These Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect combination of tart, tangy and sweet! Drizzled with a fresh orange glaze, they make the best holiday brunch!
There’s nothing like waking up Christmas morning to the smell of freshly baked sweet rolls. A festive holiday breakfast without such rolls just isn’t complete. And today for #Cranberryweek, I’m sharing these Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls!
If you thought cinnamon rolls smelled good just image a sweet and tangy cranberry, orange and warm fall spice aroma filling up your kitchen. Pure bliss. It’s one of those things that can’t help but boost up holiday spirit.
One of the reasons I love to make these rolls for the holidays, is because they are so pretty and festive! The filling in these Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls is both delicious and beautifully vibrant in color (just look at it!). It’s a simple combination of cranberries, orange juice and zest, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove all simmered on the stovetop for a few minutes. It’s almost like a quick cranberry sauce or jam. The best part though is how amazing it makes your house smell!
The real show stopper though is the fresh orange glaze that gets drizzled over the top after you take the rolls out of the oven. Yes, it is just sublime. I could probably drink the stuff. It’s just a basic frosting glaze made with powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. But then the magic comes from adding some fresh orange juice and zest. There’s definitely something magical about adding fresh citrus to something sweet. It really brings out the best qualities and balances the flavors perfectly.
Now I will admit, that making these rolls is a little messier than normal cinnamon rolls. You will definitely get some of the cranberry sauce on your hands as you are rolling up the rolls and your kitchen may end up looking like a crime scene. Or at least mine did.
A couple of tips I learned the hard way:
First, make sure your cranberry sauce is cold before spreading it over the orange sugar butter mixture. This way it doesn’t melt the butter and end up making a swirl of delicious but messy goo.
Second, think less is more. Start out spreading a little of the cranberry sauce on the rolled out dough, and if you want add a little more at a time. You do not have to use all of it! Just eyeball it and remember as you are rolling, it’s going to move or slide a little as you are rolling them, so leave a good space around the edges without any filling.
Lastly, don’t stress if they look messy and are covered (on the outside as well) with some cranberry. Mine did, and they still come out beautiful and taste just as delicious!
These Cranberry Orange Rolls are totally irresistible. I definitely recommend making them for a special holiday brunch when there are lots of people around, or else you may have a hard time not eating them all!
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Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls
These Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls are the perfect combination of tart, tangy and sweet! Drizzled with a fresh orange glaze, they make the best holiday brunch!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 packet rapid rise (or instant) yeast
- 4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 large egg
Orange Filling
- 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons orange zest
Cranberry Filling
- 2 cups cranberries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 orange, zested and juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon clove
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Orange Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1/2 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Add all of the cranberry filling ingredients to a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Continue to boil until the cranberries have burst (for 3-5 minutes) and then reduce heat to medium and allow to slowly boil or simmer for another 10-15 minutes or until it thickened.
- To make the dough, start by melting the butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add milk and heat for another 15-30 seconds, or until the milk is warm but not hot. Add the yeast packet and allow to sit for a minute or two.
- Add the dry ingredients (only 3 cups of the flour) into a mixer. Pour the milk, butter and yeast mixture into the dry ingredients and add the egg. Beat on medium high (with the paddle attachment) for a minute or two until incorporated. Add in the orange zest and mix.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and slowly add in the remaining cup of flour. Beat well until incorporated. Continue to beat for 5 minutes.
- Mix all of your orange filling ingredients together in a small bowl (you can just use a spoon).
- Roll your dough out into a long rectangle on a flour surface. Spread the orange filling evenly over the dough, and then spoon the cranberry filling on top. Make sure to leave room at the sides of your rolls since the mixture will spread out a little when rolling. Also, you do not need to use all of the cranberry filling.
- Roll the dough into a long roll or log, being careful to keep it tightly tucked. This is definitely a little messy with the cranberry filling, so if you need to just have a paper towel ready nearby to wipe any extra fill off/out of the way as you are rolling. Pinch edge to seal.
- Cut into 1 1/2 inch rolls and place in a greased 9×13 baking dish. Cover the dish with a towel and place in a warm area to rise for 1 hour. (I like to put mine next to my oven and I start preheating my oven which helps them rise).
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until the tops are nice and golden brown and the centers are cooked.
- To make your glaze, add the melted butter milk, and vanilla extract to the powdered sugar and mix on high (with a stand mixer or electric hand mixers). Add the orange juice and continue to mix. Add the zest and mix until just incorporated.
- Drizzle over rolls when they are still warm (not hot).
- Serve warm or cold (I actually prefer these rolls room temperature). Enjoy!
Notes
*Adapted from Our Best Bites
*Make Ahead Instructions:
Overnight in the fridge – You can either bake these according to the directions and then just reheat the next morning before serving, or you can just pop them uncooked (before letting them rise) in the fridge overnight. When you pull them out the next morning just set them out at room temperature to rise (preferably in a warm place, like next to the preheating oven) and then bake according to the instructions. You may need a little longer for them to rise (2-3 hours) since they are starting out cold.
Freezing – You can also make these in advance and freeze them unbaked or baked! Just cover with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil. When you are ready to bake, remove them from the freezer and allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge. The if they are unbaked, allow them to rise at room temperature the next morning. This may take longer since they are starting out frozen, so I would plan for them to rise a little longer (3-4 hours in a warm place) the morning before you bake them! If they are already baked, you can just warm them up in the oven after they have thawed in your fridge overnight. Enjoy!
I’m excited to be sharing this recipe as part of Cranberry Week – now in it’s third year! See all the tasty cranberry recipes being shared today below and follow #cranberryweek on social media for more ideas all week long.
- Buddha’s Hand-Cranberry Shortbread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Cranberry Baked Brie from Cookaholic Wife
- Cranberry Fig Sauce from The Redhead Baker
- Cranberry Glazed Carrots from Palatable Pastime
- Cranberry Jam with Bacon and Onions from A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls from The Saucy Fig
- Cranberry Whiskey Sour from Caroline’s Cooking
- Dark Chocolate Cranberry Scones from Cooking For My Soul
- Pork Chops with Cranberry Maple Pan Sauce from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Spiced Cranberry Sangria from A Joyfully Mad Kitchen
Tasted amazing!! Everyone loved them. How should they be stored after baking?
This looks so good! What a great combination of flavors!
This looks so good! What a great breakfast to make for the holidays!
Soo just curious if I could use premade cranberry jelly? I have a can leftover from thanksgiving and I’m trying to figure out a way to use it lol
These were the BEST sweet rolls I’ve ever made!!! I mean, WOW!!! I am so glad I found this recipe. I tweaked a few things. I did brown sugar instead of white on the sugar/butter mixture, and I mixed the milk and yeast together (milk at 115 degrees), then added the butter. I also added the salt after the flour, as salt makes yeast not work as well. It was fabulous, and the most beautiful rolls I’ve ever made!!! So, so good!!! These would be amazing for Christmas! Well done on a great recipe!!!
Can you use froen cranberries or do they have to be fresh?
Can you use frozen cranberries? I’m planning these for brunch this weekend and fresh aren’t to be found in May.
these sounds absolutely gorgeous! I love the flavour combination you can’t go wrong with orange and cranberry!
Such a wonderful classic flavor combination! We love them Christmas morning!
These look so warm and fluffy! I LOVE cranberry orange combo. This will be perfect for Christmas!
These rolls were delicious. There are several steps and it calls for lots of orange zest and juice which my stingy oranges did not want to share. I did substitute some orange pineapple juice in the icing for that reason. The flavor was great. The rolls were huge. Will definitely make them again.
So glad you liked them! Yes, I do use a lot of fresh orange juice because it adds wonderful flavor :) Using pre-made orange juice is a wonderful idea if you don’t have a lot of fresh oranges on hand!
I have always loved orange rolls so adding cranberry would just put it over the top!
I made cranberry orange sweet rolls last year. They were so delicious! I’ll have to make yours, too. They look divine!
Aren’t they amazing?! I hope you enjoy this recipe just as much! :)
If I was to make this the night before Christmas, do you think they would keep well until Christmas breakfast?
Yep! You can just pop them in the fridge overnight! When you pull them out the next morning just set them out at room temperature to rise and then bake according to the instructions :) You may need a little longer for them to rise (2-3 hours) since they are starting out cold. You can also make them in advance and freeze them! Just allow longer for them to rise at room temperature (3-4 hours) the morning before you bake them!
These look amazing! Much better than cinnamon rolls.
Drooling over here! These sound and look absolutely comforting. I can see everyone in my family enjoying these on christmas morning, with a nice cup of coffee or tea. great recipe!!
These rolls look FABULOUS and a REFRESHING change-up to regular cinnamon rolls. I’m put them on my holiday menu. Thanks so much!
Thank you! They are such a fun twist on the classic cinnamon rolls :) Hope you guys enjoy them!
Oh my, these look amazing! I’ve been meaning to try a cranberry-filled sweet roll but hadn’t quite got round to it yet. Looks like I’ll be trying yours sometime soon!
Thank you! They are SO good and a favorite of mine to make because they make our house smell amazing! :)
OH MY YUM!!!!