What a better way to warm up than with cinnamon rolls with bacon AND bourbon! Yeah, I said bacon cinnamon rolls!
When the weather starts turning cooler and the leaves start changing colors, we get a hankering for some fresh baked goods! Here in Nebraska, one of the most popular baked goods is a cinnamon roll! And while a good cinnamon roll is a glorious thing, what makes anything better?
How about adding a little bacon and bourbon to make these cinnamon rolls into the ultimate brunch bakery item!
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We love a good cinnamon roll, the sweet spicy cinnamon and airy doughy bread a delight to enjoy with a good cup of coffee or a mimosa at brunch. We have even been known to indulge our penchant for a good cinnamon roll while wandering around the Omaha Farmer’s Market!
The other day we were planning a little brunch get together for some of our friends and were trying to do a fun little menu.
We were thinking about what dishes we were could make, when our boys mentioned that they thought we should make some cinnamon rolls and bacon (in the words of our youngest “We need bacon! Its the candy of meats!) This combination must have tickled our brains because all of a sudden we both blurted out bacon cinnamon rolls!
This sounded like a delightful treat, as salty and sweet makes for great combination.
Of course being known as cocktail bloggers (especially among our friends) we have a little bit of a reputation to uphold when it comes to what we serve! We do like serving some boozy food, so since we had already made the decision to add bacon to our cinnamon rolls, we figured why not add another layer of flavor that plays well with both bacon and cinnamon, bourbon!
Two of the flavors we are always talking about when we talk about when we make bourbon cocktails are the warm baking spices like cinnamon, and the toasted caramel sweetness that backed goods get, so bourbon seemed like a natural fit with cinnamon rolls!
We started out with a classic sweet dough which gave us two advantages, the first being it doesn’t require yeast to proof, which leads to the second advantage, we can add in the bourbon into the dough without killing the yeast! With bourbon integrated right into the dough, you will get a rich full flavor of the bourbon but the alcohol all cooks off during the baking process.
The bourbon adds a nice extra hint of caramel and sweetness to the dough.
We next cooked up some bacon, getting it nice a crisp. Once cooked, we crumbled the bacon into small pieces so we could layer it into the rolls along with the cinnamon, spice and sugar mixture. The bacon pieces get rolled into the dough along with the spice mix and becomes a happy bits of candied bacon after the rolls are baked.
To top the rolls, we wanted a little stronger bit of bourbon flavor, so we added bourbon to the classic cream cheese icing. Adding bourbon to the icing makes these a definite adult take on the classic cream cheese frosting, as unlike the rolls where the booze bakes out, the icing definitely keeps all the alcohol!
We liked the way the bourbon makes the icing a little less sweet than the plain icing, not to mention added a great bourbon smell to the icing. A final sprinkle of bacon crumbles on top of the icing is the perfect final touch to these delicious Bourbon Bacon Cinnamon Rolls!
We unveiled the Bourbon Bacon Cinnamon Rolls at our brunch with friends and they were a huge hit!
Cheers!
Like this recipe? Try these below, too!
Sweet Potato Guacamole Bacon Bites
Bacon and Blue Cheese Flatbreads
Other Boozy Sweet Bread Recipes
Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls with Boozy Caramel Glaze – Oh Lady Cakes
Boozy Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls – Morsels and Moonshine
Strawberry Rolls with Rum Glaze – Center Cut Cook
Bourbon Caramel Pumpkin Roll – The Crumby Kitchen
Boozy Cherry Hot Cross Buns – Food & Wine
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp bourbon
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/3 cup crumbled bacon
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 Tbsp buttermilk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp bourbon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Grease and flour a cast iron pan or 9 inch pie plate.
- In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in buttermilk, bourbon, and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Stir until just combined.
- Transfer to a floured surface and knead until dough is smooth. Add more flour as needed, so it's not overly sticky.
- Flatten the dough into a rectangle, about 12x8 inches. Brush on 2 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Dump filling onto dough and spread evenly, leaving about 1/2 inch border around the edge. Press the filling down a bit so it sticks. Place about 1/4 cup bacon crumbles on top of filling. Set aside the rest of the bacon.
- Starting on the long side of the dough, start to roll up, pressing as you go, to create a tightly rolled log. Pinch the seam closed and lay seam side down. Cut into 8-9 slices, placing in pan as you go.
- Brush rolls with remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- When slightly warm, top with icing and remaining bacon. Enjoy.
- Combine all dry ingredients, except bacon in a small bowl.
- Add in butter and mix with a fork until it resembles wet sand.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. adding sugar and nutmeg. Add buttermilk and mix until well combined. Stir in bourbon. If it's too runny, add in more sugar if needed. If too thick, add more buttermilk or bourbon (cause why not!).
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Omg this looks amazing! Anything with bacon and I’m so down. xx
http://hollyhabeck.com
We adore bacon! It made these absolutely delicious!
oh my goodness, these sound amazing! I’m definitely going to have to try cooking these myself!
xx
Madeline
http://www.wearweroam.com
Thanks! Hope you enjoy them! Be sure to let us know how they came out!
OMG. I don’t even know where to start with these. Bourbon – yum! Cinnamon – yum! Bourbon- yum yum yum!! I an so in love with these. Making these this weekend!
Hope you try them out! We think they are pretty amazing!
Wow. I have never even heard of these things mixed all together. The pastry and c bacon lovers among us will be thrilled.
We thought it was a great flavor combo!
Now that I’ve cast my eyes on these beauties, I won’t be satisfied until I make them! Putting them on my list, pronto! Yum!
Make them ASAP, sooo good!
These look SO delicious! I’m bookmarking this page for sure.
Hope you enjoy them! Cheers!
Thanks! We loved his one, and hope you do too!
this must be so PACKED with flavor!! bourbon, yum!!
They are so good! Hope you try them out!
These would be the perfect treat for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. Cinnamon rolls and bacon! Whoa!
So good, I promise! Hope you try them out!
Had my attention at bourbon!
Right? So good, I promise!
Good stuff!
Thanks so much!
These sound amazing! They would be great for Christmas morning brunch!!
Agreed! Hope you try them out!
I’ve been watching these things on social media.. and droooooooling! These sound SO GOOD!!!! (You knew I’d be in though.. because bourbon.)
No problem, it’s what we do, LOL! And of course, bourbon!
I pretty much wanted to claw through my phone screen when I saw these on Instagram. Oh my word! You took cinnamon rolls, which are basically food perfection as it is, and made them even better with bacon and bourbon! I’m a very sharing person, but I want to make a batch of these and keep them all for myself! haha 🙂
Ooh I love homemade cinnamon rolls, but this just takes it to a whole other level. These sound amazing!!
My grandma made the best cinnamon rolls ever… I wish she was still around so I could show her these… I mean she loved bourbon and bacon she would have been over the moon. Pinned them!