Believe it or not, Christmas is on the way which means overnight guests and Christmas morning to prepare for, and Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls! Everyone loves a homemade cinnamon roll but a yeast dough can take some time.
This cinnamon roll recipe allows you to prepare the dough the day before and once assembled, you can just place them in the refrigerator for their final rise overnight. The next morning, take them out and let them sit while your oven preheats and they are ready to bake. Your friends and family are going to love you!
How do you make the BEST Hawaiian cinnamon rolls
Step 1: Dissolve the yeast in some water and add a bit of honey to it. If it doesn’t get foamy, then throw it out and try again. Your water was either too hot or your yeast is dead.
Step 2. Add the yeast to the bowl of an electric mixer and add eggs, melted butter, pineapple juice and sugar. Once combined, add flour and beat until it comes together, then change to the dough hook and knead until it’s smooth.
Step 3: Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Step 4: Roll out and brush with butter then add the filling of pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add raisins if you want. Roll jelly roll style and slice. Place in a baking pan and either refrigerate until ready to bake or let rise for about an hour. If you have refrigerated, take out of refrigerator and let sit on the counter for about 15 minutes until the oven has preheated. Bake and eat warm.
TIPS for making yeast dough
- Make sure the yeast is activated by adding a bit of sugar or honey to the dissolved yeast, if it doesn’t foam up a bit then it’s not alive and you need to start again.
- When letting the dough rise, try placing it in a a warm microwave. To get it warm, boil some water in a glass bowl. The dough will love the steam and heat from the boiled water. Just keep the door shut and it will create a warm environment. Or turn the oven to 200º. Place the dough in the oven and turn the oven off.
- Before you roll the dough out, let it rest for a couple of minutes to make the dough more manageable.
While the overnight rise is a game changer, what is fabulous about this Hawaiian cinnamon roll recipe is the pineapple dough. It has a slightly sweeter taste from a cup of pineapple juice, which means you don’t need to use quite so much sugary filling. A couple of eggs in the dough also adds to the amazing texture. I put just enough sugar mixture inside the rolls to give them a sweet cinnamon layer throughout and of course throw in some pecans.
I tried adding some crushed pineapple but we decided it wasn’t for us. We like our cinnamon rolls with nuts and maybe some raisins. Peaches and apples are pretty amazing but with this dough, I would stick to the basics. I don’t know why it took me so long to try adding pineapple juice to cinnamon rolls before now, we love it in our Hawaiian Rolls.
I had a pineapple glaze ready to drizzle on the top, but I was vetoed by all, they are perfect just the way they are, with a little butter of course. The soft, slightly sweet dough is going to make this your knew favorite cinnamon roll recipe.
However, I know there are frosting lovers out there, so a cream cheese frosting is pretty magical on these.
How do you make a Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frostings are super simple to make. My formula is to add a tablespoon of butter for every ounce of cream cheese. I didn’t want this frosting too sweet so it just has a quarter cup of powdered sugar and a little vanilla and milk.
So with guests coming to your house or for Christmas morning when you don’t want to be in the kitchen, try these fabulous cinnamon rolls.
More BREAKFAST ideas
- If you like peaches, then try a Dutch baby pancake
- Sheet Pan Pancakes are great when you have a crowd
- Go with a classic banana bread but add some vanilla butter
- Kids and adults will love baked French toast sticks
- Add some granola to banana muffins
- If it’s the holidays, try an overnight eggnog French toast
If you make Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please know that I only provide links to things that I use on a regular basis and think you might find helpful.
Adapted from Homemade Decadence
Hawaiian Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
DOUGH
- ½ cup warm water
- 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast 2 packages
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- ½ cup butter melted
- ⅔ cups sugar
- 6-6 ½ cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
FILLING
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 cup pecans chopped
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup raisins optional
- ¼ cup butter melted
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temp
- 4 tablespoons butter room temp
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- DOUGH: Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a small bowl. Add honey and stir. Let sit for 5 minutes. It should become foamy. If not throw away and start again.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, add 1/4 cup cold water, eggs, pineapple juice, butter and sugar. Add 6 cups flour, salt and yeast mixture. Beat on medium speed until the dough starts to come together, about 5 minutes. Place dough on floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes until it is sooth and no longer sticky. Add flour if it is sticky.
- Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in a warm place and let it rise until double in size. (I prefer to heat up water in the microwave and then place the bowl in the microwave with the hot water, the humid warm air helps it rise) It will take about 1 hour.
- FILLING: Combine the sugars, pecans, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir to combine.
- Butter the bottom and sides of two 9 x 13 metal pans, set aside, or line with parchment paper.
- When the dough has risen, place it on a floured surface and gently knead until it is no longer sticky, add more flour if needed. Cover with a towel and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle about 1/3 inch thick about 10 x 20 inches. Brush the top with melted butter. Spread the filling over the dough leaving a border around the edges. Press the filling into the dough.
- Lift up one edge and tightly roll it into a cylinder, pressing the edges to seal. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 slices. Place the slices in the buttered pans cut side up. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and either place it in a warm place to rise for one hour or refrigerate overnight.
- Preheat oven to 375º.
- If refrigerated, remove and let sit on the counter for 15 minutes before baking. Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
- FROSTING: If adding frosting, combine cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl and mx with an electric mixer until combined. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and beat until smooth. Add more milk if needed.
