'Tis the season for all the baked goods and ALL the boozy eggnog! I decided to combine the two to make our lives that much easier. Say hello to my Boozy Glazed Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls. The dough is infused with eggnog, cinnamon and nutmeg, and vanilla. The buttery, sweet filling is scented with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and a splash of Christmas cheer - bourbon in this case, but you could use rum or whatever brown liquor you prefer to spike your eggnog with. And then comes the glaze: Powdered sugar, eggnog, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and another splash of the good stuff.
These Boozy Glazed Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls will fill your house with the sweetest, most Christmassy smell and will be the perfect addition to your holiday breakfasts and brunches as well as making a wonderful gift! If booze isn't your thing, just leave it out; they will still be so delicious and festively fragrant from the eggnog, vanilla, and nutmeg. As I've noted in the recipe below, you can add a splash of all-natural rum extract in place of the booze.
Did I mention how much I love eggnog? My dad instilled my love for it when I was just a little girl and now all of my kids love it too. I know eggnog is a love it or hate it kind of thing, but we are definitely a pro-nog family. It's just not Christmas without it. My daughter will not allow any Christmas tree decorating to commence until we all have a glass of eggnog poured and the Christmas music blasting.
As much as I love just sipping on a cold glass of nog, baking with it and using it in recipes just makes so much sense, too. It is rich, eggy, sweet and spicy and it is the perfect addition to so many sweet treats.
Here are just a few ways to use eggnog this holiday season:
French Toast: Just replace the milk or cream in the recipe with eggnog!
Creme Brulee: Yes! Make it just the same way, but use eggnog instead of cream and get rid of the extra sugar in the recipe. It is so good!
Eggnog Latte: Just warm some eggnog very gently and use a whisk or a milk frother to really froth it up. Add to tea or coffee for a festive latte treat!
Eggnog Hot Cocoa: Same as above, just use eggnog in place of milk in your favorite hot cocoa recipe.
Cocktails: Of course, you could just splash in some bourbon, rum, or brandy, but there are also some really fun cocktails out there too.
Bread puddings or any kind of sweet breakfast casseroles, quick breads, muffins, waffles, frostings and glazes... I could go on and on. The point is, if you love eggnog as much as I do, don't be afraid to try it in your favorite sweet recipes. Let your imagination run wild!
And if eggnog isn't your thing, make my Browned Butter Vanilla Bean Cinnamon Rolls instead. This is the exact same dough, I just replace the milk with eggnog and switch up the filling and frosting.
And a few more sweet treats worthy of your holiday breakfasts:
Vanilla Bean Scones with a Vanilla Bean Glaze (My kids' most requested breakfast treat, especially in the winter time. Perfect for the holidays and all winter long)
Triple Berry Creme Fraiche Scones (just replace the berries with halved, fresh cranberries and some chopped rosemary - I did this for Thanksgiving this year and it was amazing. Probably my favorite scones ever)
Cara Cara Orange Scones (Hurray for citrus season!)
And here are some eggnog-infused treats from fellow bloggers!
Eggnog Cream Pie with Caramel Rum Sauce from my pal Rebecca at DisplacedHousewife
Eggnog Frosted Chai Snickerdoodle Snowmen from Half Baked Harvest
Naughty Nice Hot Cocoa with Spiked Eggnog Marshmallows also from HBH
Homemade Eggnog from The Kitchn
Eggnog and Spiced Rum Cake by Sarah Fennel of Broma Bakery
I hope you'll give these or any of my sweet breakfast treats a try. If you do, let me know how they turn out! I love seeing pictures, so if you make something, be sure to tag me on Instagram @wild.thistle.kitchen so I can see!
Make sure to save this recipe for later; Just click on any photo to Pin!
Happy Baking and happy, HAPPY Holidays!
xo - Anita
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Boozy Glazed Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
These Boozy Glazed Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls are similar to a cinnamon roll, but we pair the cinnamon with the quintessential eggnog spice: nutmeg - freshly grated if you please, and we infuse the dough and glaze with eggnog. These rolls will make your whole house smell like Christmas!
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 16 rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup eggnog
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, seeds from one vanilla bean, or splash of vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, seeds from one vanilla bean, or splash of vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon bourbon, rum, or brandy (optional - see note)
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons eggnog
- 1 tablespoon bourbon, rum, or brandy (optional - see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 150-170 degrees or as low as your oven goes. This is just to create a warm environment to proof the dough.
- Prepare a 12 X 9 (or the closest pan you have to that size) baking dish (I use a 4 quart glass Pyrex), by buttering generously or spraying with cooking spray, and lining with parchment. Set aside.
- You can also use 2 9-inch spring form or regular, round cake pans, just line with parchment. I do this if I am planning to give them as gifts because they fit nicely into a pie/cake box or on a decorative plate.
- Once oven preheats, turn oven off. Keep door closed. Proceed with recipe
- Warm eggnog either by blasting it in the microwave for about 90 seconds or warm it gently on the stove. You want it warm, not hot. Ideally 100 - 110 degrees F. Pour eggnog into bowl of stand mixer, along with brown sugar, yeast, egg, and vanilla. Whisk and let sit for about 5 minutes.
- Next, add 3 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup butter, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to mixer. Using your dough hook, mix dough on low to medium speed until it comes together and no longer sticks to sides of bowl. If needed, add remaining ½ cup flour in a little bit at a time until you have a soft, but not overly sticky dough.
- Remove dough hook. Cover mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in warm oven for 30 minutes while you make the filling and glaze.
Filling:
- In a small bowl, mix all filling ingredients with a fork until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients with a whisk until smooth and pourable, but not overly runny.
Assembly:
- After 30 minutes, remove dough from oven, dump onto a lightly oiled surface, press dough into a roughly 12 X 9 inch rectangle. Don't go crazy here, it doesn't have to be exact.
- Spread or sprinkle filling evenly over the entire surface of the dough, all the way to the edges.
- Begin on the 12 inch side closest to you, roll dough very tightly away from you, keeping it taught all the way across as you roll. This will give you the most hypnotically swirled rolls with a great filling to dough ratio. Once you reach the end, pinch along seam to seal.
- Cut roll in half, then each half in half to make 4 equal pieces. Cut each of these into 4. You will have 16 pieces. The end pieces will be a little uneven, but they rise and bake just fine, just put the uneven side down when placing in the pan and press them down a bit.
- Place pieces evenly in dish. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm spot (your oven is a good place) until doubled in size. About an hour. *
- Preheat oven to 375 during last 20 minutes of rising time. If you are rising your rolls in the oven make sure to TAKE THEM OUT before you preheat!
- Once dough has risen, remove plastic wrap or towel and bake for 25 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely before glazing.
*Alternatively, place in fridge overnight, and let sit at room temp for 30 minutes before you bake the next morning.
Notes
Freshly grated nutmeg will always have the best flavor, but pre-grated will work just fine if that's what you have.
If you are omitting the alcohol, but want a boozy flavor, add a splash of good quality, natural rum flavoring/extract. Just remember that extract is far stronger, so use just a bit.
When making the glaze: if it is too thin, add more powdered sugar; too thick, add more eggnog.
The times for this recipe are rough estimates. It should take you about 10 minutes to whip the dough together, 30 minutes for the 1st rise, about 5-10 minutes to roll, cut, and get them in the pan, then 30-60 minutes for the 2nd rise. And like I noted in the recipe, the 2nd rise can be done in the fridge overnight if you want to bake these fresh the next morning. Just give them 30-60 minutes at room temp before you bake them.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes plus additional rising if needed
- Cook Time: 20 - 25 minutes
- Category: breakfast, holiday
- Method: baking
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