Turn traditional cinnamon rolls into memorable Christmas Tree Cinnamon Twists!
So many of us serve cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. I thought it was just my family, but then I married into The Good Guy’s family and realized that it was a much more wide-spread tradition. As I have grown older and talked with friends about their holidays, it seems like many people serve something sweet while presents are being opened. So, after I found a photo of a Christmas tree shaped cinnamon roll with no directions, I set about fixing that problem. This Christmas Tree Cinnamon Twist is sure to put smiles on everyone’s faces!
You can use any yeast based cinnamon roll recipe for this. Unfortunately, however, you cannot use frozen rolls or refrigerated rolls. You need to start with large rolled out sheets of dough and obviously that would not work with pre-made cinnamon rolls. I am trying to think of how you could make this easier: frozen bread dough would work, but it would not be as sweet.
I opted to use my 60 minute cinnamon roll recipe. It’s an easy one and like it’s name, it goes together quickly.
Now folks, I want you to realize that I made these without shaping directions. I had pinned a photo similar to mine 2 years ago, but there were no directions or recipe that went with it. Honestly, it is really frustrating to find something amazing on Pinterest and find out that it is just a photo…with no valuable link attached. It’s bad form, you know. Anyway, once I realized I was on my own, I had to put on my thinking cap. It wouldn’t work to fold the dough like a braided loaf because those are rectangles. I needed a triangle of sorts to make a tree shape. So here is what I did:
Christmas Tree Cinnamon Twists
- I rolled the dough out into a very large square.
- Next, I cut it diagonally into two triangles.
- I placed one directly on my biggest rimmed baking sheet and put the butter and cinnamon/sugar mixture on it.
- Then, I carefully picked up the other triangle and place it on top.
- I adjusted the shape, just like working with clay or play-dough, into a good tree.
- I made cuts from either side in toward the center, leaving a “trunk” in the middle.
- Then, I twisted the boughs all the way down.
- I trimmed off some dough to form the bottom of the tree.
- Let it rise for 25 minutes, then bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes
- To decorate the tree, I made the icing and put some on the bottom, then I tinted it green and spread it over the rest of the tree.
- In my house, sprinkles make everything fancy, so I shook some all over.
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