With the rich, spiced filled flavor of eggnog infused in each bite, these eggnog cinnamon buns perfectly capture the spirit of the holiday season!
It is not the holidays until I have at least one eggnog flavored bake or treat. This year, I decided to enhance the flavor of my cinnamon buns recipe with eggnog; a decision I do not regret. The eggnog perfectly infuses these soft and fluffy buns with the warmth of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I cannot express enough how delicious these eggnog cinnamon buns are and will definitely be making them for my family’s Christmas morning breakfast!
How to Make Eggnog Cinnamon Buns
Eggnog Dough
Key Ingredients
- Flour – all-purpose flour is the only flour used in recipe. However, for buns with a chewier consistency, half or all of the all-purpose flour may be replaced with bread flour.
- Yeast – active dry yeast is used in recipe. To ensure that the yeast is still alive, it should be dissolved (rehydrated) in some liquid and a sweetener. If mixture becomes bubbling within a few minutes, the yeast is good to use.
- Fat – unsalted butter is used to add moisture and enrich dough with a fragrant buttery flavor.
- Egg – allows for an enriched dough that is almost cake-like in texture.
- Liquid – eggnog is the only liquid used in recipe. Since eggnog is a sweetened drink, no other sweeteners are used to make dough.
To Make Eggnog Cinnamon Buns Dough
- Warm – in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm up eggnog until small bubbles starts to form along the edges and an instant-read thermometer register between 110 – 115F. Alternatively, eggnog may be warmed in the microwave at 30 seconds intervals until it reach the temperature of 110 – 115F.
- Dissolve – pour heated eggnog into the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle yeast on top and gently whisk. As the yeast rehydrates, the mixture will take on a foamy appearance, about 10 minutes.
- Mix – with the dough hook attached to stand mixer, add the egg and melted butter to yeast mixture and mix on low (2 on stand mixer) to combine. Next, add the flour and salt to wet mixture and continue to mix until a shaggy looking dough forms.
- Knead – increase mixer speed to medium (4 on stand mixer) and knead dough for 6 minutes. The resulting dough should be soft and smooth.
- Rest and Rise – transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Grease a medium mixing bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of oil or melted butter. Place dough in greased bowl and gently swirl it around the bowl so that all sides of the dough including the top and bottom are coated with some of the butter/oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for at least 1 hour in a warm area of kitchen or until it has doubled in size.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
The brown sugar cinnamon filling consist of (3) simple ingredients – softened butter, dark brown sugar and ground cinnamon. In a small mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon until thoroughly combine. Keep the softened butter separate until the dough are ready to be rolled, filled and shaped into buns.
Shaping and Baking Eggnog Cinnamon Buns
- Prepare Baking Pan – thoroughly grease an 8” baking pan/skillet. Set aside.
- Deflate dough – gently knock down risen dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for 5 minutes.
- Roll out dough – remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle top of dough with some flour and roll into roughly a 12.5” x 10” rectangle.
- Add filling – with a pastry brush, evenly spread softened butter over the surface of rolled dough. Next, evenly sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over butter taking care to leave a 1/4” border around the edges of dough.
- Shape Dough into Log – starting at the long edge of dough, carefully roll dough onto itself until you reach the opposite end. You will end up with a log shape.
- Cut and Rest – with a sharp knife, cut log into 6 equal pieces/buns and arrange evenly spaced out in prepared pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place pan in a warm area of kitchen for second rise – 30 minutes.
- Bake – preheat oven to 350 F and bake eggnog cinnamon buns for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through bake time. Buns are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of one them comes out clean. If buns start to brown too quickly before they are done, place a piece of aluminum foil on top to prevent overbrowning.
Eggnog Icing
Like the filling, the eggnog icing requires a minimal amount of ingredients, two to be exact – powdered sugar and eggnog. Simply pass powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl and whisk in eggnog until a smooth, pourable icing is reached.
Helpful Tips
- Eggnog cinnamon buns maybe prepared the night before and baked the next day. Instead of letting the buns rise for a second time, just place buns in the refrigerator until ready to bake the next day.
- Recipe yields 6 buns but can easily be doubled for a larger serving.
- If buns start to brown too quickly before they are done, place a piece of aluminum foil on top to prevent overbrowning.
- Eggnog cinnamon buns are best eaten the day it is baked; however, baked buns maybe individually wrapped in plastic wrapped stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. If storing in the freezer, simply bring buns up to room temperature before warming up.
- For a thicker icing use (2) tablespoons of eggnog and for a thinner icing use the additional tablespoon of eggnog.
- If looking for a more indulgent cinnamon buns recipe, check out my recipe for overnight maple pecan sticky buns.
Eggnog Cinnamon Buns
With the rich, spiced filled flavor of eggnog infused in each bite, these eggnog cinnamon buns perfectly capture the spirit of the holidays!
- Prep Time: 35 Minutes
- Cook Time: 35 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 Buns
Ingredients
Eggnog Dough
• 2 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 packet (2 1/4 Teaspoons) Active Dry Yeast
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Large Egg, Room Temperature
• 1/2 Cup Warmed Eggnog, 110-115F
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Melted
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
• 1/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
Eggnog Icing
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 2-3 Tablespoons Eggnog
• Ground Cinnamon, Garnish, Optional
Instructions
Eggnog Dough
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, warm up eggnog until small bubbles starts to form along the edges and an instant-read thermometer register between 110 – 115F. Alternatively, eggnog may be warmed in the microwave at 30 seconds intervals until it reach the temperature of 110 – 115F.
- Pour heated eggnog into the bowl of a stand mixer, sprinkle yeast on top and gently whisk. As the yeast rehydrates, the mixture will take on a foamy appearance, about 10 minutes.
With the dough hook attached to stand mixer, add the egg and melted butter to yeast mixture and mix on low (2 on stand mixer) to combine. Next, add the flour and salt to wet mixture and continue to mix until a shaggy looking dough forms. - Increase mixer speed to medium (4 on stand mixer) and knead dough for 6 minutes. The resulting dough should be soft and smooth.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Grease a medium mixing bowl with 1/2 teaspoon of oil or melted butter. Placed dough in greased bowl and gently swirl it around the bowl so that all sides of the dough including the top and bottom are coated with some of the butter/oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise for at least (1) hour in a warm area of kitchen or until it has doubled in size.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Filling
- In a small mixing bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon until thoroughly combine. Set aside until ready to use. Keep softened butter separate.
Eggnog Icing
- Pass powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl and whisk in eggnog until a smooth, pourable icing is reached.
Assembly
- Thoroughly grease an 8” baking pan/skillet. Set aside.
- Gently knock down risen dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Cover with plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for 5 minutes.
- Remove plastic wrap. Sprinkle top of dough with some flour and roll into roughly a 12.5” x 10” rectangle.
- With a pastry brush, spread softened butter over the surface of rolled dough and evenly sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over butter taking care to leave a 1/4” border around the edges of dough.
- Starting at the long edge of dough, carefully roll dough onto itself until you reach the opposite end. You will end up with a log shape.
- With a sharp knife, cut log into 6 equal pieces/buns and arrange evenly spaced out in prepared pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap and place pan in a warm area of kitchen for second rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F about 15 minutes into second rise and bake eggnog cinnamon buns rotating the pan halfway through bake time. Buns are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of one them comes out clean.
- As the buns rest in pan, prepare eggnog icing by passing powdered sugar through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in eggnog until a smooth, pourable icing is reached.
- Spoon icing over warm buns, sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon (optional), and serve.
Leave a Reply