Cinnamon rolls Christmas Trees
Making cinnamon rolls Christmas trees is fun and easy. Additionally, this recipe is great for making cinnamon rolls, all-year-round.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2¾ cups flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tbsps unsalted butter (30 grams).
- 1 egg
- 2¼ of instant yeast
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
Filling
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon powder
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted.
White frosting
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, room temp.
- 2 oz cream cheese, room temp.
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Green frosting
- 2 oz cream cheese, room temp.
- ¼ tsp vanilla
- 1½ cup powdered sugar (you can add more for a firmer consistency)
- 2 tbsp milk
- Green gel food coloring
To decorate
- Small M&Ms or small sprinkles
- Colored sprinkles
Instructions
- To make the dough, mix the dry ingredients first. Add flour, salt, and instant yeast into your mixer bowl.
- In a separate container -microwave safe- put butter, sugar, milk, and water. Mix well the ingredients and pour over the dry ingredients with your mixer on. Then heat on the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. You'll have to stop the heating a couple of times so that it doesn't boil. The purpose is to melt the butter and have a warm liquid, not scorching hot. Let this mixture cool a bit, and then add an egg.
- Pour and mix gently to feed the yeast. Change your mixer attachment for a dough hook and let it knead for 5 minutes at medium speed. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, pre-heat your oven to 194 °F.
- When the dough is ready, sprinkle flour on a clean and flat surface and extend the dough using a rolling pin. Here, aim to create a 16 by 8 inches rectangle. It doesn't need to be precise. Then, brush your "rectangle" with melted butter avoiding the borders. Now, add cinnamon powder and spread it well to create a thin layer.
- Roll the dough by the long side, ensuring that it's tight. Before closing the roll, brush with some extra melted butter to help it keep together. Then, finish the rolling.
- Cut rolls using a sharp knife. Place them on a buttered tray. To make the trees, unroll each piece and draw a zig-zag using your dough like a vine, making a 2 inches line of dough before curving it up to form the next row slightly smaller. Repeat until you shape a minimalistic Christmas tree.
- Leave some space between each tree, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Then, they'll be spongy, so that they might have changed their shape a bit. Fix them accordingly, and heat your oven to 374 °F. Before getting the trees in the oven, brush again with melted butter. Now, bake the cinnamon rolls for 16 to 18 minutes or brown.
- Meanwhile, make the frostings. Mix cream cheese and butter in a bowl with an electric mixer until creamy to make the white frosting. Add transparent vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Keep mixing while pouring milk slowly and gently until you get a light mixture. Then, mix the cream cheese with an electric mixer to make the green frosting. Add powdered sugar, transparent vanilla extract, and a couple of tablespoons of milk. Then, add a few drops of green coloring and mix.
- Let your rolls cool for five minutes after taking them out of the oven. Brush the rolls with the white frosting on both sides. Then, cover the trees with green frosting using a spat, letting the frosting drop on top of the rolls. Decorate with sprinkles and finish with some M&M's.
- Enjoy your delicious cinnamon rolls Christmas trees!
Video
Notes
