Serve up these fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth rolls for a sweet start to Christmas morning.
Red Velvet Sweet Rolls
Serve up these fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth rolls for a sweet start to Christmas morning.
Ingredients
- Dough:
- 1 (16-ounce) package hot roll mix*
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup hot water (120° to 130°)
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon red liquid food coloring
- Filling:
- ¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- Topping:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
Instructions
For dough:
- In a large bowl, whisk together roll mix and included yeast, granulated sugar, and cocoa. Add 1 cup hot water, egg, butter, and food coloring; beat with a mixer on medium speed until soft, smooth dough forms, about 5 minutes.
- Turn out dough onto a heavily floured surface, and gently knead for 5 minutes. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°) until doubled in size, 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Lightly punch down dough, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll dough to a 15×10-inch rectangle.
For filling:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spread butter onto dough; sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Starting at one long side, roll dough into a log; pinch seam to seal. Using a pastry brush, brush excess flour of dough log. Place log, seam side down, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and freeze for 5 minutes.
- Spray a 10-inch cast-iron skillet with cooking spray. Using a serrated knife, cut log crosswise into 6 (2½-inch-thick) slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place (75°) until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Loosely cover with foil, and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
For topping:
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and salt with a mixer at medium speed until creamy, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar, beating until smooth, stopping to scrape bowl. Spread onto warm rolls, and sprinkle with pecans. Serve warm.
Notes
KITCHEN TIP-We wanted large and soft sweet rolls for this recipe, so we cut the dough into thicker slices. For more rolls, cut the dough into 10 (1½-inch-thick) slices.[br][br]*We used Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix.
