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Make-Ahead Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

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Make-ahead gingerbread cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese frosting are a delicious breakfast or brunch for the holidays and all winter long.  
overhead photo of gingerbread cinnamon rolls in the baking dish before they've been frosted

pinterest image for make-ahead gingerbread cinnamon rolls with text overlay

Sometimes when I’m brainstorming recipe ideas I ask my mom for suggestions even though I know exactly what she’s going to say: something maple.  Maple cookies, maple doughnuts, maple anything as long as there’s plenty of maple.

Such is her love for maple that when I was telling her about my Fourth of July cake she suggested maple frosting.  For a summer-themed cake.  

Not happening, Mom.  

After falling in love with my overnight salted caramel chocolate cinnamon rolls a few months ago I knew I wanted to come up with a winter version, something that would be perfect for Christmas breakfast.  (Although the salted caramel cinnamon rolls would be pretty perfect too.)

Because you do the majority of the work the night before, these make-ahead cinnamon rolls with gingerbread spices are just the ticket if you need a mostly hands-off breakfast on Christmas Day.

And because they’re slathered in maple cream cheese frosting, my mother is sure to want at least one, despite the fact she no longer eats gluten or refined sugar.  Or dairy?  I’m not 100% sure at this point.

overhead photo of frosted gingerbread cinnamon rolls on a serving tray

So Mom, these are for you!  The gingerbread cinnamon rolls are delicious all by themselves but the maple cream cheese frosting is my favorite part.  You instilled in me a love for all things maple so I’m forever grateful.

I should add that the frosting isn’t completely necessary; it’s there because I can’t leave well enough alone.  The cinnamon rolls bake in a brown sugar glaze so they’re wonderfully soft and moist even without the frosting on top.  But if you’re a paint-the-lily type then go for it.

If Christmas were a competitive sport then gingerbread cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese frosting would win the day.  No contest.  They’re just that good.

A few notes:

Take care not to over-process your dough or it will get tough.

As stated above, the frosting is delicious but not absolutely necessary.

The recipe calls for a pinch of black pepper because I love adding it to gingerbread.  If that weirds you out then omit it. Your gingerbread cinnamon rolls will still be delicious!

cinnamon roll on a plate with a fork taking a bite out of it, with more gingerbread cinnamon rolls in the background

Make-ahead gingerbread cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese frosting are a delicious breakfast or brunch for the holidays and all winter long. They're perfect for Christmas morning!  Recipe via itsybitsykitchen.com #Christmas #gingerbread #cinnamonrolls
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Make-Ahead Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Rising time
5 hrs 20 mins
Total Time
6 hrs 10 mins
 

Make-ahead gingerbread cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese frosting are a delicious breakfast or brunch for the holidays and all winter long. 

Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16
Author: Kelsie
Ingredients
Rolls:
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 2 tablespoons cold butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup lukewarm whole milk plus more as needed
Filling:
  • 6 tablespoons butter at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons molasses
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Glaze:
  • 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
Frosting:
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon maple flavor optional, for a more pronounced maple flavor
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • whole milk as needed for consistency
Instructions
Rolls:
  1. Place the flour, sugar, molasses, yeast, salt, spices, and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well combined. Add the eggs and pulse a few times more.
  2. With the machine running, slowly pour the milk through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds, adding additional lukewarm milk 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary, until the mixture forms a ball that is sticky to the touch. Take care not to over-process or your rolls will be tough.
  3. Spray a large mixing bowl with cooking spray. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead a few times, then shape the dough into a ball. Place dough in the prepared bowl and turn it over a few times to coat in cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours.
  4. Gently deflate the dough, then form it into a ball again. Place on a lightly floured surface and let rest 20 minutes.
Filling:
  1. While dough is resting, mix the butter and molasses together in a small bowl. Mix the sugar and spices together in a second small bowl.
Glaze:
  1. Generously spray a 13- by 9-inch baking pan (or 2 8-inch round cake pans) with cooking spray. Combine the brown sugar and heavy cream in a small mixing bowl, then spread evenly in the bottom of the pan(s).
  2. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 13- by 9-inch rectangle. Spread the butter-molasses mixture over the rectangle, top the butter with the sugar-spice mixture. Roll the dough lengthwise into a tight log, then pinch the seam closed. Carefully cut the log into 15 to 16 slices. Arrange the slices in the prepared pan(s). Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. (If you’re not making the rolls ahead, let the rolls rise at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.)
  3. In the morning, remove the rolls from the fridge and let sit in a warm place until they’ve puffed up a bit, about 20 to 30 minutes. (If it’s really cold in your house, preheat the oven and let the rolls sit next to the stove until they get puffy.)
  4. Once the rolls have puffed, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the rolls are golden.
Frosting:
  1. While cinnamon rolls are in the oven, combine the butter and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer set to medium speed until very smooth. Beat in the maple syrup, maple flavor, salt until combined, then turn mixer to low and gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. Turn mixer to medium and beat until frosting is completely smooth. If necessary, add milk (if frosting is too thick) or powdered sugar (if frosting is too thin) to achieve desired consistency.
  2. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Top with frosting and serve.

 

Adapted from How to Bake Everything

Comments

  1. Miriam @londonkitchendiaries says

    What a lovely thought to wake up to freshly baked gingerbread cinnamon rolls on Christmas day (need to put that on my whish list!!). I am sure your mum is going to love them 🙂 Have a nice weekend, Kelsie

    Reply

  2. David | Spiced says

    Ok, Kelsie. I’m convinced that we were destined to be friends for 3 reasons. (1) Maple (2) Gingerbread (3) Cinnamon Rolls (4) I made this same thing recently. Ok, that’s 4 reasons. Seriously, though, we must be channeling the same holiday breakfast thoughts…but there can’t ever be enough gingerbread in the world! 🙂 Or maple. Or cinnamon rolls. Speaking of maple, have you ever had maple cream? Not maple cream cheese. Just maple cream. It’s amazing! It’s hard to find, but I’m happy to send you some if you’d like…just shoot me an email. In exchange, I would like a batch of these cinnamon rolls delivered every morning. Actually, nix the mail. Just move into that house down the street, mmkay? I convinced my curling buddy to move onto the street, and he loves it. You’re next!

    Reply

  3. Kim | The Baking ChocolaTess says

    Your mom is going to love these! I’m a huge fan of maple and use it in place for vanilla a lot of times in recipes and I’m a huge fan of maple frosted donuts. These look super amazing Kelsie! 🙂 I would love to have these for Christmas brunch too! And I was watching the Holiday Baking Championship on Food Network and saw one of the contestants used pepper in their gingerbread and the judges loved it. Gonna have to give this a go!!

    Reply

  4. Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says

    I’d say go for that cream cheese! Why not? After all, tis the season 😉 I can only imagine how good these taste, especially with a big cup of coffee. And black pepper to the mix, huh? I can see how that would work 🙂 Have an awesome weekend, my friend!

    Reply

    • Kelsie says

      Thank you, Dawn! I need a little frosting on my cinnamon rolls, especially during the holidays :). Have a great weekend!

      Reply

  10. Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says

    Almost everybody loves cinnamon rolls, so these would be perfect for a family holiday brunch! And I love the gingerbread version with maple cream cheese frosting. Brilliant! I have a few gingerbread recipes in the works, but I never thought to add pepper. I may have to try that! Happy Thursday Kelsie!

    Reply

  12. Milena | Craft Beering says

    Well done to you and to your mom for instilling the love for maple syrup in her daughter:) These are amazing! I love the flavors of gingerbread and seeing these creative roll and reading you add pepper…OMG. Why wait until Christmas? I also would not want to skip the frosting, not at all.

    Reply

  13. Katherine | Love In My Oven says

    Your Mom is a smart lady. I love maple too (even in the summer)!! I also love gingerbread, which makes these cinnamon rolls pretty much the best ever. I love being able to make things the night before and have a stunning, delicious breakfast the next day with minimal fuss. Genius, Kelsie. Genius!

    Reply

  15. Maria Doss says

    Make ahead breakfast rolls is the perfect thing that my family could use on Christmas morning. Night mass and all the cookie exchange the previous day tires me out on the big day. Maple and gingerbread together will sure motivate me to get out of the bed!!! Fabulous rolls Kelsie and your mom is gonna love it so much.

    Reply

  17. Carlee says

    Maple cream cheese frosting is one of my all time favorite things! So I love these already. The cinnamon rolls look scrumptious too, of course. But the frosting wins the day in my book!

    Reply

  18. Ben|Havocinthekitchen says

    How dare you dedicate this recipe to your mom who’s trying to stay away from sugar and gluten, Kelsie? Personally, I think I should refrain from visiting your blog during the holiday season as it will be dangerous. I feel I’ve gained 2 pounds while only looking at this deliciousness (That’s definitely NOT the huge bowl of pasta and 2 bowls of tiramisu I’ve had earlier today). Anyway, this sounds and looks amazing. Perfect seasonal flavors going on!

    Reply

  19. lynne hoareau says

    These scream holiday flavours and it is awesome !!! You mom is going to LOVE these. Make ahead…what a pleasure, thanks for the reminder, I think this is exactly what I will be doing. Have a good one Kelsie 🙂

    Reply

  21. heather (delicious not gorgeous) says

    ahhh i love the sound of gingerbread cinnamon rolls! my family tends to do a big christmas breakfast (versus dinner like some people), so i bet these would go over very well (: and my mom is the same way as your mom, but with salted caramel and chocolate lol.

    Reply

  23. marcie@flavorthemoments says

    The only thing better than cinnamon rolls are ones that you make ahead. And gingerbread flavored! These are so perfect for Christmas morning but I certainly doubt I could wait that long to make them!

    Reply

  25. Laura says

    WoW, Kelsie, these look scrumptious! What a great Christmas idea, too! I love Maple anything! I don’t know what I was thinking years ago with all of that maple-flavored corn syrup when the real thing is so dang much better. Totally worth the price because it tastes like maple. I have yet to make cinnamon rolls, and I’m determined to make them over Christmas break – now it’s down to these or the salted-caramel Chcolate ones. Thanks for two great cinnamon roll recipes!

    Reply

  28. Christina says

    Hot damn. HOT DAMN! Is it weird I want to sit in a corner with these cinnamon rolls and whisper sweet nothings into their delicious ears? Lie to me if so. It’s 6:30am where I live and I’m eating boring cereal and drinking coffee. Both me and coffee think eating Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls would make for a much better breakfast.

    I can’t WAIT to make these for Christmas!!!

    Reply

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