Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

I have to say, I really love making cinnamon rolls with cake mix. While still the traditional cinnamon roll (yes, you still have to use yeast) they save a few steps and I have been really happy with the taste of each batch I’ve made. Last night I decided to give yellow cake mix a try and in my head yellow cake means birthday cake, which means sprinkles are required. This seems like a pretty fun way to start a birthday (or any random day!).

Start your day with cake? I say yes. Back in February we started my daughter’s 9th Birthday with some festive cinnamon rolls that used Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon roll recipe…

I love Ree’s cinnamon roll recipe, but for a smaller and quicker batch of cinnamon rolls, I am a pretty big fan of going the cake mix route.

To make these I used the same recipe that I used for the Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls With Cinnamon Roll Frosting…

I stuck with a vanilla frosting for today’s cinnamon rolls.

Another fun twist is using a chocolate cake mix…

Delish!

Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Fun and festive cinnamon rolls to celebrate a birthday or special occasion!

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Ingredients

Cinnamon Rolls

• 1 box of Duncan Hines white or yellow cake mix
• 2 packages of dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups of warm water
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp salt
• 5 cups flour

Filling

• 2 cups brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• 1/2-1 cup butter softened

Frosting

• 2 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon half and half milk can be used
• 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Sprinkles

• Sprinkles of your choices as little or as many as you like!

Instructions

Cinnamon Rolls

• 1. Mix yeast and warm water until dissolved.
• 2. Combine cake mix, salt and flour in a large bowl.
• 3. Add warm water/yeast mixture and vanilla to cake mix, salt and flour mixture. Mix well. This may require kneading with your hands a bit to completely combine ingredients.
• 4. Cover tightly. Let rise for one hour. Punch down and let rise again for another 30-60 minutes.
• 5. On a floured surface, roll dough into a rectangle shape, approx 1/4? thick.
• 6. Once dough is rolled out, brush with softened butter. I found that one stick was adequate for this recipe, but you could use more (or less) if desired.
• 7. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon – use as little or as much as you like.
• 8. Starting at end opposite from you, roll the dough towards you until all dough is rolled into one long piece.
• 9. Slice dough into 24 equal sized pieces.
• 10. Place rolls in two greased 9×13 pans. Cover and let rise until doubled in size. I usually sit my rolls on my stovetop while my oven preheats to 350 degrees. This allows them time to rise and provides a bit of warmth from the oven warming.
• 11. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. My rolls took approx 22 minutes. This will depend on your stove and your preference for how brown you like your cinnamon rolls.
• 12. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.

Frosting

• Beat cream cheese and butter with a mixer until creamy. Add in vanilla and milk, mix until well combined. Slowly add in powdered sugar and salt and beat until fluffy. Spread onto cinnamon rolls while they are still hot, allowing frosting to melt into the cinnamon rolls.
• Finish with a dusting of sprinkles!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Duncan Hines

Remember to check out this post for the cake mix cinnamon roll recipe. On Friday I will be headed back to the Duncan Hines Test Kitchen for a visit and will hopefully bring back even more fun ideas and ways to use cake mixes! 🙂