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Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls: Because when you love eggnog, you need to put it in all the things. Eggnog in the dough and in the glaze. The best cinnamon roll recipe for Christmas morning!
Time to get eggnoggy up in here!
I really love Amazon Prime, and kind of in a sadistic way. I kind of want to see how many times the UPS guy can come to my house between now and Christmas without blowing a gasket. I’m not the only one who has felt like doing this, am I?
Last week I realized I needed a cord to connect my computer to the TV because Scandal didn’t tape and ohemgee that’s, like, a major #firstworldproblem. 5 minutes later I’d one-click ordered my cord on Amazon with only 2 days to wait.
The next day I decided I needed a Swiffer Steam Mop. Click.
Then I ordered some Christmas gifts. Click.
And so on.
I think I’m going to need to leave the UPS guy something nice on the porch. Maybe some Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls?
The one thing I do wish I could order on Amazon that’s not available? Mini containers of eggnog. When we lived in Arizona the local dairy (Shamrock Farms, I think?) sold little single serve eggnogs at the grocery stores. Those were perfect for me. I’m the only one in my family that loves this holiday drink, and a full carton always goes bad before I drink it all.
Honestly, I only ever really want one glass a season. That’s it. One glass usually curbs my craving…but the smallest ones they sell here are quarts, and that’s too much for me.
Unless you bake with the eggnog. *lightbulb moment*
I’ve only made one eggnog recipe on this blog, a pie. It was time to change that. So I made cinnamon rolls. With eggnog added to the yeasted dough.
They looked like this:
Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
Then I made an eggnog glaze with more eggnog.
And I poured it all over the top. Like this:
Um, yeah. Best. Decision. Ever. Leftover eggnog? No more!
These cinnamon rolls are my favorite recipe (that post has a photo tutorial if you need a visual on yeast and cinnamon roll making). All I did was substitute reduced-fat eggnog with the nonfat milk in the recipe.
It worked, fabulously.
The thing I love about all my cinnamon roll recipes is that you can make them overnight. You do all the hard work on Day 1: the yeast and the rising and the rolling and the flour everywhere. Then you put them in your pan and you refrigerate them until you want to make them the next day.
Mornings, especially Christmas mornings, are so much better when the hard work is already done. The hardest part about these the day you make them? Waiting for them to bake. And when you bake them? They smell like eggnog. It’s drool-inducing.
Even the glaze is easy. No creaming butter and cream cheese – this is as simple as it gets. Eggnog + powdered sugar. Basically these are nog squared. But without the nog. Unless you wanted to add some bourbon or Southern Comfort to the glaze. That would make greeting the day even better. 😉
Think the UPS man would forgive me if I left him a pan of Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls? Or just the bourbon?
Probably that last one…
Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls Recipe:
Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 package active dry yeast about 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 3/4 cup very warm eggnog regular or reduced-fat
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
- Paddle attachment & dough hook for your mixer
For the Filling:
- 5 tablespoons butter softened
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Frosting:
- 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup eggnog regular or reduced-fat
Instructions
Make the Dough:
- Place eggnog in a microwave safe measuring cup. Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. You want it to be like very warm bathwater. (The time you heat it will need to be adjusted depending on your microwave.) Add yeast and stir. Let it sit for a few minutes.
- Place sugar, butter, salt, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix until the butter is distributed throughout the liquids, although it may be chunky. Pour in the eggnog/yeast mixture and stir for a few seconds.
- Add flour and stir with the paddle attachment just until the mixture starts to stick to the paddle. Then replace the paddle with the dough hook. Continue mixing on low speed until the dough forms a ball in the center of the bowl. If dough is still very sticky, you can add an additional 1/4 cup of flour.
- Spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough ball in it. Spray the top of the dough ball with cooking spray (lightly) and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let sit for 2-4 hours until it doubles in size. Note on rising: if your house is warm, it should rise no problem. If it’s cold in your house, it may take longer for the dough to rise.
Prepare your Rolls:
- Stir together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and flour until it forms a paste.
- Once the dough is risen, roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 10” by 14”. Spread the filling as evenly as possible over the rectangle, making sure to reach to the sides so the outer rolls have enough filling.
- Roll the dough up tightly from the long end. Slice it into 9 (large) or 12 (medium) equal rounds. Place the rolls into a 9” pan or 9 1/2” round pie plate (9 rolls) or a 9x13” baking dish (12 rolls) that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
- Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let them warm up to room temperature while the oven is preheating. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 23-28 minutes, or until they are golden brown.
Make the frosting:
- Whisk the powdered sugar and eggnog until smooth. Pour over warm rolls and serve.
Recipe Nutrition
Gingerbread Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting
Sweets from friends:
Overnight Eggnog French Toast by Chef in Training
Eggnog Pull Apart Bread by Lauren’s Latest
Cherry Vanilla Bean Sweet Rolls by Something Swanky
Last Updated on December 3, 2018
I just set these in the fridge for overnight and had a question. If you use alcoholic eggnog does it make a difference? I made mine with some and then left it to rise, about 5hrs (I left the house and came back to it later) and it didn’t rise at all. Dough was still pretty thick/tough (best I can explain). Maybe I just didn’t knead it enough in the KitchenAid? I have no idea where I went wrong. Definitely going to try them again with non-alcoholic eggnog if they don’t taste good because they look and sound delish!! Crossing my fingers they taste better than they look after I bake them.
I have never tried them with alcoholic nog, but alcohol shouldn’t have affected the yeast. Chances are the yeast may have been old, or it didn’t activate properly. If using active dry yeast (be sure to buy the correct kind) it’ll be foamy when you add it to the dry ingredients.
Hi I see that in your recipe, the dough only needs to rise once..? I’ve only made cinnamon rolls once before but I know many recipes require them to rise again after cutting them and putting them in the pan. I know the recipe says once, but would it make any difference at all if I let them rise again in the pan? Maybe fluffier or more airy inside?
They’re rising right now so a response within the next two hours would be greatly greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
You are welcome to let them rise a second time. Often I refrigerate my rolls overnight and bake them in the morning which gives them a little extra time while the oven preheats. I’d say 30 minutes or so is sufficient.
Can we have a blogger get-together potluck brunch sometime? And will you bring these? And your famous monkey bread? And then a stretcher because you’ll have to carry me out since I ate 15 servings of each? Thanks. 🙂
Yes yes yes. We’d all be fat and happy!
We are making these for breakfast tomorrow and almost can’t wait! I’ve got them in the fridge overnight and my husband is begging me to put them into the oven. Love eggnog in baked goods and so glad you posted!
Ummmmm I would deliver you a package if you left me a batch of these cinnamon rolls! I love the idea of a single serving nog. I too am the only one in my house that drinks it! More for me. Whatever!
I am seriously drooling at all the eggnog goodness in these rolls!!! These are perfection!!!!
These are beautiful! I can only drink 1 shot of eggnog too so using the rest for these cinnamon rolls sounds perfect! I pinned these before I even read the post – the pictures are just gorgeous!
Whoa!!!! Talk about perfection! Love this!
Perfect for Christmas morning!
Egg nog and powdered sugar in a glaze equals delicious. This dessert looks amazing.
Thank you!
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