Santa cinnamon rolls made with Pillsbury dough is a fun and delightful Christmas morning breakfast to make in the air fryer. This festive treat is easy to make and makes a great holiday idea for bonding with your family.
The steps to making these are different from our air fryer Christmas tree cinnamon rolls because you don’t need to shape it? All you need to do bake and decorate.
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Table of Contents
Air fryer Santa cinnamon rolls
Enjoy a holiday classic this Christmas with air fryer Santa cinnamon rolls using refrigerated Pillsbury cinnamon rolls.
No need to shape the dough into Santa the cinnamon rolls are perfect as is for a breakfast treat the whole family will love all we need to do is decorate the face with frosting, candy eyes and miniature marshmallows or marshmallow bits.
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Why you’ll love this
There are so many reasons you’ll love these cinnamon rolls here are a few
- Fun: They're shaped like cute little Santas wearing red hats. Your kids will get a kick out of them!
- Tasty: The air fryer makes the outside nice and crisp while keeping the interior soft and gooey.
- Quick: They're made with convenient Pillsbury dough so there's no yeast proofing or dough-making.
- Versatile: You can customize with your favorite frosting and serve them warm right out of the air fryer.
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What you’ll need
- Can of refrigerated cinnamon rolls
- Red food color
- Homemade or store bought white icing
- Candy eyes
- Marshmallow bits
How to make it Santa cinnamon rolls in the air fryer
This is an overview of the recipe with step by step photos. Scroll down to the end of this post for a printable recipe card with the amount of ingredients and full recipe instructions.
Unroll the can of cinnamon rolls. Place cinnamon rolls on a parchment paper lined air fryer basket.
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 6 to 8 mins flipping it halfway till ensure even cooking.
When it’s done place on a cooling rack to let it cool.
While it’s cooling mix the icing that came in the packet with red food color. Leave the store bought icing plain.
With a spatular spread the red icing on the upper ⅓ of the cinnamon rolls for the hat. Then immediately add a line of marshmallow bites to the lower end for the rim of the hat then add one at the tip of the hat. Repeat same for the other cinnamon rolls.
Next spread the white icing on the remaining lower ⅔ of the cinnamon rolls. Add the eyes right below the rim of the hat close to each other. Then stick the marshmallow bits on the lower third for the beard.
Enjoy.
Variations
Use Pillsbury grands cinnamon rolls to make larger Santa cinnamon roll faces
You can shake these into Santa hats instead of faces. To do this, follow the instructions in our Christmas tree cinnamon rolls.
What to serve with these
Serve Santa cinnamon rolls warm with frosting. They pair perfectly with fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, or milk for a delicious Christmas breakfast and for an evening treat, enjoy them with hot cocoa.
FAQs
You don’t need to shape the cinnamon rolls like Santa. All you need is to decorate the face.
The refrigerated Cinnamon Rolls with Icing packet works perfectly. Regular or Grands is fine.
At 350°F, they take 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown.
Yes you can bake them in the oven at the same temperature if you don't have an air fryer or want to make a larger batch.
First preheat the oven, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper then arrange the cinnamon rolls on the baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins then flip over with a fork and bake the other side for another 5 to 8 mins or until golden brown. Let it cool completely before frosting.
Got more questions about this Santa cinnamon rolls? Please leave us a comment below and we’ll gladly answer them.
Air frying Tips
- Do not preheat the air fryer
- Use parchment paper to prevent sticking
- Adjust air fryer temperature down slightly if rolls brown too quickly
- Let rolls cool slightly before frosting so icing doesn’t melt
- Add red and white sprinkles or decorations.
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Tools used for this recipe
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- This recipe was made using the Cosori air fryer.
- Perforated Parchment paper
- Heat resistant mat for your counter top
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Make Christmas morning magical with these adorable Santa cinnamon rolls! Your family will gobble them up so quickly, you may need to double the batch. Let the air fryer do the work while you focus on the special moments.
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Air Fryer Yum’s Pro Tip! Air fryer temperatures may vary depending on size, make and model. When making a recipe for the first time, start with less time, check for doneness then add more time as needed.
Air fryer Santa cinnamon rolls
Equipment
- Cosori Air fryer
- Perforated Parchment paper
- Cookie spatula
Ingredients
- 1 Can Cinnamon rolls
- ½ cup cream cheese frosting (¼ cup from the can and ¼ cup homemade or store bought frosting)
- red food color
- 8 Candy eyes
- ¼ cup Mini marshmallows bits (For the hat)
Instructions
- Remove cinnamon roll from the can. Set that icing cup aside.
- Transfer to a parchment paper lined air fryer basket
- Set temperature to 350°F / 180°C and cook for 4 mins then flip with the cookie spatula and cook for 2 more minutes.
- While the cinnamon roll are cooling down, add a few drops of red food color to the icing that came in the can. Mix till well combined.
- With a spatular spread the red icing on the upper ⅓ of the cinnamon rolls for the hat. Then immediately add a line of marshmallow bits to the lower end for the rim of the hat then add one at the tip of the hat. Repeat same for the other cinnamon rolls.
- Next spread the white icing on the remaining lower ⅔ of the cinnamon rolls. Add the eyes right below the rim of the hat close to each other. Then stick the marshmallow bits on the lower third for the beard.
Notes
- Use perforated parchment paper for easy of flipping and to remove the need to spray some oil on the basket
- Flip the cinnamon rolls over in the last 2 minutes of cook time to ensure the underside cooks as well.
- Air fryers cook definitely it’s ok to cook for more or less time than indicated in the recipe if you need to start checking at 6 minute if making it for the first time.
- If you find that sugar glaze that comes in the can difficult to spread, pop it into the microwave without the metal lid and nuke for 2 to 5 seconds to soften it to a spreadable consistency
Nutrition
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