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These Air fryer Christmas tree cinnamon rolls are a fun Christmas morning breakfast to add to your holiday baking! In just minutes you will have warm, fluffy cinnamon rolls that everyone will love to make and eat!
This holiday season, grab a can of refrigerated Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and make these adorable Christmas tree-shaped cinnamon rolls. You don’t need a bunch of fancy ingredients to make this brunch treat!
Table of Contents
WHY I LOVE THIS RECIPE
It’s usually a holiday tradition to have a quick breakfast with a cup of coffee before the chaos of unwrapping gifts gets started! There is almost no prep time, and with a fast air frying time, these fun treats are a perfect way to get the day started!
The air fryer makes such amazing recipes quickly, making our lives so much easier! You can just grab a can of dough and have warm, fluffy rolls for breakfast in no time! These Christmas cinnamon rolls are also great to leave out for Santa!
For more fun kid friendly cinnamon roll breakfast ideas, try these air fryer Mickey cinnamon rolls, air fryer cinnamon roll bites, or air fryer bacon cinnamon rolls.
INGREDIENTS
- refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
- Green food coloring
- Festive Sprinkles– holiday sprinkles and a star sprinkle for tree topper
OPTIONAL: tub cream cheese frosting, edible glitter, candies, or other edible decoration
STEP 1
Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your air fryer basket or air fryer tray if needed.
STEP 2
Unroll one cinnamon rolls, and then refold it in layers, zig-zagging into a tree shape. (You can insert a toothpick once done to help it hold it’s shape while air frying, just don’t forget to remove it before frosting!) Repeat until all trees are shaped.
STEP 3
Lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper, then, place the shaped trees into the basket of the air fryer.
STEP 4
Air fry the trees at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-6 minutes, until golden brown.
STEP 5
Carefully remove the basket from the air fryer and allow the trees to cool for a minute before removing them from the air fryer basket.
STEP 6
While the trees are cooling, add the food coloring to the original icing glaze or a tub of cream cheese frosting and stir until well mixed.
STEP 7
Once the trees are cooled, frost the top of the trees with green icing and then add the sprinkles. Top the trees with a large star candy or sprinkle and serve while warm.
EXPERT TIPS
For these cinnamon roll trees, we used a regular can of cinnamon rolls. If you use a larger cinnamon roll dough you will likely need to add additional cooking time.
This dish was made using a Cosori Air Fryer. If you are using a different air fryer, you may need to adjust the cooking time according to the power and size of your air fryer.
If you have any leftover trees store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. When possible, try and store them without frosting.
Leave enough space in between the cinnamon roll trees so they have enough room to rise and get fluffy.
Don’t forget to remove the tooth picks before serving!
Here are a few of our FAVORITE recommendations.
Cosori Dual Blaze Air Fryer – Digital Meat Thermometer – Air Fryer All Day
VARIATIONS
Change up the frosting or glaze by adding different colors for a fun and bright breakfast! You can also find different flavors of frostings like chocolate, strawberry, or even buttercream.
Sprinkle chopped nuts such as pecans, almonds, or walnuts over the frosting.
Instead of sprinkles, top with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or mini chocolate chips for an extra delightful treat.
Candies like M and M’s, mini Reese peanut butter cups, or pretzels, can be uses as tree trunks, or for easy toppers too.
You can use a simple dot of icing in a different color for the tree trunk or as ornaments on your tree instead of sprinkles.
STORING AND REHEATING
Store leftover cinnamon rolls in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days. If using cream cheese frosting, you can store in the refrigerator but this can sometimes dry out the cinnamon rolls.
To reheat leftovers, place them back into the air fryer and cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1-2 minutes, and then top with glaze or frosting before serving.
FAQs
Yes, you can shape the trees and refrigerate them overnight. When ready to serve, air fry and decorate.
Absolutely! Prepare your favorite dough recipe and follow the same shaping and cooking instructions.
Certainly! Customize the glaze color to fit your holiday theme. Chocolate frosting isn’t as festive, but is delicious too. You can also sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Not at all. I like to have extra thick frosting so I buy a tub of cream cheese icing. You can use the original icing that comes with the rolls to decorate them, it just won’t be as thick.
MORE AIR FRYER BREAKFASTS
I love making these fun trees on Christmas mornings, or on the first snow day of the season. I hope you enjoy making them as much as we do!
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Air Fryer Christmas Tree Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 can refrigerated cinnamon rolls, with icing
- 1 drop green food coloring
Optional
- 1 tub cream cheese frosting
- 1 tablespoon sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your air fryer basket or air fryer tray if needed.
- Unroll one cinnamon rolls, and then refold it in layers, zig-zagging into a tree shape. (You can use a toothpick once done to help it hold it's shape while air frying, just don't forget to remove it before frosting!) Repeat until all trees are shaped.
- Lightly spray the air fryer basket with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper, then, place the shaped trees into the basket of the air fryer.
- Air fry the trees at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 4-6 minutes, until golden brown.
- Carefully remove the basket from the air fryer and allow the trees to cool for a minute before removing them from the air fryer basket.
- While the trees are cooling, add the food coloring to the original icing glaze or a tub of cream cheese frosting and stir until well mixed.
- Once the trees are cooled, frost the top of the trees with green icing and then add the sprinkles. Top the trees with a large star candy or sprinkle and serve while warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
