Every Christmas morning when I was little, my mom would make a special breakfast for us after opening presents. It was a wonderful tradition that I wanted to continue for my kids. This year I decided to go with my standby cinnamon rolls.
As mothers, we all want to make Christmas morning as special as possible. However, I’m not superwoman. No one is. I will be honest. These cinnamon rolls are time consuming. They will make a huge mess in your kitchen. If you can’t make a special breakfast, like homemade cinnamon rolls for your kids, don’t sweat it! Pull out the Pillsbury or Eggo waffles and don’t feel bad! Christmas will still be special for your kids!
I adapted this recipe from this one, just changing some of the measurements of the ingredients to suite our tastes and my oven. They are almost identical to the cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon! Super delicious and delectably sweet.
If you are looking for a yummy recipe for cinnamon rolls for your Christmas morning, I highly recommend these! All of these ingredients are ones I keep in stock in my pantry, refrigerator, and freezer!
You will need flour, sugar, milk, yeast, stick butter, salt, eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.
Warm 1 cup of milk in the microwave for 45 seconds. Add it to your stand mixer with 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. Whisk together.
Add 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 eggs in order. Mix until incorporated.
Add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Use a dough hook to kneed for 2-3 minutes.
Spray hands and a bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Move the dough from the mixer to the bowl and cover for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Let rise in warm place.
Once dough has doubled in size removed to a floured surface and roll out into a large rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
Mix the filling in a separate bowl by combining 1 cup of brown sugar and 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon.
Brush on about ~2-3 tablespoons of melted butter. {I usually just use the remainder of the stick I used for the dough.}
Sprinkle the filling over the melted butter. Completely spread out filling to cover the dough.
Using a pizza cutter, splice down the middle of the dough longways to create two separate sections.
Roll dough from the outside inward from both sides. Make sure to tuck the dough tightly.
Cut each roll into 12 equal slices. Start by slicing the rolls in half.
Then slice the halves in half.
Finally slice the quarters into thirds. This will help you to create equal sections.
Place cinnamon rolls in a 9×13 pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 11-13 minutes.
Frost cinnamon rolls while warm. For the frosting, mix together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/4 cup cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups powder sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Use a spatula to frost.
NOTE: I usually make these cinnamon rolls the evening before I want to have them for breakfast. The next morning I pop them in the oven at 200 degrees for about 5-7 minutes. While they are warming up, I whip together the frosting. This way we can have warm from the oven cinnamon rolls without me having to wake up before dawn!
What is your favorite breakfast for Christmas morning?