Streusel Rolls

I actually made this recipe with too much butter in the streusel filling, so I adjusted the butter by half in the recipe below. I was trying out different flavors so I filled half with sunflower streusel and half with cranberry streusel. I marked the different rolls by adding a small extra strip of dough across the top of the cranberry rolls.....can't say I care for how it looks (the middle roll above), but I could tell them apart. ;)


Streusel Rolls

3 to 4 cups unbleached flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
2 tbls vital wheat gluten

Streusel filling:
1/2 cup tub margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cherry flavored cranberries or sunflower seeds (you can do 1/2 cup of both as well)
1/2 tsp salt (optional)

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm water. Heat milk and margarine in the microwave until the milk is warm and the margarine is melted. Pour liquids into the dissolved yeast and stir together. Add in salt, sugar, and vital wheat gluten. Mix in a cup of flour before adding in eggs. Begin mixing in additional flour until dough becomes too difficult to stir. Turn dough out onto board and work in remaining flour. Knead for 8 minutes or so until dough is smooth and elastic. Put dough into a bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour in a warm place.

Prepare the streusel filling....Mix together margarine, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in cranberries or sunflower seeds. Set aside.

Punch dough down and turn back out onto floured board. Cut dough into smaller pieces and form into rounds, adding flour as needed. Hold a portion of dough in one hand and turn the edges of the dough under while rotating the round of dough. You will end up with a nicely shaped, ball of dough. Press dough out into a thinnish, 3x5 shape. Drop a spoonful of streusel filling in the middle of the dough and spread around, leaving a little border all along the edges. Roll dough up from narrow side and pinch the seams together.

Place the rolls on a greased cookie sheet, seam side down. Slash top of rolls with a knife and let rise in a warm place for an hour or until dough has doubled in size. Bake in 375 oven for 15 to 18 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown. Cool on rack.