Octopus Cinnamon Buns

Cutest cinnamon buns ever, am I right? 

I had seen a post on Twitter and decided to try and recreate them myself. I was impressed with how easy they were to make. The great thing is; you can use any cinnamon bun recipe that you like! I used our favorite recipe - Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls (CLICK HERE). 

These would be fabulous for an under the sea party, Halloween, or - if you're like me - all the time! 

You could use store bought cinnamon rolls BUT you would still need a little extra dough for the body/head. 

Octopus Cinnamon Buns

Ingredients

One recipe of Jumbo Cinnamon Rolls (HERE) 

Or your favorite cinnamon bun recipe that makes 12 regular sized buns

Filling

8 oz cream cheese, room temp

1/2 cup icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Eyes

black fondant OR dark chocolate chips

Directions

Prepare dough for cinnamon buns as per instructions. Let complete first rise.

Preheat oven to 350. 

After the first rise is complete, Cut dough in half. (This recipe will make 2 octopi)

Working with half the dough - pinch off a fist sized amount of dough and roll into a ball, set aside.

Roll out the rest of the dough as you would when making cinnamon buns. Top with butter, cinnamon, brown sugar. 

Roll up, jelly roll style. 

Cut into 8 equal slices. They will be quite thin. 

Place on parchment paper lined cook sheet in a circle. Unwind the rolls a little - this will be the legs. The more you unroll the longer the legs will be. (See photo for clarification) 

Place the ball of dough you had set aside in the center of the rolls. Be sure that it is covering the ends of the rolls. 

Repeat with the other half of the dough. 

Cover and let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size. 

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes: until golden brown and cooked through. 

Let cool completely. 

Once cool, cut the body of the octopus approximately in half. Scoop out the bread from the center of the ball. Repeat with the second octopus. 

Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and vanilla. Divide in half and place into cavity of the bread. Replace the top of the octopus and then attach eyes with a teeny bit of the cream cheese mixture. 

Serve room temperature. To eat - tear off a leg and dip in the cream cheese center. 

Note - wait until ready to serve to fill with the cream cheese mixture or else it will need to be refrigerated. 

I love how the little bit of cream cheese oozing out looks like his tongue sticking out. 

It would be easy enough to make him more kraken-like by adding some spikey cuts to the bread in the center before baking. 

The legs will seem pretty thin when you cut them but they need to be thinner than usual so they don't puff up too much. Don't worry - they will still be delicious! 

It's a bit finicky to make but soo worth it! 

Let us know if you give it a try!