Christmas Tree Mini Cinnamon Rolls Food

CHRISTMAS TREE MINI-CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Wipe your cookie sheet with just a very thin smear of butter or veg oil. Don't overdo!
• 2. Open the crescent rolls and place them end to end ... press the perforations of all the crescent rolls together, forming one long rectangle.
• 3. Spread entire crescent dough rectangle with softened butter.
• 4. Combine the sugar, cinnamon and raisins/craisins all together. Sprinkle the mixture over the crescent dough rectangle. (You can add some pecans to this step, too, if you desire, about 2 or 3 tablespoons, FINELY chopped).
• 5. Roll up the rectangle along the LONG edge. Cut into 22 equal segments. Wiping your sharp knife with a buttered rag each time will make the cutting easier.
• 6. Starting at the top of a large cookie sheet, place ONE roll. The second row will be TWO rolls, pyramid style. The third row will be THREE rolls...and so on, until you have SIX rows. This will use a total of 21 of the cinnamon rolls. The 22nd roll will be placed at the base of the tree for the stem.
• 7. Place in pre-heated oven, and bake for about 20 minutes, until puffy and golden.
• 8. Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar and milk together. Note: you can substitute orange juice or apple juice for the milk. Once you've removed the baked rolls from the oven, drizzle the glaze onto the tree, zig-zag fashion, to resemble garland. Using strawberry flavored powdered sugar makes this especially pretty, and you can decorate "the tree" with cinnamon red-hots or other treats for Christmas morning.
• 9. This will keep the kiddos from starving while they open presents, until you've had a chance to get something together for breakfast!

CHRISTMAS TREE ROLLS

Steps:

• Unroll crescent roll dough into a rectangle. Press seams and perforations to seal; roll lightly with a rolling pin. Spread butter over dough. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side. Seal edge. Cut into 22 slices. To form a tree, place slices on a greased baking sheet with sides touching and cut side up. Place one slice in the top row and two slices in the second row. Repeat with remaining rolls, adding one slice per row, until the tree has six rows. Center the one remaining slice under the last row for a truck. Bake at 350° for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Combine confectioners' sugar and milk; drizzle over warm rolls. Decorate with cherries if desired.

CINNAMON ROLL CHRISTMAS TREES

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.
• Remove the cinnamon rolls from the tube and place on a large cutting board or a clean work surface; reserve the icing for later. Unravel 1 roll into a long strip of dough. Fold the strip in an accordion fashion, making each fold slightly wider than the last, to create a Christmas-tree shape. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining 4 rolls and space the Christmas trees apart on the baking sheet. Bake until golden brown and puffed up, 15 to 17 minutes.
• Meanwhile, stir the green food coloring directly into the container of frosting with a rubber spatula until the desired shade is achieved (we added about 30 drops).
• When the trees are ready, let them cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, transfer the reserved cinnamon roll icing to a small resealable plastic bag and refrigerate until slightly chilled.
• When the trees are cool enough to touch, spread desired amount of green frosting onto each and spread evenly. Garnish with holiday-themed sprinkles. Snip a tiny corner from the bag of icing and pipe a garland onto each tree. Add a yellow candy to the tip of each tree to resemble a star.

CHRISTMAS MORNING CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• For the dough: Combine the milk, granulated sugar, butter, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment and stir to combine well. Add the eggs and stir until well mixed. Add the flour and mix on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.
• Transfer the dough to a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let stand in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Punch the dough down and lightly flour a work surface. Lay the dough out and pat or roll the dough out into an 18-by-12-inch rectangle.
• For the filling: Butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish. Spread the softened butter evenly all over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border, then sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle with the pecans and raisins if using. Starting with a short end, roll up the dough and press and crimp the edges to seal. Cut the dough into 12 slices and arrange them in the buttered baking dish. If you want to bake them the same day, cover with plastic wrap and let stand until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Otherwise, refrigerate overnight; take out of the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before baking.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls until puffed and golden brown all over, about 25 minutes.
• For the icing: Put the confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in the melted butter, vanilla and 4 tablespoons of milk; whisk until smooth. Add additional milk, about 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to achieve a thick but spreadable consistency.
• Spread the icing over the warm cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.

MINI CINNAMON ROLLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Unroll crescent roll dough onto a silicone baking mat or lightly greased work surface and separate into 4 rectangles; firmly press diagonal perforations with your fingers to smooth them out.
• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; sprinkle mixture evenly over rectangles.
• Roll each rectangle into a log starting from the longer side; cut each log into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange mini cinnamon rolls close to one another on the baking sheet.
• Bake the mini cinnamon rolls in the preheated oven until golden, 10 to 13 minutes. Transfer baked rolls to a plate and set aside to cool for 1 minute.
• Combine the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together in a small bowl to make a smooth icing. Pour icing over warm rolls.