Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns (AKA 10 minute overnight ooey-gooey cinnamon goodness)

This concept is not foreign – a ‘cheating’ recipe for cinnamon buns – but this recipe, I believe, is the absolute best. Monkey Bread often calls for canned busicuit dough and is prepared first thing in the morning, whereas Land of Nod Cinnamon Buns turn tiny frozen dinner roll balls of dough into heaven in a pan after a night of slumber and a short stint in the oven. 

I don’t know where this recipe originated, but I CAN tell you where our family got ahold of it… My mom was, until very recently, an elementary school teacher at a public school near our house. Once a week, a member of the staff would be responsible for bringing treats in for the staff meeting – and one day, this was the treat. My mom raved about it and brought a copy of the recipe home. {The staff member was clever enough to deduce that these would be a popular treat and, being a prepared teacher, brought along copies of the recipe for people to take home.} 

The hardest part of this recipe is finding a grocery store that carries frozen dinner roll balls of dough. I’ve had more luck with the more chi-chi grocery stores – Sobey’s, Fortinos, etc., but even then it’s not a product that they stock all the time. If you can’t find it, talk to the manager and request it. On weeks when I really really want to make this recipe for a brunch or for guests or what-not and I can’t locate the frozen dough, I use my bread maker to make a dinner roll dough, then form small balls of dough and freeze them on a tray. This process makes the recipe much more time consuming, but it’s worth it, if it’s the only way that you’re going to be making this!
Edit August 27/2014: I just found out that a lot of grocery stores in Ontario that have a bakery will sell you a dozen frozen dinner rolls for the same prize as the freshly baked rolls – so if you have a hard time finding them in the freezer section, go to the bakery and ask if they’ll sell them to you!

Once you locate the dinner rolls, the rest is a snap. Bundt Pan. Instant Vanilla Pudding Powder. Brown Sugar. Cinnamon. Raisins and / or Bacon. Melted Butter. Damp Tea Towel. DONE. Go to bed.

We’re at a cottage for a week with 2 other couples and their friends, and, while we share dinner prep as couples (ie, couple A does dinner Sunday, couple B does dinner Monday, couple C does dinner Tuesday, etc), we’re making breakfast as the girls one morning and the guys the next morning so that we all get a chance to sleep in (yet no one has to look after other people’s kids…except for that one morning when I slept in and the girls dealt with my kiddos for me). This recipe was such a hit the first time with everyone that we ended up making it again the next day we were up for breakfast. So indulgent. Yum.