Snowflake Cinnamon Roll
Festive cinnamon roll snowflake sliced, twisted, and baked for the perfect holiday treat! Get easy, step-by-step instructions for turning my famous cinnamon roll dough into a beautiful snowflake. Such a fun baking project to surprise and delight loved ones during the holiday season!
Servings 10 servings
Ingredients
- Dough
- 1 recipe for cinnamon roll dough
- Filling and topping
- ⅔ cup (142 grams) packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) salted butter, softened
- 3 tablespoons or heavy cream, for brushing
- Frosting
- 4 oz (112 grams) cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup (85 grams) powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the dough: Make my cinnamon roll dough and allow it to rise until doubled in size as directed (also known as the first rise).
- Make the cinnamon sugar filling: In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar and cinnamon together and stir with a fork until combined. Set aside.
- After the first rise of the dough, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll out each of those pieces into an approximate 8 inch circle. It doesn’t have to be perfect but they should be roughly the same size.
- Roll out the dough: Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and place 1 of the 8-inch dough circles on it. Spread 2 tablespoons of softened butter evenly over the top, then evenly sprinkle about 3 heaping tablespoons of the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the butter and pat the cinnamon sugar into the butter. Repeat with the second dough circle, butter and cinnamon sugar, and again with the third dough circle, butter and cinnamon sugar. Finally, top with the fourth (and final) dough circle (do not add butter or cinnamon sugar on top of the last one).
- Cut the dough: Place a small metal cookie cutter in the center of the dough. This will be your cutting guide so you don’t cut all the way through the middle of the dough. Cutting from the edge of the cookie cutter towards you, cut the dough into 4 equal pieces. Use 12 o’clock, 3, 6 and 9 as your guide. Once you have those 4 cuts, cut each of those sections in half for a total of 8 sections. Then cut those 8 sections in half again for a total of 16 even sections.
- Assemble the snowflake: Next grab two pieces of the dough at a time and twist away from each other about 2 times. Then pinch the ends of the dough together. Repeat the process all the way around the circle. Lightly brush the entire dough with milk or heavy cream. Once done, cover with a warm towel to allow it to rise a bit while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake: Once preheated, bake the snowflake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes until nice and lightly golden brown.
- Prepare the cream cheese frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. (Alternatively, whisk the frosting by hand.)
- Frost or top the snowflake: Add about half of the frosting on top of the snowflake if desired or just dust with powdered sugar and use frosting for dipping the pieces. Serves 8 to 10.
Notes
To make dairy-free: use vegan butter and dairy-free cream cheese.
To make overnight:
- Follow the recipe through Step 6, after you've twisted the dough into your snowflake shape and brushed it with milk.
- Cover the entire snowflake tightly with plastic wrap and a towel, and place it in the fridge overnight or up to 18 hours.
- In the morning, remove from the fridge 30 to 45 minutes before baking, preheat the oven, and then bake as directed.