Cranberry Orange Rolls are about to be your new favorite holiday breakfast! Featuring a soft and fluffy dough infused with orange zest and a tangy cranberry filling, these delightful, seasonally inspired rolls are a family favorite!
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The Best Cranberry Orange Rolls Recipe
Everyone knows that there is nothing more classic than having cinnamon rolls on the holidays! This Christmas morning, mix things up with a fruity and citrusy cranberry orange rolls recipe! Cranberry orange is an iconic flavor duo that perfectly complements each other. Plus, these rolls won’t end up tasting overly sweet thanks to the tart flavors!
The fluffy brioche dough combined with cranberry sauce and a sweet orange glaze makes an amazing breakfast that the whole family will love. Plus, you can set yourself up to make these ahead of time so that you will have your orange cranberry rolls ready in the morning!
Ingredients Needed
- Instant Dry Yeast: Dry instant yeast is added to make this dough fluffy and give it lots of rise!
- Warm Milk: You want the milk to be warm, but not hot enough to kill the yeast!
- Sugar: Sugar adds just a hint of sweetness to the dough.
- Eggs: Eggs add structure and richness to the dough!
- Butter: I used unsalted butter here. You’re going to melt the butter, so no need to make sure it is room temperature.
- All Purpose Flour: Regular, all-purpose flour works great!
- Salt: To balance the flavors and control the yeast.
- Orange Zest: Orange zest is added right to the dough for added citrusy flavor!
- Cranberry Sauce: You can use canned cranberry sauce, or use homemade. If you opt for canned, make sure to get the one with whole cranberries for a nice texture!
- Orange Glaze: To top them off with a homemade orange glaze, simply whisk together some powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest!
How to Make cranberry orange rolls
- Activate Yeast: Add yeast, warm milk and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. Yeast should start to get foamy.
- Make Dough: Using the paddle attachment, add in the eggs and melted butter and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, add in the flour, salt and orange zest.
- Knead: Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for 6 minutes. The dough should start to form a ball. You can add up to 1/2 cup extra flour to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl too much.
- Allow Dough to Rest: Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover with a dish towel. Allow the dough to rest until it has doubled (about an hour). A quicker way to speed up the process is to preheat the oven at 200 degrees and once it reaches that temperature, turn the oven off and add in your dough. The dough should take about 30 minutes to double in size.
- Roll the Dough: Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Transfer to a floured work surface and roll out the dough to a 14 x 24 inch rectangle. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
- Add Cranberry Sauce: Spread the cranberry sauce onto the dough, leaving an inch or two of space along the edges. Starting with the long side, roll up into a jelly roll.
- Slice: Slice the roll into 12 pieces. Place in a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.
- Preheat: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. While the oven preheats, add in the rolls. This helps them to rest and rise.
- Bake: When the oven reaches 350 degrees, set a timer for 35-40 minutes or until they are golden brown and not doughy in the center.
- Make the Glaze: While the cranberry rolls are baking, make you glaze. Combine powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Cool & Glaze: Allow the rolls to cool before drizzling with the orange glaze. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Make these cranberry orange rolls around the holidays with your leftover cranberry sauce!
- When activating yeast, the milk should not be more than 100 degrees F. If it is warmer than 100 degrees, it could end up killing the yeast!
- Don’t skip the resting time! This yeasted dough needs time to develop flavor and texture. So make sure that you let your dough rest until it has doubled in size!
Frequently Asked questions
Can I make this recipe the day before?
Definitely! These orange cranberry rolls are great to make ahead so that you can pop them in the oven for breakfast the next day! Follow the recipe instructions until you put the sliced rolls into the baking dish before baking. Instead of baking, cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the fridge. You can leave them in the fridge for up to 1 day. Then, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature and bake as normal.
How do I know when my rolls are done?
Every oven is different so cooking time may vary. To make sure that the rolls are done in the middle, you can poke them with a fork and check the dough in between the rolls. If the dough is looking too soft, let them cook for a little longer!
More Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Easy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
- Overnight French Toast Casserole
- Churro Waffles
- Cream Cheese Crescent Danish
- Blueberry Scones
Cranberry Orange Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 tsp Instant dry yeast
- 1 cup warm milk (115 degrees)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 4 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp orange zest
- 4 cups cranberry sauce, you can use homemade or store-bought
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp orange juice
- 1 tsp orange zest
Instructions
- Add yeast, warm milk and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. The yeast should start to get foamy.
- Using the paddle attachment add in the eggs and melted butter and stir to combine.With the mixer running on low add in the flour, salt and orange zest.
- Switch to the dough hook and knead the dough for 6 minutes. The dough should start to form a ball. You can add up to 1/2 cup additional flour to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl too much.
- Transfer the dough ball to a large greased bowl and cover with a dish towel. Allow the dough to rest until it has doubled (about an hour) A quicker way to speed up this process is to preheat the oven at 200 degrees and once it reaches that temperature turn off the oven and add in your dough. The dough should take about 30 minutes to double in size.
- Once dough has doubled punch it down.Transfer the dough to a floured work surface. Roll out the dough to a 14 x 24 rectangle (it doesn't have to be perfect!)
- Spread the cranberry sauce onto the dough leaving an inch or two of space along the edges.Starting at the long side roll up into a jelly roll.
- Slice into 12 pieces.Place in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.While the oven preheats add in the rolls (this helps them to rest and rise)
- When the oven reaches 350 set timer for 35-40 minutes or until they are golden brown and not doughy in the center.
- Allow the rolls to cool before drizzling with the orange glaze.Serve immediately and enjoy!
Orange Glaze
- While the cranberry orange rolls are baking make your glaze.Combine powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a small white bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
Nutrition Information
Did you make this?
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Alda Cabral
Looking forward to make it hoping it will be as good as it seems to be 🙏
Lisacarol
It says 4 cups of cranberry sauce. That seam like way to much. I did a 1 can and a half of another and it was just enough.