Christmas Shaped Rolls: Pull-Apart Tree Bread Recipe

Did you know that you can use a cookie cutter to cut out christmas shaped rolls? It’s so easy and adds the most adorable little festive cheer to your dinner table. Kids of all ages will absolutely love these — and honestly? So will the adults. Whether you’re putting together a full holiday meal or just want a unique way to serve homemade bread rolls this holiday season, these are THE move. Let’s get into it!

Why You’ll Be Obsessed With These Christmas Shaped Rolls

Okay so can we talk about how much fun it is to serve shaped dinner rolls at a holiday gathering?! I mean, traditional christmas dinners are already so festive and full of plenty of food, but there’s something about putting a beautiful christmas tree shape right on the dinner table that takes the whole vibe to another level. These christmas shaped rolls are one of the easiest ways to make homemade roll magic happen without spending much time in the kitchen. They’re soft, they’re dreamy, and they look like you really put in effort — even though the process is honestly so simple. Whether you make christmas tree dinner rolls, little star-shaped ones, or whatever cookie cutter you dig out of the drawer, this roll recipe is a festive way to wow your crew. If you love fun holiday bread, you’ll also want to check out our Holiday Bread Guide: Our Best Recipes — SO much inspiration over there!

Ingredients and Supplies for Christmas Shaped Rolls

Here’s what you need to pull off these delicious rolls. Nothing wild, I promise! Just a few simple things and you are SO ready to go.

• Rhodes yeast dinner rolls dough, thawed* — these make the most gorgeous soft dough
• A cookie cutter in your favorite holiday shape (hello, christmas tree!)
• Parchment paper and a prepared baking sheet or standard cookie sheet
• Melted butter + a pastry brush (optional but make it NOT optional, okay?)
• A large cutting board for rolling out your dough
• A sharp knife or pizza cutter for trimming if needed

*You could also use a thawed loaf of bread dough, like I do in the video. But using individual rolls makes it easier to portion servings — especially if you want to send extra rolls home with guests!

How to Make Christmas Shaped Rolls Step by Step

This is honestly the messy part — and also the most fun part. Here’s how to make your christmas tree pull-apart rolls or individual rolls in any shape you love!

1. Roll out each piece of dough on a large cutting board to about ½-inch thickness. Sprinkle little bits of flour underneath if it’s sticking.
2. Press your cookie cutter firmly down into the dough, jiggling it just a tiny bit to cut all the way through.
3. Hold the cookie cutter down with one hand while you pull the rest of the rolls — the outer dough — away with the other hand.
4. Carefully lift your shaped roll and place rolls onto a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure there’s space between each one!
5. Let them rise for a bit if your dough needs it, then bake at 375°F for about 20-25 minutes or until they hit that deep golden brown color we all love.
6. The minute they come out? Brush melted butter over every single one. Don’t skip this step. I literally can’t even imagine skipping this step.

Tips for the Best Homemade Roll Results

A few useful tips so your christmas shaped rolls come out perfect every single time! First — don’t roll the dough too thin. You want good-sized rolls with a tender crumb inside, not flat little crackers. Aim for that ½-inch thickness consistently. Second, if your cookie cutter is small, the last piece of roll dough may be oddly shaped — just ball it back up, let it rest for a minute, and re-roll. No waste! If you want to make more than one tray, use a separate baking sheet for overflow so you’re not crowding the pan. Crowded rolls = tough rolls, and nobody wants that at a holiday table. Also, bake time can vary by oven — check them around 10-12 minutes in and then keep watching for that gorgeous golden color. Let them cool just slightly before serving so the insides finish setting up. These tips make ALL the difference between okay rolls and ah-mazing rolls!

Fun Variations on This Christmas Tree Recipe

Okay so once you’ve mastered the basic christmas shaped rolls, you are going to want to branch out — trust me! Here are a few of my favorite variations. Cheesy garlic pull-apart bread vibes: roll out your dough and add a parmesan herb topping with fresh rosemary and garlic butter before baking. The delicious garlic herb flavor that comes out of that oven is EVERYTHING. You can also do cheese-filled rolls by tucking a little cube of mozzarella inside the dough before you cut your shapes — hello, cheesy bread dreams! Or go full pizza party and serve them alongside marinara sauce for dipping. I mean, can we say perfect addition to any holiday spread? If you’re into pull-apart styles, try arranging dough balls into a tree-shaped pattern on a large baking sheet — those christmas tree rolls are SO cute and super sharable. And if you love festive holiday rolls in general, our Easy Easter Bunny Rolls Recipe uses the same cookie-cutter concept for spring!

Make It From Scratch With Homemade Dough

If you want to go full handmade bread rolls recipe mode — I respect you SO much. Here’s a quick rundown! In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine your warm water, yeast, olive oil, sugar, salt, and flour. Mix until you get a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer to a large bowl lightly greased with olive oil, cover, and let rise until doubled. Then punch it down, and you are ready to roll and cut your beautiful christmas tree shape rolls just like above. These quick yeast rolls come together faster than you’d think — and once you taste a warm, fresh homemade bread roll right from the oven, you’ll never go back. The white dinner rolls situation you get from scratch is just NEXT LEVEL. For more amazing holiday bread inspo using homemade dough, our friends over at amy bakes bread / instagram @amybakesbread are such a great resource — follow along for the latest news and delicious recipes!

Storing Leftovers and Make-Ahead Tips

Good news: if you somehow end up with leftover rolls (does this actually happen at holiday gatherings?! 😂), these store really well! Pop them into an airtight container and they’ll stay soft and delicious at room temp for up to two days. You can also freeze baked rolls for up to a month — just thaw and warm them in the oven. If you want to get ahead for a holiday meal, you can shape all your rolls the day before and refrigerate them on the prepared baking sheet covered with plastic wrap. Pull them out, let them come to room temp, then bake as directed. This is honestly one of the best easy ways to reduce stress on Christmas day when you’ve already got plenty of food happening on the stove. Serve these alongside Sugary Sam Sweet Potato Casserole or cold cuts and you have got yourself one gorgeous holiday table spread. Be still my heart!

More Festive Recipes to Try This Holiday Season

If you are here for the festive baking life — same, honestly, same — then you are going to want to bookmark ALL of these. For breakfast on Christmas morning, our Hot Cocoa Cinnamon Rolls With Chocolate Marshmallow are truly unreal — like, I have to make this every single year now. And if you love cinnamon rolls as much as I do (which is an aggressive amount), the Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls are a super quick, foolproof option. For even more holiday baking ideas, our Holiday Cake Recipes We Love post is packed with delicious recipes that are perfect for the season. These christmas shaped rolls are just the beginning, you guys — there is a whole lot of delicious flavor waiting for you this holiday season, and I am SO here for every single bite. Now go make something festive and tag me on social media so I can see your beautiful creations! 🎄❤️

Christmas Shaped Rolls Recipe

Yield: Varies

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Save this recipe for later: Add to Google

Did you know that you can use cookie cutters to cut out shaped dinner rolls? It's so easy and adds a festive touch to the dinner table. Kids of all ages will love these Christmas Shaped Rolls!

Ingredients

12 Rhodes yeast Dinner rolls dough, thawed*
cookie cutters
nonstick baking mat
optional: melted butter + brush

Instructions

For each roll: roll out the dough to 1/2 inch thickness.
Press the cookie cutter down firmly on the dough, jiggling it a little bit.
Continue pressing down on the cookie cutter with one hand, and use the other hand to pull the outer bits of the dough away from the cutter.
Remove the cut portion of dough and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
Brush melted butter over each roll. Serve while warm!

Notes

You can use any number of rolls you'd like. I specify 12 in this recipe so that nutrition information can be approximated below.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 125Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 108mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 3g