These giant, soft, Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect Christmas morning breakfast! Gooey, pillowy and full of cinnamon spice with an extra holiday pop of eggnog flavor in the creamy icing.
The holiday season is in full swing! I can’t believe that Christmas is only 19 days away! What!?! It always sneaks up on me. This year I wanted to come up with a decadent Christmas Morning breakfast. These Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls would also be great for any morning during the holiday season.
These Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls are everything I want in a cinnamon roll – soft, fluffy, gooey, cinnamon-y and HUGE. You could make them smaller if you want, but really if you are making cinnamon rolls from scratch why not just go all out?
Next is the icing. It took a few tries to get this right and make sure it had enough eggnog flavor, but this eggnog icing is really simple to make and tops the fluffy cinnamon rolls with that unmistakable eggnog flavor.
You might want to leave a few of these eggnog cinnamon rolls out for Santa instead of cookies. You could wake up to find an extra present or two under the tree!
Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For The Dough:
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup eggnog warmed to around 110°F
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup softened unsalted butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
For The Filling:
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 3 tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
Cream Cheese Icing:
- ⅓ cup eggnog
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
For The Rolls:
- Preheat oven to 200°F.
- Warm up eggnog to about 110°F (too hot will kill the yeast, too cold will not activate yeast).
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Gradually add the flour and salt until combined.
- Pour the milk/yeast mixture in the bowl and using the dough hook, mix well until well incorporated. Dough should be smooth and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, and not too sticky.
- Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover. Turn off oven and place covered bowl in oven. Allow to rise for about an hour, or until dough has doubled.
- Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface. Dust with flour. If dough is sticky, work just a little four into it so that it is easy to roll out. Use a rolling pin to roll into a 16x20 rectangle.
- Preheat oven to 200°F degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
To Make Filling:
- Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl.
- Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving about ¼ of the dough around the edge. Sprinkle the brown sugar mixture over the butter.
- Working carefully, from the long edge, tightly roll the dough into a log. The roll should be about 18 inches in long. I usually cut off the two tapered ends. Cut the roll into eight slices. You might find it easier if you use a piece of floss, or use a serrated knife..
- Place the cut rolls in the prepared pan. Cover them with a damp towel. Turn off oven and place rolls in oven. Let them rise again for another 30 minutes until they double in size.
- Remove rolls from oven and preheat oven to 350°F degrees. When oven is preheated, bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.
- While the rolls are baking make the icing. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of eggnog. Stir in nutmeg.
- Whisk together until butter is melted. In a bowl, mix the softened cream cheese with the butter mixture. Add in the powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth. Add additional tablespoon of eggnog if icing is too thick.
- When the rolls are done, pour half of the icing over them. Allow to cool and finish with the remaining icing.
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Ashley says
These look amazing! I am still looking for a great Christmas morning option! If I make them through step 10 he day before Christmas, do I proof them in the oven still the next day? Step 11 or just go to step 12
Meghan says
Hi Ashley – they may do a slow rise in the fridge so you might not need to proof them in the oven. I would see how they look when you take them out of the fridge, and if they need more of a rise you can proof them in the oven. Otherwise, you can skip that part, since they have lots of time to rise overnight.
E.a. says
These rolls are SO scrumptious!! I am so looking forward to making a batch this week~and your pictures are tantalizing😋
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Whitney Williams says
When do you add the cream cheese to the icing? Im going to add it to the butter mixture but it’s not clear. Thanks for this fun recipe!
Meghan says
Hi Whitney, so sorry about that! Mix the softened cream cheese and butter mixture before adding the powdered sugar. I hope you love them!
Zilliesmomma says
These were very delicious rolls. The recipe was kind of labor intensive but worth it in the end. The only stumbling block were the instructions as in some places it was confusing such as “…melt butter with two tablespoons of eggnog…”. In the icing ingredients Butter is not listed.
Meghan says
Hi! So glad you enjoyed the cinnamon rolls! I agree the recipe is a bit labor intensive, definitely more of a special occasion thing. So sorry about that typo in the recipe, I have added the butter in the ingredients now!
Julie says
I’m a cinnamon roll fanatic and can only imagine how amazing this eggnog version is! Feliz me!