A Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree is a most festive way to enjoy these classic pastries. This recipe starts with my favorite quick cinnamon roll dough, which is easy to make and perfectly soft and fluffy. You could even wake up early on Christmas morning to whip these together before opening presents!
I have a confession: I’m a last minute Christmas shopper. I way overthink what I should buy for everyone, so it results in me pushing it off until last minute. It’s funny–this year, I was caught up in my head on whether my boyfriend would enjoy the gift I was planning on buying him that I straight up asked him if he wanted it (it was this pair of shoes he had been torn on haha). So…he knows exactly what he is getting already.
Anyways, I finally finished up my gift shopping this past weekend aka I did 100% of my shopping this past weekend. I also had to buy a Secret Santa gift for a co-worker this year and pushed it off so much to the last minute that I scrambled to find a retailer who would deliver something to her home in time for our virtual gift exchange.
Enough about my last minute shopping tendencies though–the purpose of this post is to share a recipe for this very festive Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree!
Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree
This tree-shaped bake would be perfect for Christmas morning! Even better, it is easy to make and comes together in just around 90 minutes. So if you want to be last minute like me with my gift buying, then this is a perfect homemade breakfast recipe for you!
It starts with my favorite quick cinnamon roll dough, which uses rapid rise yeast to speed the process along. The rolls are soft, fluffy, and oozing with warm cinnamon and brown sugar. They are arranged into a tree shape, baked to perfection, and then frosted with a classic vanilla buttercream.
Ingredients Needed
To make this Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree, you will need:
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher Salt
- Rapid Rise (Instant) Yeast: not to be confused with active dry yeast! A packet of rapid rise yeast contains smaller particles and a few added enzymes that will help the dough rise faster. While traditional cinnamon rolls require two rises, this recipe only requires one.
- Warm milk: use any milk of your choosing–whole milk yields the best results, but I’ve also made these before with non-dairy milks. Alternatively, for a fun twist you could use eggnog! Just make sure to warm whatever you choose to around 110 degrees F.
- Granulated sugar
- One egg, at room temperature.
- Melted unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- More unsalted butter, brown sugar, and of course, cinnamon for the filling
- Even more butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla extract, milk, and salt for the frosting.
- Optional: holiday sprinkles for decorating
How to Make a Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree
Make the dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Since we are using rapid rise yeast, there is no need to dissolve the yeast in liquid first. In a separate bowl, whisk the sugar into the warm milk to dissolve it. Then, turn on the mixer and pour in the milk, followed by the butter, egg, and then vanilla. Knead the dough for 6-7 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and pulls cleaning from the sides of the bowl.
What texture should the dough have? The dough will start off sticky, but will become less so as you continue kneading and building up the gluten. There is this magical moment when it goes from being a sticky mess to a smooth dough. However, add a tablespoon or two more flour if needed to help bring the dough together. The final dough should be tacky, but pull cleanly away from your fingers. Let it rest for five minutes.
Fill, Roll, Rise, Bake
Roll the dough out to a large 12″x14″ rectangle, and spread it with the cinnamon-sugar filling. Tightly roll the rectangle into a long log, and then cut it into 11 equal sized pieces, which is how many you need to form the tree.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. If you have a rimless baking sheet, then I recommend that to give the rolls more room to spread! Arrange the rolls into a five-row tree shape, following a 1-2-3-4-1 pattern (see the picture below). Make sure to space them 1.5″ apart to give them room to grow!
Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes, or until almost doubled in size. Then, bake them for 20-23 minutes, or until they start to turn golden brown. Be careful to not over-bake and dry out the rolls!
Frost and Decorate
While the rolls are baking, whip together a classic vanilla buttercream frosting by beating all of the frosting ingredients together in a mixer. I recommend frosting the rolls while they are still warm to let the frosting melt slightly. Nothing better than a hot, gooey, sticky cinnamon bun!
Throw a big handful of holiday spinkles on top and enjoy!
Did You Make This Recipe?
If so, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment, rating, or take a picture and share it with me on Instagram @toppedwithhoney. Looking forward to seeing your festive cinnamon roll trees!
Check out some more holiday recipes here as well!
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Easy Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree
Equipment
- Large flat or rimmed cookie sheet
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour, + more if needed
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2¼ tsp (one packet) rapid rise yeast
- ¾ cup warm milk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Filling
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, slightly melted
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
Frosting
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- holiday sprinkles, for decorating
Instructions
- Combine the flour, salt, and yeast in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. In a separate bowl or cup, stir the warm milk and sugar together until the sugar is dissolved.
- Turn the mixer onto medium-low speed and begin pouring in the warm milk, followed by the butter, and lastly the egg and vanilla. Turn the speed up to medium to continue bringing all of the ingredients together. Knead the dough at medium speed for 6-7 minutes, adding an additional tablespoon of flour at a time if needed. The dough will be very sticky to start, but will become less so as you build up the gluten. Continue kneading until the dough is very elastic and pulls cleanly off the sides of the bowl. Then, let the dough rest for 5-7 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, mix the slightly melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl to prepare the filling. After resting, transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it out into a 12×14 inch rectangle (with the long end facing you). It doesn't have to be a perfect measurement! Spread the filling in an even layer over the dough.
- Starting from the long edge, begin rolling the dough away from you into a tight roll. Pinch the ends to seal the roll and cut it into 11 equal sized pieces.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the rolls into five rows with a 1-2-3-4-1 pattern to form a tree. Make sure to space the rolls 1.5 inches apart to give them room to rise and spread. Cover and let the rolls rise for 30-40 minutes, or until they've grown to at least 1.5x in size.
- While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 20-23 minutes, or until they just start to brown.
- Make the frosting. Using a stand or hand mixer, beat the butter and salt together for around 30 seconds. Then, add the remaining ingredients and until beating on medium-high speed until fluffy. Frost the rolls and then top them with some holiday sprinkles. Enjoy!
Love,
Rools
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