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    Home » Recipes » Bread

    Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls

    Published: Jan 13, 2020 Modified: February 1, 2022 by Nina

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    Cinnamon rolls in a baking dish.

    These Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls are made completely from scratch (no cake mix boxes used here!). They are vibrantly red, have a gooey brown sugar and cinnamon filling and are topped with a rich cream cheese frosting.

    A cinnamon roll on a plate.
    Jump straight to the recipe!
    • What ingredients do I need?
    • How do I make cinnamon rolls?
    • Tips
    • 📋 Recipe

    If you love both red velvet cake and cinnamon rolls, then you will love this awesome combination of the two! These are perfect for Valentine's Day, Christmas - or really any occasion that calls for a red treat!

    I used my soft cinnamon rolls recipe as a base for creating this recipe, and changed some ingredients and adding in others. Buttermilk is substituted for the milk, and food colouring is used to get that vibrant red. These red velvet cinnamon rolls are just as fluffy as regular ones, but have a velvety taste to them.

    The filling in these are the same as a regular cinnamon roll - melted butter, brown sugar and lots of cinnamon. And of course cream cheese icing had to be smoothed on top of these! There is no better topping for anything red velvet.

    Love cinnamon rolls, try my recipes for funfetti cinnamon rolls or pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls!

    A baking dish of cinnamon rolls.

    What ingredients do I need?

    • yeast
    • buttermilk - to give the tang that is found in red velvet cake.
    • granulated and brown sugar - granulated for the dough, brown sugar for the filling.
    • large eggs
    • unsalted butter -lots!
    • all purpose flour
    • salt
    • red food colouring - Use gel food colouring. Liquid food colouring will water down the frosting.
    • cinnamon - adjust the amount of cinnamon to your liking.
    • cream cheese - make sure to take the cream cheese out of your fridge at least an hour before you use it so it can soften.
    • confectioner's sugar - to sweeten the icing.
    A closeup of a baking dish of cinnamon rolls.

    How do I make cinnamon rolls?

    For the dough - mix yeast, sugar and warmed buttermilk together. Add in eggs and melted butter and mix.

    Add ¾ of the amount of the flour to those ingredients and knead together. Add in the salt and food colouring and a bit of the remaining flour at a time. Knead until the dough is not sticking and cleans the sides of the bowl. You may not need all the flour, or you may need a bit more.

    Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Roll the dough into a 15x20 inch rectangle and brush all over with melted butter. Generously cover the butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon and then roll it up tightly, starting from the long end. Cut the dough into 12 equal rolls. I used a very sharp knife, but I have heard that floss does a very good job. Just make sure that you don't use a flavoured floss.

    Place the cinnamon rolls into a greased baking dish, cover and let rise until doubled in size. Bake them in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Let them cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

    Mix cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Mix in confectioner's sugar and then spread the frosting all over the top of the cinnamon rolls.

    For more step by step instructions, see the web story for these red velvet cinnamon rolls.

    yeast, sugar and buttermilk in a bowl.
    Dough in a mixer.
    coloured dough in a stand mixer.
    Dough in a bowl ready to double in size.
    Dough that has been doubled in size.
    Rolled out dough.
    butter, brown sugar and cinnamon on rolled out dough.
    Rolled up dough.
    Cut the cinnamon rolls into 12 even slices.
    Cinnamon rolls in a buttered casserole dish.
    Baked cinnamon rolls.
    Can these be made ahead?

    Yes, after you put the unbaked cinnamon rolls into their dish, cover and place it into the fridge overnight. In the morning, bring the rolls to room temperature and then allow them to double in size before baking them.

    How to roll cinnamon rolls

    After the dough has risen to double in size, you are ready to roll it out. Flour your worktop and place the dough on it. Flour the top of the dough so it doesn't stick to your rolling pin. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle, 15x20 inches. After you have rolled the dough, spread the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon all over it. Roll up the dough from the longest side and cut it into 12 even slices.

    How to store leftovers?

    Cream cheese is okay sitting out at room temperature for about 8 hours. Beyond that, the cinnamon rolls need to be refrigerated. Make sure they are kept in an airtight container so they don't dry out. Reheat the cinnamon rolls in the microwave.

    A cinnamon roll on a plate.

    Tips

    • Don't overheat the buttermilk. Anything over 115°F will kill the yeast and then the dough will not rise. Dip your finger into the milk. It should feel warm, not hot.
    • The amount of flour needed in the dough, all depends on humidity. Don't be alarmed if you need to use less or even a bit more then the recipe indicates.
    • If the cinnamon rolls are browning too quickly in the oven, place some tin foil lightly over the tops of them and continue baking.
    • For overnight cinnamon rolls, follow the recipe until the end of step 6. Cover the baking dish of cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until morning. The next day, let the cinnamon rolls come to room temperature and then double in size. This can take a few hours. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven onto a wire rack and spread the cream cheese topping over the tops of them.

    Here are some other recipes you might like:

    • SOFT CINNAMON ROLLS
    • SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH RASPBERRY ICING
    • RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH CREAM CHEESE ICING
    • RED VELVET CHEESECAKE TRIFLE
    • PINK VELVET SWISS ROLL WITH WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

    📋 Recipe

    A red velvet cinnamon roll on a plate.

    Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls

    Nina
    These soft Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls have all the fluffy goodness of a cinnamon roll, and is made tender with buttermilk. These can be made overnight too!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
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    Prep Time 1 hr 30 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 50 mins
    Course Dessert, Snack
    Cuisine North American
    Servings 12 rolls
    Calories 497 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    Dough

    • 1 teaspoon yeast
    • 1 cup buttermilk, warm
    • ¼ cup granulated sugar
    • 2 large eggs room temperature
    • ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
    • 5 cups all purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons red liquid food colouring
    • 1 teaspoon salt

    Filling

    • ¼ cup butter softened
    • 1 cup brown sugar packed
    • 2½ tablespoons ground cinnamon

    Topping

    • 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
    • ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
    • 1 cup icing sugar

    Instructions
     

    • For the dough, place yeast, sugar and warm buttermilk in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add eggs and melted butter and stir to combine.
    • Weigh out the flour into a separate bowl. Add ¾ of the amount of flour to the other ingredients. Add salt and food colouring and knead.
    • Add in remaining flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough just cleans the side of the bowl. You may not need to use all the flour. If the dough is still sticky, remove it to a floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes.
    • Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm environment until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
    • Place the risen dough onto a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 15x20 inches.
    • Brush the dough all over with melted butter and then sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon. Roll the dough starting at the long side of the rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 rolls and place them into a greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
    • If you are baking the rolls right away, preheat oven to 350°F. Cover the cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and allow them to double in size, about 30 minutes. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes. If the tops of the rolls are browning too quickly, lightly cover them with tin foil.
    • To make the cream cheese icing, whisk cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add In icing sugar and whisk until combined. Spread the topping over the tops of cinnamon rolls right when they come out of the oven.

    Notes

      1. Don't overheat the buttermilk. Anything over 115°F will kill the yeast and then the dough will not rise. Dip your finger into the milk. It should feel warm, not hot.
      2. The amount of flour needed in the dough, all depends on humidity. Don't be alarmed if you need to use less or even a bit more then the recipe indicates.
      3. If the cinnamon rolls are browning too quickly in the oven, place some tin foil lightly over the tops of them and continue baking.
      4. For overnight cinnamon rolls, follow the recipe until the end of step 6. Cover the baking dish of cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until morning. The next day, let the cinnamon rolls come to room temperature and then double in size. This can take a few hours. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven onto a wire rack and spread the cream cheese topping over the tops of them.

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    Nutrition

    Serving: 12gCalories: 497kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 9gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 300mgPotassium: 171mgFiber: 3gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 620IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe? Follow me on Instagram!Mention @ninakneadstobake or tag #ninakneadstobake!

    More Bread Recipes

    • Gingerbread Latte Loaf with Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Apple Butter Cinnamon Swirl Bread
    • Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls {overnight}
    • Easy Pepperoni Stromboli

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    Hi, I'm Nina! I am a self-taught baker and have a love for baking and trying new techniques. Here you will find easy step-by-step sweet and savoury recipes, with lots of tips.

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