Description
Delicious red velvet cinnamon rolls topped with cream cheese icing.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup Milk (warmed to 110°F)
- 2 1/4 tsp Active dry yeast (or 1 full packet)
- 2 Large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp Red gel food dye (I used americolor super red)
- 4 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/4 cup White granulated sugar
- 10 TBSP Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3/4 cup Brown sugar (packed light or dark)
- 1 TBSP Ground cinnamon
- 1/3 cup Heavy cream
- 4 oz Cream cheese (room temperature)
- 4 TBSP Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 cup Powdered sugar (sifted)
- 2 tsp Pure vanilla extract
- 2 TBSP Milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, heat the milk in the microwave until it reaches 110°F. It should be warm, but not too hot or too cold. Pour in the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Add in the cubed butter into the dry ingredients. Use a pastry blender or your fingers, blend the butter into the dough until the butter is the size of a pea.
- This recipe uses a stand mixer with a dough hook, for mix by hand instructions, see the recipe notes. Add in the milk/yeast mixture, lightly beaten eggs, and red food dye. Mix on low speed until a dough starts to form.
- Then, switch to medium speed and knead the dough for 5 minutes. It should be a bright red dough.
- Preheat the oven to 200°F, spray a large mixing bowl with nonstick spray. Grab the dough and form it into a ball and place in the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel.
- Let it rise for 1 hour until double in size.
- In a small bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Beat until smooth. It will be a thick paste.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle until it is 1/4 inch thick.
- Use an offset icing spatula to spread the cinnamon filling over the dough. Make sure to get the edges.
- Roll the dough starting at the short side. Roll into a tight log. Rolling from the short side lets you get more swirls.
- Use unflavored dental floss or a serrated knife to cut the log. First, cut off the uneven ends. Then, cut evenly into 12 rolls. If using a serrated knife, make sure to make very very gentle sawing motions to not squish the rolls.
- Spray a large pan (9X14 inch casserole pan is best, you can use a 9X13 inch baking pan) with baking nonstick spray. Place the rolls in the pan. Cover with a towel and rise for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ Pour the heavy cream around the rolls in the pan. Bake for 25-27 minutes until the tops of the rolls are lightly golden. Or when the middle of the cinnamon rolls reach 160°F.
- Start this while the rolls are in the oven. In a small bowl using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix on low until smooth. Then, add in the vanilla and milk. It should be a great consistency to use a spoon to spread it on.
- As soon as the rolls are out of the oven, top with the icing. This will allow the icing to melt into the cracks of the rolls.
Notes
- If you prefer to mix by hand, follow the instructions in the recipe notes.
- Make sure the milk is warmed correctly to activate the yeast.
- Let the rolls rise properly for best results.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 350
- Sugar: 17g
- Sodium: 250mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 5g
- Cholesterol: 40mg