It is holiday time and I love making these Christmas tree cinnamon rolls for breakfast and dessert. They are easy to make and also can be planned ahead of time. The cinnamon rolls are arranged in a Christmas tree design and once baked, they are decorated with holiday-themed frosting and sprinkles.
You may also like gingerbread cookies, chocolate-dipped cookies, and stuffed pasta shells for the holidays.
Ingredients
To make holiday-themed cinnamon rolls, you will need bread flour, milk, sugar, salt, instant yeast, and oil to make the dough.
For the filling, butter, cinnamon powder, and brown sugar are needed. For cream cheese frosting, cream cheese, butter, green food color, and powdered sugar are all you will need.
Finally for Christmas decorations, sprinkles, and green, red, or blue icing can be used as per choice.
Instructions
In the stand mixer bowl, add all the wet and dry ingredients for making the dough. Knead it with the hook attachment on setting 2 for about 12 minutes to form a soft dough. The dough will attach to the hook.
Step 1: Add all dough ingredients to the bowl.
Step 2: Knead the dough for about 12 minutes.
Remove the dough from the hook and make it a ball. Place it in the bowl in a warm place and cover it with a lid. To speed up the process, place the dough ball in the Instant Pot liner and place a glass lid on top of it.
Do not place the regular Instant Pot lid or the Instant Pot can get locked out and not open.
Select the "yogurt" mode on the normal setting for about 1 hour. You can check out more details on how to proof dough in the Instant Pot.
Step 3: Proof the dough in the Instant Pot for about an hour.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 12-inch by 18-inch rectangle of about 4-5 mm thickness. With the help of a basting brush, apply the butter on top of the rolled dough.
Sprinkle the mixture of cinnamon powder and brown sugar in an even layer to cover the dough well. From the longer side, roll the dough into a tight log. Cut the log into about 20 pieces of about ¾ inch size.
Step 4: Roll the dough and then apply butter, filling of cinnamon powder and brown sugar. Make a log and divide it into about 20 pieces.
Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Arrange the cinnamon rolls into a Christmas tree shape with 1,1,2,3,4,5,2, and 2 rolls in each row leaving about half an inch gap between the rolls so they can rise.
Ensure the open ends of the rolls are facing another roll, this way, they will not open up when they rise. Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour until it doubles in volume.
Step 5: Place the rolls in a tray in a Christmas tree shape.
Step 6: Cover the tray with a cling wrap.
Bake in a preheated oven for about 16-18 minutes until they are golden brown. In the meantime make the cream cheese frosting by blending softened cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar. Add a few drops of green food color and mix it until you get the desired green color icing.
Apply it to the cinnamon rolls with a butter knife while they are warm. Apply some sprinkles of Christmas theme and green-colored icing. I also like to decorate the cutouts from the stained glass cookies with holiday-themed icing and put them on the cinnamon rolls.
Step 7: Let it rise for about 45 minutes or until doubles in volume.
Step 8: Bake at 350°F for 16-18 minutes.
Substitutions
Yeast - Active dry yeast can be used instead of Instant yeast, just add it to warm milk and sugar and mix it well. Let it rest for 10 minutes until foamy and then use it to make the dough.
Sugar - cane sugar can be used instead of brown sugar.
Flour - bread flour or all-purpose flour can be used.
Equipment
For making the dough, a KitchenAid stand mixer is very handy. For proofing the dough, a 6 qt. Instant Pot or larger works well, just ensure it has the "yogurt" setting.
A full-size baking tray is required so that the rolls can be arranged as a Christmas tree.
Storage
Cinnamon rolls can be stored at room temperature for 3-4 days. When you want to eat it, you can warm it up in the microwave.
To plan ahead of Christmas, you can make the rolls and arrange them on the tray. Freeze them in the tray for 1-2 hours. Once they harden up, transfer them to a ziplock bag.
The Day you want to bake them, place the rolls on the baking tray lined with parchment paper and arrange it as a Christmas tree shape. Let it thaw and rise. Bake in the oven at 350°F for 16-18 minutes.
Top tip
- It is best to weigh the flour using a digital food scale for consistent results.
- Do not place the regular Instant Pot lid while proofing the dough in it or the Instant Pot can get locked out and not open.
- For a nice shiny glaze, apply cream cheese frosting when the rolls are warm.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
- Air fryer cinnamon rolls
- Bread machine cinnamon rolls
- Stained glass cookies
- Chocolate dipped cookies
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📖 Recipe
Christmas Tree Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Instant Pot (6 qt or larger, optional)
- Knife
Ingredients
For making dough
- 1 cup Milk (microwave 20 seconds)
- 4 tablespoon Butter (unsalted, melted)
- 3 ½ cup All-purpose flour (420 grams)
- 2 tablespoon Organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant yeast 7 grams
For the filling
- â…“ cup Brown sugar (or organic cane sugar)
- 1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- 4 tablespoon Butter (unsalted, room temperature)
For the icing
- 4 oz Cream cheese (room temperature)
- 4 tablespoon Butter (unsalted, room temperature)
- 1 cup Powdered sugar (or icing sugar)
- Green food color (few drops)
Instructions
Make the dough in the stand mixer
- Add the wet and dry ingredients (for the dough* list) to the stand mixer bowl.1 cup Milk, 4 tablespoon Butter, 3 ½ cup All-purpose flour, 2 tablespoon Organic cane sugar, 1 teaspoon Salt, 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant yeast
- Knead the dough for about 12 minutes using the dough hook on setting 2.
Proof dough in Instant Pot
- Make a dough ball and place the dough in the Instant Pot liner.
- Cover it with a glass lid. (do not use the Instant Pot lid)
- Select the "yogt" mode on the normal setting for about 45 minutes.
- Once the dough is doubled in volume, place it on a lightly floured surface.
Shaping the dough
- Roll the dough to about 0.5-centimeter thickness, 12 inches * 18 inches in dimension.
- Apply the butter on top of the rolled dough with the help of a basting brush.4 tablespoon Butter
- Mix sugar and cinnamon powder in a bowl and apply it generously on top of the dough and spread it evenly.⅓ cup Brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon Cinnamon powder
- From the smaller edge, roll the dough along with the filling into a tight roll.
- Cut the roll into rolls into 21 pieces of about ¾ inch in size using a serrated knife and place them in the baking tray.
- Arrange them in a Christmas tree shape with 1, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, and 2 rolls in the rows.
Second rise and baking
- For the second rise, cover the tray with a cling wrap and place it in a warm place for about 40 minutes or until they rise to double in volume.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake them uncovered for about 16-18 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Remove the tray from the oven.
Apply cream cheese icing
- Blend the cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar with a hand blender whisk attachment until it is smooth and fluffy.4 oz Cream cheese, 4 tablespoon Butter, 1 cup Powdered sugar, Green food color
- Keep some cream cheese frosting aside for the bottom rolls.
- Mix the green food color into the rest of the cream cheese frosting and mix well.Green food color
- Apply the icing on the cinnamon rolls while they are warm.
- Apply some Christmas-themed sprinkles and decorate with green color icing.
Notes
- For consistent results, weigh the flour while making the dough.
- Bread flour or all-purpose flour can be used to make these rolls.
- For a nice glaze, apply the cream cheese frosting when the rolls are hot.
- The dough can also be proved in a warm place or the oven for about 1 hour before shaping into rolls.
- The dough can also be made in the bread machine. Check out this cinnamon roll recipe for the bread machine.
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