Revamped : Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing Glaze

Revamped: Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing Glaze

By far + away, the single-most FAVORITE recipe here on PLC are my Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls. They are probably my greatest creation. Actually at the time when I first concocted the idea of this "dessert for breakfast", it was the only one on the internet. Now different versions are popping up EVERYWHERE. So, I am very proud to say that this was the ORIGINAL idea behind the celebrity. Anyway, I am a firm believer in that everything can be improved upon, so why not revamp the most visited recipe on my site? Well, it happened that my Mountain Man's place of work had a Valentine's Day Bake Off, so I knew I just had to enter my Red Hot Velvet Cinnamon Rolls to be judged. I changed a few things around a bit this time though. Firstly, I took out the cocoa powder in the dough. I felt like that made the cinnamon rolls a bit cake-y in texture, so I wanted to achieve a more yeasted cinnamon roll this time around. But of course, in order for it to be considered "red velvet", there's gotta be buttermilk, red dye, vinegar, and cocoa powder. Instead, I sifted cocoa powder on top of the butter, sugar and cinnamon for a lightly chocolatey filling. It was perfect. To make sure the rolls were extra puffy, I used instant yeast instead of active dry yeast, but either will work for y'all, I'm sure. Also, I felt like my cream cheese frosting was a tad bit thick last time, so this go-around, I whipped up a cream cheese icing glaze. It's still thick enough the coat the rolls, but it is thin enough that in seeps into the middle of the rolls... making them extra gooey. And that's all we want, amirite?! We added some cinnamon into our cream cheese glaze, for a little more spice, but you can easily leave it out, no worries!! As for the garnishes, we found some nifty red velvet cake sprinkles to sprinkle over the top to be super festive and they were awesome! But you can also use any Valentine's Day themed sprinkles or crushed red hots. It's up to y'all!! These are 10 times better than the original, so I hope y'all can get around to makin' them soon!! Enjoy (we sho' did) :)

roll out the red velvet dough with some flour...

spread the melted butter everywhere...

sift over some cocoa powder, cover with sugar, + sprinkle on a mess of
cinnamon (and press gently down so it adheres together)

and tightly roll them up...

so they look gorgeous like this...

and this...

then proof them, so they rise a bit and look like this...

then bake them until they are huge + puffy

and cover them in the cream cheese icing glaze...

and finish them with some sprinkles, butofcourse!

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 Instant or Active Dry Yeast (0.25oz Packets)

4C AP Flour + ½C AP Flour

½t Baking Powder, Heaping

½t Baking Soda, Scant

1t Salt, Heaping

1C Butter, Melted

1-2T Cocoa Powder (depending on how chocolate-y you like it)

1C Sugar

Generous Sprinkling of Cinnamon

For the Frosting:

4oz Cream Cheese, Softened

7T Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 ½C + 2T Confectioners’ Sugar

3-4T Buttermilk, For Thinning

1t Cinnamon (optional)

¼t Salt (or to taste)

1t Clear Vanilla Extract

Festive Valentine’s Day Sprinkles & Crushed Red Hot Candies, For Decoration

Directions:

1. 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 4C AP flour 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. 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 thin, maintaining a general rectangular shape. Drizzle or spread on 1C of the melted butter over the dough. Now, sift the cocoa powder over the butter, followed by sprinkling 1C of sugar over the cocoa and butter, followed by a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Press the spices lightly into the butter to make sure they adhere together.

4. 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 12 thick round rolls and place them into the prepared buttered pans. Let the rolls rise for an hour.

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

6. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 17-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

7. To Make the Frosting: Beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl until creamy. Mix in the clear vanilla extract and buttermilk, then gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar and salt until smooth and fluffy. Add in the cinnamon if you are using.

8. Spread the cinnamon rolls with the icing (generously), sprinkle with garnishes if using, and enjoy immediately while they are still warm.