Description
Tender brown butter + eggnog cinnamon rolls that are incredibly decadent and delicious; infused with eggnog and nutty brown butter flavor and topped with a luscious eggnog cream cheese icing!
Ingredients
Scale
Yeast Dough:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, browned and cooled
- 1/2 cup high-quality eggnog, lightly warmed
- 1/2 cup whole milk, lightly warmed
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active-dry yeast
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large Pete and Gerry’s Organic Eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Eggnog Cream Cheese Icing:
- 1/4 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup high-quality eggnog
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make brown butter: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Allow butter to melt through completely and brown; the entire process takes about 5-8 minutes. You will hear butter bubbling as it cooks. Then butter will turn golden brown and have a nutty aroma with brown bits at the bottom. Once achieved, remove from heat and set it aside to cool down.
- Warm liquids: Place eggnog and milk into a microwave-safe vessel and warm together for about 45-50 seconds. Liquids should be between 100°-110°F for an ideal temperature. If the liquid is too hot, it can kill the yeast, so allow your liquid to cool down to achieve the desired range if needed.
- Activate yeast: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add yeast, sugar and warmed eggnog/milk together. Allow mixture to sit together for about 10 minutes until mixture has a bubbly/foamy top.
- Make dough: In the same bowl, add in reserved brown butter and eggs. Attach dough hook onto stand mixer and then add in flour and salt. With mixer on medium-low speed, knead dough until it begins to come together and is smooth and soft, about 5-6 minutes.
- Allow dough to proof/rise: Shape the dough into a ball and place into a lightly greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean linen and allow for the dough to rise in a warm environment until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
- Roll out dough: Once dough has risen, punch dough down and turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface area. Roll out dough into a rectangle (about 15×20 inches) with the longer side facing you. Use a little extra flour if dough is sticking.
- Filling: Use your hands to spread the softened butter over the dough and then sprinkle/spread brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt evenly over the dough leaving a 1 inch border at the top and bottom.
- Roll/cut the dough: Roll up the dough into a tight log starting with the longest side furthest from you. Pinch seams of dough to seal. Cut the log crosswise into 9 equal slices using a sharp knife. Place cut rolls into a large baking pan/vessel and cover with plastic wrap. If making the rolls on the same day, keep rolls out and allow for rolls to proof/rise again for another 1 1/2 hours before baking. Otherwise, transfer covered rolls into the refrigerator to sit overnight.
- Bake rolls: Remove from refrigerator and let rolls sit out to reach room temperature for 1 – 2 hours, until puffy, before baking. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake rolls until lightly golden brown, about 30 minutes. While cinnamon rolls bake, prepare icing.
- To make icing: Beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add in powdered sugar and continue beating until smooth. Then slowly add in eggnog along with vanilla extract. Mix until everything is fully incorporated. Once rolls are done, immediately spread icing over rolls and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- If using instant dry yeast: skip the yeast activation step completely and add yeast directly into dry ingredients and proceed with making dough and following the rest of the written recipe.
- If not using a stand mixer, you can mix/knead dough together with a wooden spoon/your hands.
- Cinnamon rolls can be kept covered in plastic wrap in refrigerator for up to one week. Icing is also refrigerator friendly; just store in an airtight container and it will also keep for up to a week.
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
Keywords: cinnamon rolls, eggnog, brown butter, buns