I start by making a traditional orange roll filling with butter, sugar, and lots of fresh orange zest.
And for the burst of fresh cranberry flavor, I pulse fresh cranberries in my food processor, with sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.
I process it until it looks almost like jam, but still has lots of chunks in it.
And because I don’t want too much liquid in there, I just set the mixture over a sieve while I prepare my dough.
I’m using the same dough I use for my Everyday Cinnamon Rolls. The secret to getting this dough perfect is leaving it very soft and resisting the urge to add extra flour!
After it’s rolled out, spread on your orange filling, and then your cranberry. You can certainly spread out the cranberry completely and evenly if you like. I did this cross-hatch pattern because I like having little pockets of plain orange roll filling and then bursts of cranberry filling.
Use thread or dental floss to slice your rolls. At this point, before they rise at all, you can pop them in your pan and then into the fridge overnight. That way you can have these all prepped on the 24th and just bring them out Christmas morning to rise and bake!
They will get all plump and beautiful, and bake up golden brown.
When they are hot out of the oven, you’ll brush the icing on right away so it can melt into all of the cracks and crevices.
I’ve also included two versions of icing. You can make the traditional version, with melted butter, orange juice, and powdered sugar- our you can add back in some of that cranberry juice we drained off for a pretty pink version.
You can’t go wrong either way. These are so amazing all soft and warm and make the perfect addition to a holiday table.
When you break into the centers you get a beautiful bright cranberry-red, and the slight tartness of the berries works perfectly with the sweet orange filling. It’s a match made in heaven!
I hope you get a chance to try these!
