Cinnamon Roll Christmas Tree

making the dough-

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, pour in water, yeast* and 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Stir and proof 5 minutes.
2. Once mixture looks bubbly and frothy, pour in remaining sugar and salt. Stir on low for 15-20 seconds.
3. In a small bowl, measure buttermilk, oil and egg. Whisk ingredients together until egg is incorporated to other two ingredients. Pour contents into the water and yeast mixture. Stir another 20 seconds in the mixer.
4. Pour 2 cups of flour into mixer and stir on low until incorporated. Sprinkle flour in by 1/4 cup increments until dough cleans the sides and bottom of the bowl. Dough should be sticky but not sticky enough to stick to your hands when touched. Once it has reached this stage, turn mixer on and knead for 5 minutes.
5. Remove dough from bowl, grease and replace back into same mixing bowl (since it’s practically clean anyways). Cover with plastic wrap and a dish towel. Rise 1-2 hours or until dough has doubled in size.

filling and cutting rolls-

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and grease well with butter or nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium size bowl, stir brown sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch together until combined. Set aside. Punch down dough.
3. Flour a large clean table liberally with flour. Remove dough ball from bowl and lightly flour it as well. Knead with your hands for about 1 minute.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to be a 20×30 rectangle** (or as close to that as possible) while moving dough around to ensure it’s not sticking to your work surface.
5. Spread softened butter over dough, being sure to go right up to the edges, leaving a ONE 1-inch strip untouched on one of the longer sides of dough.
6. Dump brown sugar mixture onto the middle of the dough and spread with your hands, creating an even layer over top of the butter, still leaving that 1-inch strip of dough untouched.
7. Lightly press the sugar mixture into the dough using a rolling pin. Using clean hands, roll the dough up into a tight log, finishing with the plain dough on the bottom to seal the entire thing together.
8. Cut off the uneven ends to even out the log. Score log every 1 1/2 inches or so and then slice your rolls using those marks.
9. Place each roll, cut side up onto baking sheets, 12 rolls per sheet, arranged in a tree pattern close to each other but not quite touching.
10. Cover pans with plastic wrap and dish towels. Place in a warm area of your kitchen and allow rolls rise another 2-3 hours or until they are touching and have risen almost double. My rolls always spread OUT more than UP, so just be aware of that.
11. Bake for 17 minutes, or until tops start to brown. Watch them carefully!!

for the frosting-

1. While the rolls are baking, using a hand mixer, whip cream cheese and butter together in a small bowl. Stir in vanilla, corn syrup and lemon juice. Scrape sides and mix again.
2. Pour in powdered sugar and stir slowly until it starts to incorporate. Then mix on high for 5 minutes or until frosting starts to lighten in color. Scrape sides and mix again briefly.
3. Once rolls have been removed from the oven***, frost using half the amount made. This first layer of frosting will melt down into the rolls.
4. After the rolls have cooled a few more minutes, frost again with remaining frosting. This second layer of frosting should stay put.
5. Top with Christmas (or red and green) sprinkles, darker sprinkles for the tree "trunk" and top with a star cookie if desired. Serve warm.