Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls are literally perfect! They are fluffy, sweet, and so indulgent. exactly what you want in a cinnamon roll. They pair perfectly with a glass of cold milk on Christmas morning or any day of the year!
Ten years ago when I had my first child I started dreaming up holiday traditions I wanted our family to have. One of those traditions was making the best cinnamon rolls to eat on Christmas morning. It took me five years of trial and error to finally land on the combination I loved.
There were certain aspects of cinnamon rolls I learned made such a difference. I am not a fan of using melted butter inside of the rolls. I find it causes such a mess and the filling just falls out everywhere. Spreading softened butter and pressing the cinnamon sugar mixture into the butter works great every time. I also love spreading softened butter and the same cinnamon sugar mixture into the bottom of my baking dish. It creates a delicious sugary bottom to the rolls that takes these over the top. Not to mention LOTS of icing!!!
Ingredients
Water & Milk- These will both be warmed to around 115 degrees F so it will activate your yeast.
Butter- The butter used in this recipe will all be softened. No melted butter will be used.
A full ingredient list and the amounts will be listed in the recipe card below.
How to Make Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
Step 1: In a stand mixer add yeast, sugar, warm water and milk. Stir, cover with towel, and let bloom about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Add in the melted butter and mix in with the dough hook attachment. Next add in the sugar and egg.
Step 3: In a bowl stir the salt into the flour and continually add to bowl till combined. Let the dough knead for about 7 minutes. Add flour by TBSP amounts if it’s too sticky and not forming a ball. Pick up the ball of dough and spray the bottom of your mixing bowl, place dough back in and cover for at least an hour or until it has risen.
Step 4: In a bowl mix together both sugars and cinnamon.
Step 5: You can tell how the dough has formed a rounded ball shape when it has risen.
Step 6: Place dough onto a floured surface and roll out to a large rectangle.
Step 7: Your rolled out dough should create a rectangle about 12×24 inches.
Step 8: Using your hands spread 7 tbsp of your softened butter all over the dough. Pour your cinnamon sugar mixture over the top (reserve a small amount) and press into the butter with your hands so it doesn’t fall out when rolling it up.
Step 9: Roll the dough up starting on the long side. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Spread the remaining softened butter into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish. Pour the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture over the top. Place rolls into the dish, cover with a towel, and let rise another 30 minutes or more.
Step 10: Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until barely browned on top.
Step 11: For the icing, in a medium sized bowl, add 3 tbsp softened butter, 3 2/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk, and 2 tsp vanilla. Mix together with hand mixer and spread over the rolls.
Step 12: Enjoy with a cold glass of milk! They are best warm so if they aren’t fresh out of the oven heat in microwave for about 20 seconds.
Tips
- Make sure your water and milk isn’t too hot or too cold. The temperature needs to be warm, around 115 degrees F, in order to activate the yeast.
- If your home is cold be sure to find a warm place for the dough and rolls to rise. You can set your oven to warm and keep them in there or sit them on a heating pad on warm.
- Be sure to roll your dough out into a large rectangle. The more surface to put the cinnamon sugar mixture the better.
- Leave about 1 tbsp of butter and 1/4 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture to put into the bottom of your baking dish.
- If you prefer you can skip that step and pour some heavy cream over the rolls before baking.
- Some prefer cream cheese frosting. If this is your preference add 1/2 stick of cream cheese to your icing and add milk to thin.
- The reason I love these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning is because I can make them on Christmas Eve. I make mine on Christmas Eve, sometimes we go ahead and do a taste test! Then they are easy to have ready on Christmas morning. Just a few seconds in the microwave and they are perfect! Plus no missing out on all the Christmas Magic in the morning.
Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
These cinnamon rolls are literally perfect! They are fluffy, sweet, and so indulgent. exactly what you want in a cinnamon roll. They pair perfectly with a glass of cold milk on Christmas morning or anyday of the year!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup warm water ( about 115 degrees F)
- 3/4 cup warm milk ( about 115 degrees F)
- 1 stick melted butter
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 stick softened butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 3 2/3 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsp softened butter
- 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer place your yeast and sugar. Then add the warm water and milk, gently stir. Cover with a towel and let sit till the yeast has bloomed and doubled in size, about 10 minutes. Add the melted butter to the yeast mixture with the dough hook attachment. Then add in sugar and egg mixing until combined.
- In a large bowl stir together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture in 1/2 cup increments, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Knead the dough on low speed for 7 minutes. Add more flour by the Tbsp if the dough is too sticky. Once it has kneaded and formed a good ball place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let it rise in a warm spot for 1 hour or more.
- Sprinkle flour onto your counter top and roll the dough out into a large rectangle with a rolling pin, about 14x24 inches. Spread the softened butter over the dough, I use my hands. Leave a small amount of butter and spread into a 9x13 baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the butter spread, leave a small amount and sprinkle over the butter in the baking dish as well. Use your hands to press the sugar mixture into the butter so it sticks better before it gets rolled.
- Starting at the long end of the dough, roll the dough into a log. Cut the dough evenly into 12 pieces. Place the rolls into the baking dish and let rise again for about an hour or until they have noticably risen again. This will depend on the temperature of your home. You can also let them rise in a warm oven.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls for 20-23 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. Do not overcook!
- In a bowl add your powdered sugar, vanilla, softened butter, and milk. Use a hand mixer to blend into an icing. Once the rolls have cooled a minute spread the icing evenly over the cinnamon rolls. These are best served warm, for Christmas I make them Christmas Eve and reheat in the microwave as we eat them.
Notes
- Its important to make sure you have your milk and water at the right temperature. If its too hot it will kill the yeast and if its too cold it won't activate it. If your yeast doesn't bloom it could mean the temperature wasn't right or that your yeast was old.
- I love these for Christmas because we usually sneak some on Christmas Eve and then they are ready to eat Christmas morning! We also leave the day after Christmas to travel. I froze the ones we didn't eat in a glass container this year and they tasted great when thawed and microwaved.
- The butter and sugar mixture in the bottom of the baking dish give these rolls a decadent caramelized base. Every bite is perfect!
- If you prefer a cream cheese frosting add in a half a block of cream cheese to the frosting.
