Wake up Christmas morning to these soft & fluffy eggnog cinnamon rolls! They're made with a yeasted dough enriched with eggnog, and just before baking they're doused with even more eggnog. Once baked to golden, gooey perfection, top them with a sweet eggnog icing and freshly grated nutmeg.
113g(½cup)eggnog, to pour over cinnamon rolls prior to baking
For the icing
227g(2cups)powdered sugar
28g(2tablespoon)unsalted butter, melted
56g(¼cup)eggnog
¼teaspoonvanilla bean paste
¼teaspoonkosher salt
Instructions
For the dough:
In a glass measuring cup, heat the eggnog to 110 degrees F and stir in the sugar and yeast. If using active dry yeast, allow to sit for 15 minutes for the yeast to activate. If using instant yeast, simply move on to the next step.
Mix the eggs and vanilla into the eggnog, yeast mixture.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix the flour, salt, and nutmeg together.
Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and mix on low-medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until it forms a ball around the hook.
Add in a few pieces of butter at a time, allowing them to fully incorporate before adding more.
Once all of the butter is incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 8-12 minutes, until a smooth and supple dough forms. The dough will eventually pull away from the sides of the bowl and have a silky smooth texture with minimal stickiness. To check if the dough is ready, use the windowpane test - tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute or two and check again.
Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof in the fridge for two hours. Alternatively, you can let the dough rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
For assembly:
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a long rectangle about 24"x14".
Sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg evenly over the top.
Roll the dough up into a log. Use a serrated knife to score lines every 1 ½” to get 15 rolls. Use unflavored dental floss to cut each roll by placing the floss under the dough, wrapping around, and pulling to cut through.
Arrange the rolls in a 9"x13” pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for about 1 hour or until nearly room temperature, but still slightly cool to the touch. When pressed with a finger, the dough will slowly spring back.
While the rolls are proofing, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Just before baking, pour the eggnog all over the cinnamon rolls. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until evenly golden on top.
For the glaze:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, eggnog, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds to bring to a pourable consistency.
Once the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, immediately pour the glaze on top.
Notes
Proof the dough overnight: I recommend allowing your brioche dough to rise slowly overnight in the fridge. Cold dough is so much nicer to work with! But you can also let it proof at room temperature for one hour and make the cinnamon rolls immediately.
Bake the dough within 24 hours: To find that sweet spot between properly proofed with a developed flavor and over-fermented, I recommend giving the dough at least 5 hours to rise in the fridge, but no more than 24 hours.
Cut the dough with dental floss. To get a clean cut of each cinnamon roll, use unflavored dental floss rather than a knife.