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Cinnamon rolls meets a citrusy sweet and tart twist. Soft, doughy cinnamon rolls flavored with orange zest and filled with cranberries. These cranberry cinnamon rolls go above and beyond to deliver all of the cozy deliciousness that you didn’t know that you needed!
Baking is my thing – yours too? Check out these apple cider cinnamon rolls with browned butter frosting and these pumpkin cinnamon rolls!
When I think of cinnamon rolls, I think of Sunday mornings growing up. We’d get those Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls and pop them in the oven. Shortly after, the house would be filled with this heavenly smell and we’d stand in front of the oven waiting for the rolls to finish baking.
Well, now that I’ve kind of learned my way around the kitchen, I’ve decided to put my twist on this classic treat. From my apple pie cinnamon rolls to my blueberry cinnamon rolls, I think it’s so much fun to add a little pizzazz to the mix. I’ve graduated and now I’ve made Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls just in time for Christmas.
Before we get started, I wanted to bring to your attention how amazing Calphalon’s Nonstick Bakeware is. I’ve been using it for quite some time and I’m truly impressed. It’s durable, dishwasher safe, and can withstand up to 500 degrees F in the oven.
In addition, it’s nonstick coating takes the headache of worrying as to whether your baked goods will out of the pan/dish cleanly. Every single bake comes out perfectly in their bakeware and I just can’t get over it. This set is my new go to for all of my baking needs. YES!
let’s talk ingredients – what do I need to make cranberry cinnamon rolls?
Let’s get to the burning question – did you use fresh or canned cranberries for these Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls? FRESH!! Ok, I didn’t need all of those exclamation points, but I kinda did. If I can source fresh ingredients, that’s always going to be my default. However, I understand that fresh cranberries aren’t always accessible. So, if need be – you can use frozen cranberries… or even canned if unable to find frozen.
now that that’s out of the way, here’s what else you need
- Bread Flour – to make these Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls nice and chewy. Here’s an article on the difference between bread and all-purpose flour and why it’s important.
- Active Dry Yeast – to get our dough light and fluffy
- The flavor bringers: sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and nutmeg.
- Milk: I used whole milk, however, you can use whatever milk you like.
- Eggs: 1 egg and 2 egg yolks to make the dough nice and rich!
- For the glaze, all you need is orange juice, orange zest, powdered sugar, and butter.
- For the filling, I made my Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce, however, you can always use Cranberry jam or even canned cranberry sauce.
how do you make cranberry cinnamon rolls?
Start by dissolving the active dry yeast in warm milk. Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer along with flour, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Dough should pull away from the bowl and be slightly tacky to the touch.
Allow dough to rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours – it should double in size.
While the dough is rising, make the filling. If using my cranberry sauce recipe, simply follow those instructions (found HERE). If using cranberry jam or canned cranberry sauce, slightly heat it so that it’s spreadable.
Once the dough has risen, roll the dough out onto a well floured surface and roll into a 12 x 18 rectangle. Trim off any excess dough. Spread the cranberry filling all over the dough and roll the dough into a log. Using a serrated knife, cut 1 inch rolls and place into a Calphalon Nonstick 9-inch round cake pan.
Let the rolls rise again for 30 minutes and then bake for 25-30 minutes. The cranberry cinnamon rolls are almost ready!
it’s the orange icing for me!
Make the orange icing by combining powdered sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and melted butter. (Hint: this stuff is SO good. It’s my favorite part)
This blog post and recipe for Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls with Orange Icing was made in partnership with Calphalon! I received compensation in exchange for this work. My opinions on their products are genuine. If I didn’t love their products, I would certainly mention it! Thanks for your continued support!
more recipes you’ll love!
- Cranberry Raspberry Sauce
- Cinnamon Bourbon Cranberry Sauce
- Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
- Healthy Orange Sesame Chicken
- Blood Orange Ricotta Pie
- Cranberry Cobbler Bars
- Spiced Cranberry Scones
- Blood Orange Sour Cream Doughnuts with Citrus Glaze
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Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls with orange Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Milk, (warm)
- 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/3 cup Salted Butter, (melted)
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsps Orange Zest, (about one orange)
- 4 cups Bread Flour
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Filling
- 12 oz Fresh Cranberries
- 2 tbsps Orange Zest
- 2 tbsps Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Pomegranate Juice or Cranberry Juice, (you can also use water)
- 3 tbsps Butter
Orange Icing
- 3 cups Powdered Sugar
- 3-4 tbsps Orange Juice, (pulp free)
- 4 tbsps Salted Butter, (melted)
- 1 tbsp Orange Zest
Instructions
- Combine warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of sugar in a small bowl. Let sit until yeast becomes foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Add mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer. Continue to add eggs, 1/2 cup of sugar, melted butter, vanilla extract, orange zest, bread flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt. Attach the dough hook and knead dough in the mixer for 10 minutes.
- Add dough to a large well oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, prepare the cranberry filling and allow it to cool completely before using. Over medium-low heat, add cranberries and sugar to a small saucepan along with orange zest and the juice from one orange and one lemon. Mix together and add the pomegranate juice.
- Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 3 minutes then reduce to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until cranberries are softened and sauce begins to thicken.Remove from heat add butter. Stir until butter has melted. Allow to cool completely.
- Remove dough from the bowl onto a well floured work surface and using a dough roller, roll out into a 12×18 rectangle, cutting off any excess dough. Spread the cranberry filling so that all of the dough is covered. Roll the dough, lengthwise, into a log.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Using a serrated knife, cut 1 inch pieces and place in a Calphalon Nonstick 9-inch cake pan. Cover with a towel and allow the rolls to rise again for 20-30 minutes, until puffy. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- To make the orange icing, combine the powdered sugar, orange juice, melted butter, and orange zest. Whisk together until smooth and combined.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
On the cranberry sauce, I don’t think you meant to say the juice from an orange and a lemon because that would be too much liquid. Maybe you meant the juice from one lemon and the zest from one orange? I didn’t have pom or cranberry juice, so I added 1/2 orange juice and 2T lemon juice. It seems to be thickening well. Now – gonna put it in the freezer to cool since I have another hour almost on my dough rising and it’s almost midnight. I’m planning on putting the unbaked rolls in a pie pan – not sure how ten will fit – cover it, and let it set out for an hour in the morning before baking them. I lined my pan with a parchment paper and rubbed the sides with avocado oil. I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Hi Dana, the instructions are correct as written. Cranberries have a lot of pectin and when cooked, thicken substantially. So the juice from the orange, lemon, and cranberry juice is correct. I hope that this helps!
For the filling, could I use orange juice instead of water if I don’t have cranberry or pom juice? I hope these turn out – gonna do as suggested with all the prep the night before.
Sure, you can absolutely use orange juice or pomegranate juice. Enjoy!
I wanted to do something different for our family Christmas brunch so I was excited when I found this recipe. I didn’t get to try them, but I had rave reviews. I did want to see if anyone else had a complete mess on their hands when they added the cranberry sauce to their dough? It went absolutely everywhere so I didn’t feel like I had a lot of filling in the rolls themselves.
Hi Brittany! I’m so glad that everyone enjoyed this recipe! Did you allow the filling to cool or did you place it on top of the dough while it was still hot? Thanks for the feedback!
I’m wanting to make these for Christmas morning this year, I’m wondering if I can do the bulk of the prepping the night before, stick in the fridge, then let them warm and bake the next morning? Thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Jenn! Absolutely, you can prep the dough, let it rise, punch it down and assemble the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, let the rolls sit at room temperature for at least 40 mins, then bake. I hope that you love this recipe, enjoy!
The recipe mentions adding kosher salt, but it isn’t in the recipe. I guessed 3/4 tsp, but figured it would be helpful to ask.
You should add a 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. It’s the last ingredient under the cinnamon roll dough.
I love your cranberry sauce so I tried these and they were SO good! The orange glaze sends it over the top too. Cranberry and orange are so pleasant together and this was perfect.
I love this! Thank you!
This recipe turned out fantastic! The orange icing was so good and the rolls were nice and soft.