Cranberry Cinnamon Sweet Buns with Orange Glaze

I’ve been following North Wild Kitchen’s blog and Facebook page for a short time and I’m enamored with her life in Norway, her gorgeous photos, and all those recipes! That’s why I adapted one of her recipes and made Cranberry Cinnamon Sweet Buns with Orange Glaze.

Bakers are whipping up all the Christmas cookies this time of year, but for me, I have really been enjoying the process of making sweet rolls and bread. I used to be always a little afraid of the yeast and the rise time and wasn’t confident I would be all that successful. Cookies? I can do those. Breads? I wasn’t really sure.

But over the last couple of years, I’ve just gone for it — and for the most part, I have been successful, albeit with a few challenges along the way on that pesky rise time. (It always seems to take longer in my kitchen than the recipe calls for!)

So back to my Cranberry Cinnamon Sweet Buns and their rise time. Yep – it took closer to 3 hours, instead of 1.5. I have no idea why – my yeast was fresh – but once I found a warmer spot in the kitchen (inside the oven, turned off), that helped.

These were absolutely delicious – a wonderful combination of the tart cranberries and the sweet bread. And I loved the orange glaze – it was the perfect complement! Well, along with a cup of coffee, of course. 

If you give these a try, let me know what you think!  

Lara

Cranberry Cinnamon Sweet Buns with Orange Glaze

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Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• For the sweet buns:
• ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 cups flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2/3 ounces 17 g active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• For the cranberry-cinnamon filling:
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 1½ cups frozen cranberries chopped (I did a quick, rough chop in my small food processor)
• For the orange glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Juice from ½ orange or more as needed
• Zest from 1 orange

Instructions

 

• Warm the milk and butter in a medium saucepan, until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat.
• Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt into a kitchen mixer with the bread hook.
• Add in the milk and butter mixture and begin to knead.
• Add in the egg and continue kneading for 8-10 minutes on medium-low speed.
• The dough should be soft, smooth and elastic.
• Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm spot for about 1.5 hours or until doubled in size. (This took quite a bit longer for me so just have patience!)
• Prepare the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter. (You can use a hand-held mixer or simply cut in the butter with a pastry cutter. I did the latter and just sprinkled the mixture on the dough after it was rolled out.)
• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Grease 2 nine-inch pie dishes.
• On a well-floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle that measures about 18 × 22 inches, with the longer side directly in front of you.
• Spread the cinnamon/butter mixture over the entire surface of the dough.
• Evenly distribute the chopped cranberries on top.
• Gently roll the dough horizontally to form a log.
• Using a sharp knife, cut the log into approximately 12 pieces.
• Arrange the buns evenly inside the pie dishes.
• Let the buns rise for 40 minutes.
• Place in the center of the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked through.
• While the buns are cooling, prepare the orange glaze.
• In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar with the fresh orange juice and zest with a fork to form a semi-thick glaze (adjust the orange juice as you go to get the desired consistency).
• Drizzle on top of the buns and serve immediately.

Notes

Store leftovers in the refrigerator and just heat individual rolls in the microwave for about 25 seconds to warm them up.
I made extra glaze because, well, I love glaze on my sweet rolls!

Keyword cinnamon rolls, cranberry recipe

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