Christmas Cinnamon Rolls {Christmas Traditions Series}

Hi there!

I am so happy to be here with you and the sweet ladies of The Crafting Chicks today!

and I’m excited to share with you two of my families favorite Christmas traditions! First, no Christmas would ever be complete without watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

This movie cracks me up every time I watch, year after year.

One of my favorite quotes from that movie is:

Bethany:
Is your house on fire, Clark?

Clark:
No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.

The second Christmas must have is my sweet, warm Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls.

These delicious rolls are a perfect breakfast to enjoy while opening presents.

Honestly, they couldn’t be easier to make— the bread machine does all the work!

So today, I’m going to share with you the recipe.

Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls

For Dough:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

For Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/3 cup butter, softened

For Frosting:

1 (3 ounce) pkg. of cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

1) Place all roll ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Then select the dough setting and press start.

2) Let the dough double in size, then turn it out on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a towel and let it rest for 10 minutes. Meantime, grab a small bowl and combine butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

3) Roll dough into a large rectangle (16×21). Spread the dough with the butter/brown sugar/ cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in two lightly greased round pie pans. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.4) Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, make the frosting. Beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread the frosting on as soon as the rolls come out of the oven.

I usually bake both pans, we eat one and freeze the other.

Since we are a small family of three, we don’t need 12 rolls at once.

Plus, I love having our Christmas morning breakfast waiting for us in the freezer.