make a batch of cinnamon rolls so quickly...that would be wonderful!

The cinnamon roll recipe wasn't provided in the book...nor was it provided on the Betty Crocker website or in my own Betty Crocker cookbooks (where I found the cloverleaf roll instructions right next to the recipe for Potato Refrigerator Dough). So I searched online and found three different versions ( from Shalom Y'all, Take A Megabite, and cdKitchen). I decided to use a little of all three variations to make my rolls.

That very evening I made a single batch of Potato Refrigerator Dough. It would need to sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours.

The next morning, I pulled out a 1/3 portion of the dough and commenced my cinnamon roll making. In 15 minutes, I had the cinnamon rolls cut and rising in a pan. All I had left to do was to bake them.

Cinnamon Roll Recipe (using Potato Refrigerator Dough)

- Roll out 1/3 of the Potato Refrigerator Dough (recipe above) into a 12" wide rectangle 1/4" thick (will be approximately 12" x 11").
- Spread 3 TBS softened butter on the surface of the dough.
- Combine 6 TBS light brown sugar and 2 tsp. ground cinnamon. Sprinkle over butter to cover the surface.

- Starting at the 12" end, roll the dough to form an 12" long roll. Pinch the seam closed.

OPTIONAL - you could also sprinkle raisins or chopped nuts on top of the sugar/cinnamon layer prior to rolling up.

- Mark off 1" sections and cut into 12 slices. It is easiest to do this with dental floss. A knife tends to squish the roll down.

- Place the 12 slices into a buttered 13" x 9" baking dish, about 1" apart.

Cinnamon Rolls before rising.

- Let rise, lightly covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cinnamon Rolls after rising for 90 minutes in an oven with only the light bulb on.

- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25 to 28 minutes or until a rich golden color on top.

- Remove from the oven and drizzle with a glaze (2 cups sifted powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla and 3 TBS milk).

I couldn't believe how easy it was!

The cinnamon rolls smelled fantastic while they were baking (The Boy commented that it smelled "like a hotel breakfast" in the house). By the time the rolls came out of the oven and were iced, I was ready to dig in. They were SO. GOOD. I unashamedly ate three of them.