I’m a sucker for soft, yeasty sweet rolls in the morning. I just love those pillowy, fragrant rolls hot out of the oven, slathered with icing. Now imagine the tangy taste of cranberries sweetened by orange marmalade, orange zest and smooth orange-y icing. Simultaneously refreshing, decadent and satisfying! Exactly what I need on a cool fall morning.
Some pointers for these Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls:
- Pick out the reddest cranberries to process. These are usually the sweetest.
- Chop up the cranberries with a sharp knife or use your food processor to pulse the cranberries until they are just coarsely chopped.
- Use a length of dental floss to cut each roll; it gives you cleaner cuts and doesn’t crush the roll as a less-than-sharp knife would.
- Depending on how high you want your rolls to rise, place them in your baking pan closer together for higher rise, or further apart for more browned edges.
- Put these Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls together the night before, so you don’t have to wait for your treat any longer than necessary in the morning!
- Here’s how to make your own Sugared Cranberries.
Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls
Pillowy, decadent sweet rolls that are a welcome departure from cinnamon.
Sweet Roll Dough
Cranberry Filling
Orange Icing
Instructions
-
In a medium saucepan, heat the milk to barely steaming. Add sugar and stir to dissolve.
-
Add butter and stir until it melts.
Set aside to cool slightly.
-
In a measuring cup dissolve the Tablespoon of sugar into warm water.
-
Measure yeast into the warm water and stir well. Let sit for 5 minutes to check activity and give the yeast a good start.
-
Once the milk mixture is cool enough to touch, pour into your mixer’s bowl. Add ½ cup flour and then the eggs. Use the paddle attachment to mix.
-
Mix well then add the yeast, orange juice and vanilla extract.
-
Mix salt into the remainder of the flour and slowly add to the milk mixture.
-
Attach dough hook (or stir with a large fork) to the mixer and process for 3 minutes.
-
If kneading by hand, turn out onto a floured board and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. If using dough hook, process for another 4 minutes. Dough should be firm but not stiff. If more flour is needed, add it sparingly.
-
Place dough into a large bowl that has been lightly greased with butter. Turn it over so both sides are coated.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot of the kitchen. Let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.
Once dough has doubled, punch down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface.
Set out the 1/4 cup butter to soften for the filling. -
Roll out to about 22” X 12”. Spread softened butter evenly across the rectangle, leaving about 1” clear along the long edges.
As much as you can, square up the edges of the rectangle that you are rolling out. An oval shape will leave you with end pieces once you cut them. They stick up when baked and may have less filling. -
Lightly grease two 9” cake pans or a ½ size sheet pan.
-
Roll the dough up on the long side, being careful to roll as tightly as you can without tearing the dough. The result should look like a log, with the seam side down.
-
Using a very sharp knife, or unflavored dental floss, cut the log into 1” to 1½“ slices. Arrange in pans, place in a warm spot and cover with plastic wrap.
To use dental floss for this step, cut a length of about 8" of floss. Slide floss under the dough "log" to where you want to cut. Make a half knot and pull the floss tight. Voila, a clean cut! -
After ½ hour, preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the 2T of butter out to soften for the icing.
-
Rolls should double in bulk after 1 hour. Test their readiness by gently poking a roll with your forefinger. If your finger leaves a small dent they are ready to bake.
-
Uncover the rolls and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
-
Orange Icing
Stir together the powdered sugar, orange zest, 3T of the orange juice and 2T softened butter. Add more orange juice to loosen the icing to a soft consistency. Mix on medium until icing is smooth. Spoon over the warm rolls.
