Best Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Discover the ultimate treat that combines the classic comfort of a cinnamon roll with a cranberry and orange twist. This double dose of fall flavor is sure to get you in the mood for the holiday season. These swirly beauties feature a soft, fluffy tangzhong dough, brown sugar cinnamon butter, and cranberry sauce, creating a sweet-tart contrast that will make you want to sneak a second helping. Topped with a creamy sweet orange glaze and baked in a bit of heavy cream, this dessert (or breakfast!) is sure to become the star of the sweets table at your next holiday party.

What is tangzhong?Tangzhong is a method used to improve the texture and shelf life of yeasted bread that emerged from a similar Japanese method called yudane. Popularized by Japanese milk bread, the tangzhong method involves combining liquid and bread flour and heating the mixture until it resembles a soft pudding, then adding that mixture to a yeasted bread dough before kneading. The heating process causes the flour and water to gel, trapping the water molecules so that they don't evaporate once the bread is baked. The result is bread that starts out pillowy soft and stays softer for longer.

How to get a tight cinnamon roll spiral:Half the joy of baking cinnamon rolls is getting to look at the mesmerizing spiral they create once you've rolled the fillings into the dough, but that can be hard to achieve a neat result when working with such a soft yeasted dough. To increase your chances of success, we added a step for chilling the sheet of dough after you add the brown sugar, cinnamon butter, and cranberry sauce. This will make the dough more stiff and easier to tuck and roll. Work quickly! The heat from your hands will warm the dough as you roll.

Does pouring heavy cream on your cinnamon rolls really work?Sometimes things go viral for good reason, and this is one of those times. Topping the risen rolls with heavy cream right before they go into the oven creates a layer of gooeyness that you can usually only find at your favorite cinnamon bun-slinging mall chain.

Feeding a crowd? Try our giant cinnamon roll!

Make this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments!

plus 1/2 c. whole milk

packed dark brown sugar, divided

(1/4 oz.) active dry yeast

(30 g.) plus 3 c. (360 g.) bread flour

large eggs, room temperature

unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

finely grated orange zest

kosher salt

pure vanilla extract

Cooking spray

frozen or fresh cranberries (8 oz.)

fresh orange juice

plus 5 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar

unsalted butter, softened

ground cinnamon

ground cardamom

Bread flour, for surface

heavy cream

large egg, beaten to blend

(230 g.) confectioners’ sugar

heavy cream

finely grated orange zest

fresh orange juice

pure vanilla extract

kosher salt

Brooke Caison is the food editor at Delish, where she develops and styles original recipes, writes the weekly membership newsletter, and appears as occasional on-camera talent for Delish's YouTube channel. She's obsessed with the idea of bringing restaurant methods to the home cook with foolproof techniques and organized cooking (like how to safely shuck a clam or tackle a complex baking project). A graduate of ICE, she was previously a line cook, hospitality manager for the opening season of Little Island, and culinary assistant to Top Chef judge and food expert Gail Simmons. Her work has also appeared on Martha Stewart. There's no food she won’t try, but cranberry whipped feta dip has her heart.

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