Make Ahead Mother’s Day Breakfast
Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls: Freeze these unbaked in small portions with icing. Bake and serve hot fresh cinnamon rolls anytime you want them.

These cinnamon rolls are perfect to make ahead, and put in the freezer to enjoy fresh baked anytime.
Like most of you, I don’t live with my mom any more, and instead of making her breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day, I’m hoping to be in my own little bed enjoying whatever my sweet husband and little girls make me. Here’s a way for you to make something special for your mom, without being there yourself.
This post could have had a few different labels -freezer cooking cinnamon buns, easy bread machine cinnamon rolls, or even cooking for one.
The Perfect Gift for Mothers
Like many of you, my mom and mother-in-law don’t cook as much as they used too, since they’re now just cooking for one or two. I made these cinnamon buns, and packaged them up in small serving sizes, so all they have to do is pull them out of the freezer and have a couple fresh, warm cinnamon buns in about 20 min. Perfect.
Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 cups flour (Add a bit more if dough seems too wet after first few minutes of kneading in the bread machine.)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoons yeast
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- For the Icing:
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 4 tablespoons (or less) butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle.
- After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with 2 Tablespoons melted butter and 2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon cinnamon.
- Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned.
- Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.
- You can also cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the morning.
- Or, cover in plastic wrap and freeze. When you want to eat them, cook from frozen, adding an extra few minutes to the cooking time, until they're golden brown.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
15Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 275Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 168mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 5g
I made the cinnamon rolls for my mom a little on the small side and put three in these pretty little disposable baking pans -hopefully the perfect serving size for one. Out of this batch of dough, I was able to make 3 pans each for my mom and mother-in-law and cooked up the rest for us -because I really needed some for a photo. 😉 And, the girls were happy to help with making treats for Grandma and Nanny -even with a broken arm.
Packages of Icing
When I make the full batch of these, I usually cook half, and then freeze the other half un-baked in a baking dish for another day. In the past, I’ve just made up half the icing each time I bake them. But, I was thinking about other packaged breakfast options from the grocery store. They include frozen icing, and I had the idea to split up the icing into little snack size bags, and freeze them with the cinnamon buns.
While the buns are cooking, the icing will be thawing, and could be helped along a little by being soaked in the sealed bag in some warm water if necessary. Then, when the cinnamon buns are ready, just snip the corner of the bag off, and squeeze the icing onto the cinnamon buns.
Mother’s Day Gift Basket
I made up this little tray for my mom with a few of her favourites, some homemade granola -which I’ve shown you before here, some fresh berries, a favourite tea, and a few flowers, along with the package of cinnamon buns -which I’ll freeze ahead. I’ve made several packages of the cinnamon buns and icing for her as well, and included the cooking instructions (bake at 350 for about 20 min.) I’ve learned over the years, that sometimes the best gifts for people who basically have everything they need is some home cooking that they might not necessary do for themselves anymore.
With a make ahead cinnamon rolls like this one, life really is a party!
You might also like our Easy Food Processor Scones recipe here.
Also check out our Jelly Donut recipe here.
You might also like our Jelly Donut Pancake recipe here.
Great tea choice 🙂 Love the picture of the junior chef. She is adorable.