It’s always fun starting new traditions. Especially when you have a growing baby experiencing big milestones with the family. While it technically wasn’t Little’s first Christmas this year, it was the first one experienced with the wide-eyed, gleaming awareness of a newly minted toddler. I considered that a big enough milestone worthy of starting a new Christmas tradition. Enter the Christmas morning cinnamon roll.

After the hustle and bustle of hosting Christmas Eve dinner simmered down and Little was nestled all snug in bed, I got to work on my ambitious task. Now, working with yeast and making bread is always a bit intimidating for me, even though I’ve done it successfully many times in various contexts. I seem to always be the one who is critical of the end result. Chief complaints: too yeasty tasting, too tough, not soft enough. No one else complains since it always tastes good, but I always notice room for improvement. Pushing these inner nitpicks aside, I stayed up way too late to whip up a batch of cinnamon rolls.

What makes these special is that they were baked in the morning and served hot and fresh and gooey. Seems like a lot of work, but really the overnight prep work makes it super streamlined, leaving only the baking, frosting and eating, remaining for the morning tasks. The rolls had their first rise as a ball of soft, puffy dough for two hours on the Eve, then continued to rise in their cinnamony swirled final form overnight in the fridge. Then come morning, out of the fridge they go to come to room temperature and rise for another 1-2 hours before baking. Finish off with a generous slathering of sweet and tangy cream cheese icing while still warm and serve with freshly brewed coffee (or milk).

Easy peasy, crowd pleasing, and perfectly complements the gift exchange as the main event of Christmas morning. Filling bellies with sweet homemade goodies is my go-to way to spread Christmas cheer, and this year proved to be a success. Seeing Little munching on a special little cinnamon roll (without icing ☹️) cemented the fact that this is definitely a Christmas tradition worth keeping. 😁

INGREDIENTS

Dough

1 cup whole milk or water, warm (about 100°F)
2 ½ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast*
½ cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, room temperature
4 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Filling

⅔ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cups packed brown sugar (dark or light)
1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

Icing

8 ounces full fat cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream (or milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Other

¼ cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk or water and sprinkle the yeast on top.
Add in the eggs, melted butter, and granulated sugar, whisking until smooth and combined.
To the wet ingredients, add in 2 cups of flour and salt and begin mixing on low speed, gradually increasing to high with the paddle attachment until completely combined and a wet, gloopy batter is made.
Switch to the dough hook on medium speed and mix in the remaining 2 cups of flour 1 cup at a time, allowing each cup to incorporate before adding in the next. Continue kneading for about 5-6 minutes until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball.
With the mixer on low, continue to knead the dough for another 3 minutes or knead by hand on a well-floured surface until you can stretch a piece of dough between your fingers and see light shine through it without it breaking.
Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in the bowl, coating all sides in the oil. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Filling

In a small bowl, mix the butter, sugar and cinnamon together until smooth and combined.

Roll the Dough

Punch down the dough to release the air. On a well-floured surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, evenly roll out the dough to a 12x18 inch rectangle.
Spread the filling mixture evenly over the rolled out dough with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
Starting from the long edge, roll each rectangle up tightly into a log. Cut the dough into about 1 to 1 ½ inch slices for a total of 12 rolls. Transfer the rolls to a greased 9x13 inch pan.
Cover and allow to proof again for 30 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.**
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Pour the heavy cream around the cinnamon rolls in the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and heavy cream until creamy.
Frost the warm rolls and enjoy!

Notes:

* If using active dry yeast, allow the milk/yeast mix to sit covered for about 10 minutes until foamy, then proceed with the remaining instructions as indicated.

** If proofing the second rise overnight, simply pull the rolls out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature 1-2 hours before baking.

Cinnamon Rolls

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