Donna Kelce Shares The Best Thanksgiving Dinner Rolls Recipe

Donna Kelce has frequently shared stories about the holiday crescent rolls she's baked over the years, a recipe inspired by the 1969 Pillsbury Bake-Off winner, Pillsbury’s Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs.

Today, these rolls are affectionately known as Mama Kelce’s Dinner Rolls. The recipe combines the flakiness of crescent roll pastry with marshmallows, cinnamon, and sugar, creating a sweet and savory treat.

Whether they’re a dinner roll or a dessert is up for debate, but it's clear that Donna Kelce's rolls are always a hit with her sons, Travis Kelce and Jason Kelce.

To make Mama Kelce's Dinner Rolls, preheat the oven to 375°F and spray 16 medium muffin cups with nonstick baking spray. In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Separate the crescent dough into 16 triangles.

For each roll, dip one marshmallow into melted butter, then roll it in the sugar mixture. Place the marshmallow on the shortest side of a triangle, roll it up, and pinch the edges to seal. Dip one end in the remaining butter and place the buttered side down in the muffin cups.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Once done, remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool for 1 minute in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack.

For the glaze, mix powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to reach a drizzling consistency, then drizzle over the warm rolls and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Serve warm and enjoy!

Earlier this month, Donna shared some exciting news about their Thanksgiving plans.

During her November 14 appearance on the "TODAY" show, Donna revealed that the holiday would be centered around football, as her son Travis will be playing the day after Thanksgiving.

Donna explained, “I am going to be at a football game. Travis is playing the day after Thanksgiving. You know, football is always the holidays. It's football's family.” While she didn’t have big dinner plans, Donna added, "Not that anything's planned. I think we're just going to be at the football game."

She also discussed the possibility of Travis's girlfriend, Taylor Swift, joining the family for the holiday, saying, “I don’t think so. She’s kind of busy right now. She still has her tour to do.” The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play the Las Vegas Raiders on November 29, 2024, and although Swift will have a break, it remains unclear whether she will attend.

Last year, Donna confessed that she's "not a good cooker," but she still promised a delicious spread of baked goods for the family's Thanksgiving.

"I bake cinnamon rolls. They’re always my favorite, my go-to. I only can do it a couple [of] times a year ’cause they’re so sugary," she told Us Weekly. "So, we’ve got rolls, we have muffins, cookies, things like that, and I usually do that in the season."

Beyond the food, Donna shared that the family often spends the holidays solving puzzles and playing board games. She fondly recalled, "During Christmas, years ago, we used to [play] Mario Bros. video games. We would say, ‘OK, it’s your turn. You see how far you can get,’ and then we’d do a tag team."

Donna recognized that the holidays can be a "rough" time for many, particularly "when your kids are in sports," as with her sons.

“You’re not home a lot during the holidays,” she explained. “We would travel a lot. We’d be in Florida, St. Augustine, visiting relatives, Disney World, Marco Island, and Fort Myers. [Jason and Travis’] grandparents and uncles were in Florida, so we constantly went to Florida for the holidays.”

Although Jason retired from the NFL last year, Travis is still playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.

In the latest episode of their "New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce" podcast, released on Wednesday, November 20, the Kelce brothers had some fun answering fan questions. The episode covered topics ranging from football to their personal lives, with one of the standout moments being a conversation about their holiday traditions.

When asked about the right time to put up a Christmas tree, Jason replied, “I think Thanksgiving has always been the date.” Travis agreed, adding, “In the Kelce household, Thanksgiving was the day,” to which Jason responded, “Yeah, I mean, preferably you put it up on Thanksgiving.”

Jason, reflecting on the tradition, said, “I like the tradition, we’ve never done it at our house, but maybe we’ll actually get it done this year, where after Thanksgiving’s over you put the Christmas tree up. I like that tradition. I think that’s a really good one.”

“Thanksgiving is really the start of [the] Christmas season,” Jason continued, with Travis chiming in, “We would have the Christmas [tree] already up, though.”

Jason clarified, “No, but you got the Christmas tree; you’ve bought it already, but it hasn’t been put up.” Travis then revealed, “And then you’d dress the tree" after putting it up a few days before Thanksgiving.