Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

Man these rolls hit the spot for me....light and fresh.  They are a nice twist on the usual cinnamon roll.  I've been feeling a compulsion to make sweet breads lately so expect a string of yeasty glory down the road.  ;)

I might experiment next time with adding some zest to the actual bread dough...or even some orange juice...sometimes that small tweak can create a huge boost in flavor.  I divided the dough into thirds before I rolled it out to make some mini rolls....I think I like the larger size better though so I changed the recipe below to reflect that.

I learned an important lesson while adding in the cranberries....the cherry flavored cranberry pack looks exactly like the regular cranberry pack unless you are actually paying attention....ahem.  ;)


Cranberry Orange Rolls 1.0

3 cups unbleached flour (approx)
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup skim milk
1/3 cup raw honey
1/3 cup tub margarine
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten lightly
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbls orange zest
1 cup dried cherry cranberries


Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2oz cream cheese
1/4 cup tub margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest

Dissolve yeast in about 1/4 cup warm water. Water from the tap works just fine. Heat milk and butter together until milk is warm and butter is melted. I use the microwave to heat the milk instead of the stove top, but either works fine. Stir into dissolved yeast. Mix in honey and salt. Add in a cup of flour. Stir in eggs. Work in enough flour to create a soft dough. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in remaining flour. Continue to work your dough for 8 to 10 minutes.

Place dough in covered bowl and let rise for an hour in a warm place. The microwave makes a great spot to rise dough. Take a glass of water and heat it to boiling in the microwave. Leave the glass inside and put the covered bowl inside and shut the door. It's a warm, steamy spot.

Turn your dough back out on your board kneading it a bit. Divide it in half and place one half off to the side. Roll the dough into something like a 9x13 rectangle. Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and orange zest. Brush the rectangle with water (melted butter is also an option)  and sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the top of the dough. Sprinkle half the cranberries on top of the sugar.  Roll the dough up starting with the longest side. Cut into segments and place each piece on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat this process with the other half of the dough. Cover the cookie sheets and let rise 30 minutes in a warm place.

Bake rolls at 375 for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they brown nicely. Mix together powdered sugar, cream cheese, margarine, zest, and vanilla. Remove rolls from cookie sheet and drizzle or spoon the icing over the tops. Consume with great joy!

33 comments:

  1. You know... When I was a kid, those whack-on-the-counter tube rolls used to make an orange sweet roll - God! we loved those things as kids! I hadn't thought about them in years.

    now I want some... I'm going to have to make these just to stifle the cravings :)

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  2. I am a huge fan of cranberry and orange combo:) this looks so pretty ..thank you for sharing this.

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  3. I LOVE the addition of dried cranberries...perfect!!!!

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  4. These remind me of cranberry orange scones I used to get a long time ago! These rolls sound delicious!!

    Dionne

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  5. MMM..If I breathe in hard enough perhaps I can smell them......ahhhh.....these look wonderfull. I do love the combination of cranberry and orange!

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  6. Yay for cranberry and orange - a great flavor combo! I really love rolls, and I love seeing different varieties and flavors, great job!

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  7. Yes, I NEED these rolls!!! Wish I had a pan of those beauties right now! Happy New Year and Happy Cooking in 2011!

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  8. These sound fantastic, I love the orange/cranberry flavor combo! Bring on the yeasty posts!

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  9. I love cranberry anything, these are amazing looking will be trying these soon for sure!

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  10. Those rolls look so soft and tender. Talk about melt in your mouth! Perfect...

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  11. They look great, I like such rolls..
    You are really teasing me with those nice baked things.. :)

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  12. They look like they're just waiting for a hot cup of tea. I'm with you about exploring more "yeasty" things this year. I will overcome my fear of yeast dough!

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  13. That looks like the perfect breakfast! I want one...

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  14. OH my ... Those have to be crazy delicious! Orange and cranberries in a roll...YUM!

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  15. One can never have too many sweet rolls! Orange and Cranberry complement each other so well... these are perfect!

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  16. Those look great. I really like the flavoring you use - the tartness of the cranberry and orange would be a nice contrast to the sweet glaze, I'd imagine...

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  17. I love all sweet rolls! These look delicious :)

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  18. Great flavor combo! These look so good and perfectly baked.

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  19. These look so delicious! I love the addition of cranberry - it must add a nice touch of tartness. Can I have one? ;]

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  20. Cranberry and orange go together so well and these rolls look absolutely wonderful! I can imagine they made the house smell amazing as they baked!

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  21. I love just about anything with cranberry and orange, especially desserts. The icing on these little guys is so tempting...want one right now!

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  22. I have been wanting to make sweet rolls and have a fear of yeast. That settles it - I am going to do it this weekend! I may add some pecans to the mix! (maybe some caramel too) - lovely flavor combinations! - megs

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  23. These look lovely and I look forward to more yeasty glory down the road!

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  24. They look heavenly. Oh darn, you mean we have to watch you bake gorgeous sweet roll after bread after yeasty product for the next while? How WILL we survive?? (Yahoo.) :)

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  25. These look so delightful...they were an absolute favorite as a kid :) I have never attempted to make them though, but I love the flavors of
    yours :)

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  26. I have yet to meet a cinnamon roll I could turn down. These look delicious!

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  27. I love cinnamon buns... these look irresistible!

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  28. I absolutely love the combo of cranberry and orange! I think these just might make the cut for Sunday morning breakfast this week! Thanks!

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  29. This looks like a great flavor combo! Light and citrusy.

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  30. hi and can you please tell me what you meant at the part where you say...."Mix together 1/2 cup sugar and 1 and orange zest."?
    thanks....

    Veronica

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  31. Mmmm....it's a typo. ;) Mix together the sugar and the orange zest.

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