Directions

• Step 1 Warm the half and half in a small saucepan until lukewarm, not hot. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl if you’re mixing by hand. Stir in the vanilla sugar and yeast. After 6-10 minutes the mixture will foam slightly. Since you’re blooming the yeast in half and half, it won’t be as apparent as it would be in water.
• Step 2 With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time until they are mixed in.
• Step 3 Add the 4 cups of flour and the salt to the bowl. Give the salt a quick stir into the flour, then mix. Start on low until the flour incorporates, then move to medium speed to mix well.
• Step 4 Add the softened butter one tablespoon at a time until it is mixed into the dough.
• Step 5 Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover. Put in a warm spot in your house and let it rise until doubled in size. This could take between 1 and 2 hours depending on how warm it is.
• Step 6 When the dough is almost finished rising, make the filling. Melt the butter and add vanilla and almond extracts.
• Step 7 In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla sugar and salt together.
• Step 8 Tip the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Gently press the air out of the dough and pat or roll it into a 12 inch by 15 inch rectangle.
• Step 9 Brush the rectangle of dough with the melted butter mixture. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the melted butter.
• Step 10 Roll the longer 15 inch side of the rectangle into a log. Try to keep the roll tight. Pinch the seam closed. Cut the log into 11 equal pieces.
• Step 11 Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet with a raised edge. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the rolls cut side up to form a tree. Place one roll at the bottom of the baking sheet for the trunk. Above the trunk, place four rolls, then three, then two and the last one at the top.
• Step 12 To bake:  Cover the rolls with plastic wrap. Let them rise until doubled in size. This second rise will take about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 27 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
• Step 13 To rest overnight: Cover the rolls with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator. In the morning, take them out and let them rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. This will take about an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 27 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
• Step 14 While rolls are in the oven, make the icing. Cream the butter and cream cheese together. Add the vanilla and almond extracts, the powdered sugar and the salt. Mix until light and fluffy. Add green food coloring a few drops at a time until you get the green you like.
• Step 15 When the rolls come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes. If you ice them straight from the oven, the icing has a tendency to melt. After 5 to 10 minutes they will still be warm and the icing will soften, but not melt away.
• Step 16 Slide the parchment paper carefully out of the baking sheet and onto a cutting board or serving tray. Ice the cinnamon rolls that make up the tree, but leave the single cinnamon roll trunk bare. Once iced, add Maraschino cherries to the tree as ornaments. Sprinkle with white decorating sugar.