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I could not let Christmas pass by without sharing my overnight eggnog brioche cinnamon rolls. Buttery, eggy brioche dough made with seasonal eggnog, sprinkled with warming cinnamon sugar, and frosted generously with a browned butter and cream cheese frosting. There’s nothing not to love, every bite is melt in your mouth delicious. These rolls are a great make ahead breakfast, and perfect for your Christmas celebrations!
Happiest Friday before Christmas!!
For a lot of you, today is probably your last day in the office for 2018. I hope everyone is feeling the excitement in the air like we are over here. There’s still a few things to finish up over the weekend, but that just goes with the territory of running your own business…it’s somewhat non-stop.
I feel like it’s super important to be real with you guys. The internet and social media can paint this perfect picture. But the reality is that nothing (and no one) are perfect. It’s so easy for me to sit here and type that out, but I really need to listen to my own words.
This week I let myself fall down the Instagram rabbit hole that feels lonely and miserable. I know a lot of you can probably relate. For some reason I let my guard down and broke all the Instagram rules I set for myself long ago. I played the comparison game all week long. It was zero fun and I’ve decided that I will not let that happen anymore. This means no scrolling Instagram for a while. Instead I’ll be focusing on what really matters. Cooking good food, spending time with my family (arriving tonight), celebrating Christmas, working to finish up a big project, and hopefully playing in the snow a little too.
No real reason for the life talk other than the fact that I know a lot of you can struggle with comparison too. When that happens, it’s really important to step away from social media and focus on what you really want to be focusing on. For me right now that’s family and work. And at this very moment, sharing these delicious cinnamon rolls!
I was out hiking yesterday morning and had a mild panic attack (not really, but going for dramatics) when I realized I never shared these cinnamon rolls with you guys. I have been planning to make these for months and months now. Yet somehow the last Friday before Christmas snuck up on me way faster than I could have imagined.
I had another post planned for today, but I knew I needed to share these first. So I spent all day perfecting this recipe. And here they are, my Christmas Cinnamon Rolls. They turned out better than I could have wished, and I’m really excited to be sharing them with you guys today. Hoping you still have time to fit them into your Christmas baking list.
Seeing as everything is hectic this time of year, I wanted to keep these as easy as possible. I took the base recipe from the salted brioche cinnamon rolls I have in my cookbook, sped up a few things, and flavored the recipe with seasonal eggnog. Now, I know that eggnog is rather a touchy ingredient. You either love it or hate it…I get the feeling there may be more haters out there than lovers.
I too am not the biggest fan. BUT, have you ever baked with eggnog? If you have not, you’re missing out. Using eggnog in sweet breads is truly my favorite thing to do during the holidays. The eggnog is flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, so in reality it’s just like favored whole milk. And everyone, it’s delicious when used in a cinnamon roll recipe.
So add some eggnog to the brioche dough. Let the dough rise a bit, then roll it out and sprinkle with a brown sugar cinnamon. I like to use brown sugar for a nice depth of flavor. And I go heavy on the cinnamon…I mean, these are cinnamon rolls!
Roll the dough, cut into rolls and place in a baking dish to rise. Next, you have two options. You can do a quick rise or you can let the rolls rise overnight in the fridge. I love to make these a day or two ahead and let them rise in the fridge. That way, on Christmas morning, all I have to do is bake and frost them. This gives me plenty time to open gifts and drink coffee by the fire with little miss Asher (who’s really not so little anymore…enter sad face).
For the frosting, I stuck with my standard.
Browned butter + cream cheese + vanilla. Simple. Easy. And the best. I cannot think of a better Christmas morning breakfast. Very excited to be making these for my family this year. Hoping you all will be too!
See you tomorrow for the very last Christmas Cocktail Saturday of 2018!
If you make these 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! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Overnight Eggnog Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 1574 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup high quality eggnog, warmed (you can also use whole milk)
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Filling
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing
Frosting
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggnog, yeast, honey, eggs, butter, 3 ½ cups flour, and salt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining ½ cup of flour. It’s better to have a sticker dough rather than a dry do, so add flour 1 tablespoon at a time.2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.3. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, and cinnamon. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment. 4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Turn out the dough, punch it down, and roll it into a rectangle about 10 x 16 inches. Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the butter and lightly push into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut into 12-15 rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 20-30 minutes or transfer to the fridge to rise overnight (this is ideal if you have time).5. Remove the rolls from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.6. Meanwhile, make the frosting. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the butter is lightly browned and smells toasted. Immediately remove from the heat. Let cool.7. In a medium bowl, beat together the cooled browned butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until smooth. If the frosting is too thick for your liking, add a tablespoon of eggnog or milk.8. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt (if desired) and serve.
This post was originally published on December 21, 2018
First off- I want to 2nd/3rd/4th everyone’s encouraging comments. You are a GEM and so wonderfully kind, gifted, and talented!
I’m so excited to try these! I let them rise in the fridge from 12pm until 6am this morning… not much rise from them though like yours in the picture :/. I just set them out on the counter in hopes that might help some? The dough definitely doubled before I rolled it out. Not sure where I might have gone wrong?
HI Miranda! How did the rolls turn out? They should have baked up nice and fluffy in the oven. Fingers crossed you loved them! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and Happy New Year! xTieghan
The most delicious cinnamon rolls ever! Found your recipe on Pinterest and I took the advice of another commenter and poured a little cream (they suggested 1/2 and 1/2, I used cream) over each roll before I baked them. WOWZA! I also used a little eggnog to thin the icing a bit and get more eggnog flavor. These were not overpowering with the eggnog flavor but it was still there. Very good balance. We will make this recipe a family tradition!
Yes!! So glad these turned out so well for you Gina! Thank you!! xTieghan
Making these for the 3rd year in a row. Always a hit! These deserve an award. Perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize ? Merry Christmas! Peace, Love & Cinnamon Rolls!!
Hi Gina,
Happy Holidays! Thank you so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!?? xTieghan
It tasted wonderful and I will definitely make it many more times. The recipe description should be altered though because the prep time is not 30 minutes as described. The proving time(s) should be included making the prep time a minimum of 2 hours. That was a surprise at midnight on Christmas Eve. It was wonderful though. Best I’ve eaten and easy to make
Wow that is so amazing! I am really glad this turned out so well for you Christopher! Thank you! xTieghan
These rolls were amazing! they turned out perfectly and everyone absoluetly loved them! Easy and Delicious, will absolutely be making again!
YES! That is so great to hear! Thank you so much Jackie! xTieghan
Made them for Christmas Breakfast today and found them to be superb and universally loved-by eggnog lovers and haters, alike! Easy and incredibly delicious. Tagged you on IG. YUM!!!!
Thank you for trying this Deana! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! xTieghan
Only rating this a 3 because there was zero eggnog flavor in this cinnamon roll recipe. I knew right off the bat that 3/4 cup of eggnog only in this recipe was not going to do much and I was right. Aside from that though this recipe is so delicious! The dough is perfect and fluffy. Again, only a 3 star rating because it says it’s an eggnog cinnamon roll but I tasted zero eggnog in the finished roll. Tasted just like a regular ol’ cinnamon roll.
Hi Felishia! I am glad this recipe turned out delicious for you, and apologize that the eggnog flavor did not come through enough. Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
I wish I could give it 10 Stars! I made these last night and served them today on Christmas. These were the easiest cinnamon rolls I have ever made! They were not too sweet and the brioche dough was so tender and decadent. The brown butter icing was truly spectacular! I tend to always tweak recipes but followed this one 100%. Thank you so much. Our new Christmas tradition.
YES! That is so amazing! So glad these turned out so well for you Christmas celebration! Merry Christmas, Dana! xTieghan
Made these and loved them! However, as another reader commented- the approximate times on your recipes are misleading, as the time it takes for the dough to rise is often left out. I would love for the recipes to include that in the prep time, so I can accurately see how much time I need to set aside to make things.
Hi Jessica! I will try to be more precise when putting the times down! Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it for Christmas morning this year for my family. One suggestion that I noticed when reading the instructions…you might want to add to the step by step to warm the eggnog or call out in the steps that the eggnog is warmed. I didn’t notice that in the ingredient list at first.
Thank you so much Jackie! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and I hope it turns out amazing for you this year! xTieghan
Second successful time making these. Didn’t have eggnog or instant yeast, so used whole milk and 1 1/4 T active dry yeast. Still rose quickly. Easy, turned out great. We prefer them minus the frosting, warm. Yum. Thank you Tieghan; love your site. Were you born this talented?? Enjoy your favorite season.
Haha you are so kind! I am so glad you have been loving this recipe Deb! Thank you! xTieghan
Do you think these would turn out with a GF flour blend like Cup4Cup? Sometimes the GF mixes get breads too dense! Thoughts? You’re the best!
Hi Amanda! Yes, I think cup4cup should would great, I have not tested it, but have had success in the past. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
Hello,
I am eager to try these cinnamon rolls. However, I don’t have a standing mixer, just a hand held one with no dough hook option. Can I simply knead this dough by hand for 5 minutes? Any suggestions?
Thank you.
HI! Yes, that will works just as well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you and happy holidays! xTieghan
These were amazing!!! My first time making cinnamon buns and they were a hit with everyone! Perfect texture and taste and that browned butter icing puts it over the top – so good!! Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you for trying this Simone! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
I would really like to make these for my family for Thanksgiving morning. Can I leave them refrigerated for two days before baking on Thursday morning? Thank you!!
Hi Katie! Yes, you can keep the assembled rolls in the fridge for 2 days, bring the rolls to room temp before baking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
This recipe looks delicious! I’m definitely going to be baking some of these 🙂 Thank you so much for the recipe!
I have a question though. I was wondering how long they would be able to stay fresh as I need to bake them a day early. I will need them for this Saturday but the latest I can bake is Friday morning (or Thursday night)…do you think they will still remain fresh for Saturday if I bake at either of those times?
Thank you!
Hi Dunya! Yes, I am sure baking friday morning will be just fine. The rolls stay fresh for 2-3 days, if covered well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan