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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting

Here's an early Valentine's Day for all you lovers out there... Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting!! They are a play off of one of our favorite recipes, Red Hot Velvet Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting. That combination was so delicious before, so why  not use it again? Well, this time I applied it to everyone's favorite breakfast treat, cinnamon rolls. I made the dough with classic red velvet ingredients... buttermilk, white vinegar, red food coloring, and just a little bit of cocoa powder. I let the dough rest overnight, and then I rolled them out this morning and filled them with melted butter, sugar, and lots of cinnamon. I cut them into 12 large rolls, but you could easily make smaller ones if you would like, but what's the fun in that? The cinnamon rolls are slathered in a tangy cinnamon-cream cheese frosting, which just makes them that much better. Duh. These Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls are little bit cake-ier than the classic recipes, but still delicious! I love the bright color, it just screams "love" doesn't it? I hope you will enjoy these will someone you love because I am right now, and they are wonderful!! Enjoy :)
Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls 
Up Close
A Thick Layer of Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting
Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cinnamon-Cream Cheese Frosting
Ready to Eat!!
For the Cinnamon Rolls:
2C Buttermilk (minus 2T)
2T White Distilled Vinegar
½C Vegetable Oil
½C Sugar
2-3oz Red Food Coloring (or to the color of your liking)
1 Package of Active Dry Yeast (0.25oz Packets)
3 ¾C AP Flour + ½C AP Flour
¼C Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
½t Baking Powder, Heaping
½t Baking Soda, Scant
1t Salt, Heaping

For the Filling:
1-2C Butter, Melted or Completely Softened**
1C Sugar
Generous Sprinkling of Cinnamon

For the Frosting:
8oz Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
2C Confectioners’ Sugar
Cinnamon (to your liking)
1 Stick of Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
½t Vanilla
Festive Valentine’s Day Sprinkles & Crushed Red Hot Candies, For Decoration

Directions:
1. For the Rolls: Measure out the 2C buttermilk in a large measuring cup, and then remove 2T of the buttermilk and substitute by adding in the 2T of white vinegar. Mix the buttermilk, vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, and red food coloring in a pot. Heat the mixture until just before the boiling point. Turn off the heat and leave to cool for 45 minutes to an hour. Meanwhile, sift together the 3 ¾C AP flour with the ¼C unsweetened cocoa powder, and set it aside. When the milk mixture is warm (but not hot), sprinkle in the package of yeast. Let it sit for a minute or two, and then add in the sifted flour-cocoa powder. Stir the mixture and cover, and then let it rise for at least an hour.
2. After rising for an hour, add in ½C AP Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir the mixture together. Refrigerate the dough overnight to help it become firm and better for presentation.
3. The next day, sprinkle a rolling surface generously with flour. Take the dough and form a rough rectangle, and then roll the dough out to about ¼-½inch thick (depending on your preference), while making sure to maintain a rough rectangular shape from before. Once rolled out, proceed to the filling step.
4. For the Filling: Smear or spread on the amount of butter you prefer over your rectangular dough, either one to two cups. I used 1C of the very soft butter (but some people prefer melted, I find that melted butter is more messy and harder to work with). Now, sprinkle 1C of sugar over the butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon (this is up to how much cinnamon you like, we like a lot).
5. Now, starting at the opposite end, begin rolling the dough in a neat line toward you. Keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Next, pinch the seam of the roll to seal it. Spray a 13x9-baking pan with Pam, and set it aside. Then, begin cutting the rolls into approximately 10-12 thick round rolls and place them into the prepared buttered pans. Let the rolls rise for an hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
7. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.
8. To Make the Frosting: Mix together all of the ingredients and stir well until smooth. Generously drizzle over the warm rolls. 
9. Serve immediately and enjoy while they are still warm. 

**This is where you need to make a decision. I myself prefer to work with very, very soft butter because every time I have used melted butter, the buns turn out very messy and hard to roll, etc. But, I know that other cooks, like the Pioneer Woman and Paula Deen prefer melted. It is truly up to you. I also referred to a few recipes and many of them used up to TWO CUPS of butter for their rolls. I didn't want to use that amount (because it would get messy and I felt that it was not necessary), so I only used 1C of butter, but if you feel that you need a little more, then you can obviously do so. When it comes to cinnamon, we like a lot, but this once again comes to taste, so use your best judgement and whether or not you like a good bit of cinnamon (keep in mind that the frosting does have cinnamon as well). Another method that I have recently tried and liked is making a compound butter to spread between the rolls. I cream together the very soft butter, sugar, and cinnamon (and sometimes a little more cocoa powder for an extra chocolate-y taste) in a standing mixer until light, fluffy, and completely incorporated and gently spread/smear that compound butter on the dough. I preferred this because the sugar and cinnamon do not fall out like I have experienced in the past. So, I would urge you to give that a try because I really do think the rolls have a better presentation. I hope that this can clear up any misunderstandings regarding the recipe. Please comment below if there are any questions that need to be answered. XOXO, Juliana (9/23/12)**


source: cinnamon rolls

66 comments:

  1. you are a genius! i haev seen red velvet cake, cookies and brownies, but never have i seen red velvet cinnamon rolls! my salivary glands are going crazy right now!

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  2. I mean let's be honest here, red velvet makes everything better. I could seriously eat it any way. I really want to try your red velvet brownies, they look delicious!

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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  3. I made these this last weekend, and they were superb! Thanks for the inspiration and recipe. I just love love love your site and I can't wait to make some more of your treats. I also made your Revamped Shrimp & Grits, and they were one of the best meals I have ever had!

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  4. I'm so happy you liked the Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls and the Shrimp & Grits! Thanks for all the love and can't wait to hear if more recipes worked out for you in the future!

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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  5. Great minds think alike - I Just made Red Velvet rolls this week and they were so tasty! I was told you made some too so I had to come see for myself. I love the Red Hot spicy twist :)

    Here's my link to mine.
    http://www.countrycleaver.com/2012/04/red-velvet-rolls.html

    Happy Red Velveting! ~Megan Country Cleaver

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  6. That's how we feel as well, I swear I have soooo many red velvet recipes, from cake to cinnamon rolls to even fried chicken. I'm just bizarre like that! I hope y'all like the recipe, lemme know!

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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  7. A girl after my heart!!! So thrilled to see that someone from the younger generation with a passion for cooking like I had! Very rewarding and your idea is "plum genius"!!!! I will be trying this this weekend!!!!

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  8. Is something incorrect in this recipe? Why would you use Buttermilk and then remove 2 T. and add 2 T. of vinegar? I'm wondering if the directions are wrong and it is telling you to do it this way in order to use regular milk (soured with 2 T. vinegar to make buttermilk) If anyone has made this, did you do it exactly like the directions said to. This doesn't make any sense to me!

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  9. Haha yes, I have always loved cooking at a young age, but really didn't learn how to do it or how to create my own dishes until I moved out and went to college, and I no longer had my dear mother to cook for me all the time :) Thanks for the sweet comments, and please let me know if you have any questions or let me know how it goes!

    For the questions...
    Growing up in the South, my mother's red velvet cake recipe always called for buttermilk, vinegar, cocoa powder, and red dye. Those were the key ingredients to truly making that rich, tangy cake that is loved here down south. Typically I would use whole milk for cinnamon rolls, but for these red velvet rolls, I wanted to substitute buttermilk. I also wanted to add vinegar (because of my favorite cake recipe), but I did not want to add too much moisture/liquid and throw off the texture of these rolls. So, I called for 2C minus 2T in order to substitute in the white vinegar. Obviously, buttermilk is already tangy, so feel free to skip the vinegar all together and just do 2C Buttermilk. When making this recipe, I simply measure the 2C Buttermilk in a large measuring glass and remove 2T of the buttermilk back into the container or just throw it away, and then I add in the 2T of vinegar into the buttermilk mixture. I'm sorry that the directions came off unclear, and I hope this explanation helps. If this is too stubborn of a recipe, feel free just to use whole milk instead of the buttermilk + vinegar. I will say this, these are not like "typical" cinnamon rolls. They truly resemble cake in their texture, as opposed to the buttery, light texture of a good 'ole cinnamon roll. It is kind of like eating a "rolled-up" cupcake. I included this description in the above introduction. Please let me know if I need to explain anything else to help you out!! I'm just a home cook, feelin' my way through the kitchen, so I know I need to work on making my directions a little more clear :)

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your reply about the buttermilk/vinegar!

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    2. No problem! Hope it helps :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  10. Thank you so much for this recipe and these beautiful pictures. I am starving for one of this cinnamon rolls right now! ;-)

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    1. Let me know if the recipe works for you! And... I'm working on my picture-taking. Right now, I don't have a very good camera, but I'm researching some better digital cameras to help improve the look of my recipes & overall look of my blog! So hopefully that'll come up shortly :) Thanks for the love!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  11. I am so sad. I made these and the dough consistency was very much so like a batter and I couldn't get them to roll out or roll up! :( I'm keeping on with the hopes that maybe it will be a good cake? Very sad day.

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    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry to hear that, and I'm not quite sure what happened. I have made these twice now and had 3 friends make this recipe, and we all had great results. When I made the recipe, the dough was easily rolled out into a square and rolled up. I don't know how it would be as a cake because it does have yeast in the recipe, and I'm not sure that would work. Once again, I'm sorry that the recipe didn't work for you :( I'm very sad indeed.

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  12. Hi,

    I made these last night / this morning. I added a little more chocolate to the cinnamon mixture and by god they were freakin awesome.

    To Morgan: I did follow the I instructions and refrigerate the dough overnight and I rolled it out this morning with no issue of consistency... I do hope you try again, I will be definitely be making these again!

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    Replies
    1. Danyelle,

      I'm glad to hear that they worked out for you as well. And I bet more chocolate would be delicious :) So happy to hear that they were freakin' awesome for you!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  13. Wow, this is genius!! Another red velvet recipe to add to my baking list!

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    Replies
    1. Haha, I know, I swear I have a baking list filled with just red velvet recipes! It's the best :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  14. We made these today, and let me say they were an instant winner! The recipe is easy enough to make on any weeknight as well if you want to take some treats to work as I often do. I live in a higher elevation and the next time I make them I will be adding a little more flour

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad that y'all loved them! They really aren't that difficult to make, just kind of a long process! But, something you could easily do the night before and have them ready for breakfast the next day! I have never had to deal with cooking/baking in a higher elevation, but I have heard it can mess with some recipes. Glad you liked them :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  15. Eating my first one! Fabulous!

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    Replies
    1. Yes! I'm glad they were fabulous!!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  16. Can you use already made red velvet cake batter instead of making the dough? How would that change the recipe?

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    Replies
    1. You know... that's a good question. I have no idea how that would work, simply because I don't know the exact measurements of flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder, etc. So I wouldn't be able to look at the ingredients and see if they would transfer into the recipe. Especially since this recipe requires adding in yeast in order for them to rise. I would just think it would change the recipe too much causing them not to taste as good :( But, if you can figure out a way to do that, then please let me know!!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  17. I'm currently in the process of making these a surprise for my husband for his birthday! I had to get the dough ready yesterday while he was cutting the grass :) Thanks for the recipe and the great pictures! :) Although, mine were not near as beautiful when I sliced them! Hopefully they'll look more uniform after they bake!

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    1. What a great surprise... my mountain man loves when I surprise him with some yummy food! I will say that making cinnamon rolls kinda takes practice. Especially trying to roll them up super tight, but I got better with it once I made them a few times. I'm sure they will look great when the puff up a little bit, and hey, who cares? They are cinnamon rolls right? Haha, let me know how it went! Happy birthday to your husband :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  18. Haha, I agree, these should probably not be made all the time. But hey, it's good to be bad every now & then. Thanks for stopping by and telling me about your experience, I'm going to head on over there now and check it out! Thanks for the love :)

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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  19. I started making these last night, nervous because I've never did any real baking like this. Not sure how the dough is supposed to look, still seemed wet and sticky when I put it in the frige last night. So wish me luck! Lol

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    1. Ok, first attempt didn't turn out good... Can I get a volunteer to make and send to me to back? Lol:-(

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    2. Boo, I'm sorry :( I don't know why some people's batter has been overly wet because every time I make them they are easily handled. I hope you can give them another try sometime because they really are such a sweet treat! But maybe we can open up a hotline and mail these babies all of the country, then you'd be set!! Hopefully my other recipes will work out for you in the future!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  20. I have a question. I have made these before and they were to die for. But seeing as Know don't have any all purpose flour. Could you make these with self rising flour?

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed them :) I would say that you probably should stick to using AP Flour, just because self-rising flour contains a certain amount of baking powder in it, so I don't think they could be substituted. But, maybe you are a math wiz, unlike me, and you can figure out the measurements :) Please let me know if they worked (if you try it)!!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  21. Hi Juliana,

    I'm planning to try this recipe but I am wondering if it's going to fill the half aluminium baking tray??

    Thank you

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    1. You know, I think I cut mine a little too big or too small, otherwise I think you could easily fill up at 13x9 baking dish. But, if you are worried about that, you can always do it in a several small pie tins as well. I hope this helps & I hope they turn out for you!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  22. Hey Juliana! I posted my first attempt at making these a while back, and decided that with being at a higher elevation that I would add more flour. Well I added 1 cup at the 2nd addition and that seemed to be just the right amount. I have been off of work for surgery for close to 2 months now, and will be bringing these to my office as a thank you to all those who kept everything running while I recovered. I must also thank you, since I found your site it has helped me get through these days, giving me something to look forward to each time you post something new. Miss B

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    1. I'm so glad that you kept tinkering with the recipe, I know that some bakers do have difficulty pulling off desserts because of higher elevation... luckily for me, I don't have to worry about it. The only thing that seems to mess up my recipes is the extreme humidity & heat. But, I hope that your surgery went well and you are off to a speedy recovery. I know how you must feel because I myself have had 22 surgeries... and I'm only 23. So I've been around the block a few too many times! I'm glad that my blog could be of some comfort to you and I want to thank you as well for being such an avid reader (and commenter). It sure brightens up my day to read about everyone's baking adventures. I hope many of my recipes will work for you in the future. Thanks for all the love!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  23. When you say T. , does this mean teaspoon or tablespoon?

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  24. I found this via Pinterest a long time ago and am just now getting to the recipe so I can send it to my best friend who is a major red velvet fan! Thanks for sharing it!

    Helen
    Blue Eyed Beauty Blog

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    Replies
    1. Let me know how it works for you and thanks for commenting!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  25. Just saw these on pinterest and was wondering if you have tried making the dough in a bread machine? Do you know what order to put the ingredients in?

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    1. You know, I have never used a bread machine before, so I am completely out of the loop when it comes to that, if you do find out how to do it, let me know!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  26. OMG... Thanks for sharing! Delisicous!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting! I look forward to hopefully many more!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  27. I like the idea of red velvet cinnamon buns, but the directions are horrible. Me and my mom were making these and because we didn't want to mess up we followed everything word for word. We started asking..."what are we supposed to do with the 2C of melted butter?" There is nothing in the directions about this.

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    Replies
    1. I'm sorry that my directions were unclear or confusing, I have made them plenty and did not find them confusing. However, I will update the recipe tonight with more descriptive details, and hopefully that will help. I personally do not claim to be a professional cook, so I am working on how to clarify my steps as well as possible in my posts. I'm sorry the directions were "horrible", but I hope that you can respect that I am working through this just like everyone else. If you want check back tonight for an updated version, then please do.

      Happy Cooking,
      Juliana

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  28. I love this idea. I am making these for my mother in law's birthday today. The directions could use a little more clarity...I think the too wet dough issue may be caused by adding the melted butter to the dough instead of saving it for the "filling". I had a brief moment of panic after my dough was in the fridge when I read back through the ingredients and saw that I did not use any butter! My suggestion would be to list the"filling" ingredients separate from the"dough" ingredients. Also, on the"filling" it looks like you list one to two cups of melted butter...this seemed like it was a lot (I used about a cup and a half -melted) and I had to briefly refrigerate my roll to solidify the butter some before I was able to slice it....a lot of the filing oozed out while rolling and slicing. I opted to use half white sugar and half brown sugar on the filling (not sure if this was the cause of the oozing or not) They are rising now and I can't wait to try and share them because they look delicious even before they are cooked! Thank you for the recipe!!

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  29. Thank you for the comments, I am aware my directions can come off as confusing. And tonight I will post an updated recipe that will hopefully clear up any problems. However, I hope the cinnamon rolls turned out well, like they did for me. Feel free to check back tonight for the new version. Thank you for commenting.

    XOXO,
    Juliana

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  30. holy moly!!! i made these tonight for my red velvet cake loving husband's birthday...they're a new family favorite!!!

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    Replies
    1. So glad to hear that!! Happy birthday to your husband :) Hope y'all had a wonderful celebration and thank you for the feedback!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  31. WHAT. These look freaking awesome.

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  32. i tried this recipe last night and my dough came out sticky. Can I save the dough or will I have to start over?

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    Replies
    1. I have had some people say their dough came out runny, but never sticky. My batter was just barely sticky, but easily handled. I was able to push the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it out with a rolling pin. I don't know why some people have a great success with these, while others fall flat. I would say you might be able to add more flour to help stabilize it some, but it could make the texture a lot denser and cake-like. If I were you, I would start over. Do you live somewhere the altitude could affect your baked goods? Because I have had people tell me that was the culprit of their dough being messy. And I know that if it is too hot or humid that it can affect the yeast rising correctly. I have made them numerous times and have never had an issue with the dough before, so I'm not sure what I can do to help. I would assume it has to do with the altitude, heat/humidity, or maybe you miscalculated your flour measurements. I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you, please let me know if you do try to make them again!!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  33. I absolutely LOVE anything Red Velvet so I will definitely be making these but I have a question. What is 3 ¾C AP Flour? What is AP flour?

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    1. AP Flour= All Purpose

      For other recipes:
      WW Flour= Whole Wheat
      And I also use Cake Flour and Bread Flour as well.

      Hope that helps :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  34. Hi,

    These look awesome. I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing them and has it worked? I would like to know if anyone has been able to fight the urge to gobble them up right away and put them in the freezer. Please let me know.

    Thanks, Vicki

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    Replies
    1. I have not tried freezing them, simply because every time I make them, they get gobbled up so fast! But, I know that people freeze some cinnamon roll recipes before they have risen, so that they have them for a rainy day. What I would do if I were you would be to go through the entire dough and assembly steps. After you have rolled up the dough and cut them into rolls, I would place however many red velvet rolls you want into a pan to rise, and put some others in the freezer, and just bake the amount you need (that way you wouldn't have a ton of them laying around). After you freeze them, you can take them out and defrost them, then let them rise and spread in a warm, draft-free place in your house. Once they have risen, then you can bake up the second batch. However, I can't guarantee that it won't mess up the texture, but it certainly worth a try... maybe by even freezing one as a taste-tester! I hope this will help, but I haven't tried it myself, so there's no way to know for sure. If you do freeze them, please let me know how it works, so I can do the same :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  35. Do you ever make fudge? There is a store in VT that has to die for red velvet cheesecake fudge. I have been looking for a copycat recipe and I have only found red velvet fudge. It wouldn't be quite the same without the cheesecake part. You seem to have a lot of interesting red velvet recipes, so I thought it was worth asking. Looking forward to trying these rolls for Christmas breakfast!

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    1. You know, I have only made fudge a couple times before, just simply because it has never been a dessert I have loved. I won't turn down a piece, that's for sure, but have never been motivated to make it. But you have certainly inspired me to make some for this Christmas! Right now, I'm in the process of making about 20 different batches of Christmas cookie dough that I'm preparing now, then freezing, and defrosting just before Christmas, so that I can deliver a variety pack to friends & family. I think that would be a great addition to my Christmas dessert boxes, so I will try to find a recipe and post it with in the next month, and if not I'll write back on here and tell you if i have a recipe and I can give it to you personally. Thanks for the idea, hopefully I can help you out some :)

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  36. Just thought I would share, made these for Christmas morning this year, they were wonderful! But the best comment was from my oldest brother. While I was making them, he looked at them fresh out of the oven and no frosting, and said "Umm they look like cow patties" (We grew up on a farm, so we have experience. After eating them an hour or two later he comes up to me "Best cow patties EVER" I giggled for several minutes!

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    1. Ha, I would have to agree that they might not be the prettiest things on Earth... but they are quite tasty! Thanks for the colorful story, I love to hear about what people think!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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  37. When I heated the buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, oil and red dye it formed little red lumps. Everywhere online says it is okay if it curdles, but this seems strange to me. My dough now has tiny red specks in it. Is this normal?

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    Replies
    1. This doesn't sound right to me. When I made mine, my buttermilk did not curdle at all and there were no red lumps or specks in it. So I would have to agree with you that something has gone wrong. Maybe the buttermilk isn't very fresh or maybe you could heat the buttermilk mixture at a lower temperature to stop the curdling process? I haven't heard of this happening before, but I will try to do some research about what you could do to avoid it. Hopefully I can find something to help you out!

      XOXO,
      Juliana

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    2. Thank you, since I agree. It isn't right. I think maybe it was too heated (though it didn't boil). The buttermilk is fresh.

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