Brioche Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls

One of my favorite childhood memories is waking up to freshly baked pastries on special mornings, made by my sweet and incredibly talented mother.

My brothers and I would tumble down the stairs with excitement when we would wake up to the aromas of buttery, sweet baked goodies.

We’d enjoy Danishes on Christmas Day, blueberry muffins on birthdays, crisp strudel on Thanksgiving, and so many more delights.

Even now, when I visit my parents, I’m still greeted by the same loving embraces as I open the front door – in the form of a hug from mom and dad, and the cozy aroma of warm bread.

But now that I’m the adult – already?! – I can’t simply just expect made-from-scratch delights to magically appear as soon as I roll out of bed every time a special occasion arrives on the calendar.

And since there are many miles that separate me from my parents, I need to satisfy those sweet cravings on my own throughout most of the year.

So when I want to make my own homemade cinnamon rolls on a busy grownup schedule, a carefully constructed timeline needs to be predetermined.

For this fruitier version, the brioche dough chills and rests in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, which gives you plenty of time to make the cranberry filling and the cream cheese frosting.

Once the dough is ready to roll, everything else will be good to go for a swift assembly.

Enjoy the fruits – pun totally intended – of your labor with every bite you take, a satisfactory balance of the tart, spiced cranberry filling, the cloudlike brioche, and the indulgently sweet cream cheese frosting.

Just make sure you pencil in a small nap session in your calendar after eating one!

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Cooking by the Numbers…

Step 1 – Prepare the Brioche Dough

The night before you want to bake and serve your pastries, or at least 12 hours in advance, prepare the dough.

For this recipe, we use a single batch of our homemade brioche dough. We provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to make the perfect bread with a gloriously fluffy texture, so read through each section carefully.

And don’t skip anything!

After the dough is made, let it chill in the refrigerator in a large, airtight container for at least 12 hours, or overnight. This long chill time develops the taste and texture of the bread.

And because brioche contains a lot of butter, a cold, firm dough will help you shape it far more easily and efficiently compared to a very soft, flabby, room temperature dough.

Step 2 – Prepare the Cranberry Filling

At least two hours, or up to two days, in advance, prepare the cranberry filling.

Use our recipe for homemade cranberry sauce – while it is a typical side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner table, it can also double as a sweet-tart pastry filling!

We simmer the cranberries with fresh orange juice and zest, honey, and vanilla extract until each berry bursts and creates its own saucy concoction.

A most welcome addition to this recipe is 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, which you can add along with all the other ingredients as they cook together in the pot.

Transfer the finished sauce into an airtight container, cover, and refrigerate until it is completely chilled, about 2 hours.

The sauce will thicken as it chills, turning into the best spreadable condiment for the purpose of this cinnamon roll recipe.

Step 3 – Prepare the Cream Cheese Frosting

Prepare a full batch of Foodal’s cream cheese frosting, following the directions exactly as written. No changes needed here!

It’s thick, spreadable, and so decadent – the ideal counterpart you want paired with tart cranberries!

You can make, cover, and refrigerate the frosting up to 2 days in advance.

Because the frosting hardens slightly when cold, be sure to take it out of the refrigerator if you decide to make it ahead of time in order for it to soften. Allow it to sit at room temperature while the portioned rolls are proofing and baking in Steps 8 and 9.

Step 4 – Roll out the Dough

When the dough has rested and you are ready to bake, lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with softened butter or a nonstick cooking spray.

We love using Made In’s porcelain baking dish for this recipe! Its naturally nonstick surface is a practical material for baking sticky and sugary recipes, like cinnamon rolls.

Check out our review of this amazing piece of bakeware. Afterwards, you can buy the dish now directly from Made In.

Generously dust your work surface with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 12-by-16-inch rectangle that is about 1/4 inch in thickness.

It’s helpful to create an initial shape of a rectangle with the mound of dough before you start rolling.

Position the longer edges at the top and bottom, and the shorter edges at the left and right.

Work quickly here – you don’t want the dough to get too warm and soft, or else it’s more difficult to roll and shape during the next few steps.

Step 5 – Spread Filling

Spread the 1/2 stick of softened butter over the entire surface of the dough. It will be a very thin layer of butter.

Next, spread a thin layer of the chilled cranberry sauce over the butter, this time leaving about a 1/2-inch border around the dough – you don’t want the cranberry sauce to spill out of the sides as you roll, so leaving a small border keeps your work clean.

An offset spatula will be the best tool for this step.

You may not need to use all of the cranberry sauce – if you have a little left over, don’t let it go to waste! Serve it with a sandwich like a Monte Cristo, or use it on top of a bowlful of cottage cheese or in a fruit parfait.

Step 6 – Roll Tightly

Starting at the long edge that is closest to you, roll the dough away from you into a log. Tighten the log as you continue rolling.

Again, work quickly to keep the dough from softening too much as you roll it. A flabby dough is very difficult to work with!

Step 7 – Portion

Using a sharp chef’s knife, divide the log into 12 even pieces – they will be about 2 inches thick.

Because you’re cutting through a thick and sticky fruity filling, I recommend washing and drying the knife after every slice to keep each portion looking as neat and clean as possible.

You can also lightly dust the knife in flour before each slice.

Step 8 – Proof in Baking Dish

Place each portion, with the cut sides facing towards the bottom and on the top, on the prepared baking dish.

Position them so there are 3 across and 4 down, with about 1/2 inch of space between each one. Be forewarned that they will spread and touch each other as they bake.

Proof the dough portions in the dish uncovered at room temperature for about 30 minutes. They won’t rise too much, but the dough should spring slowly back into place when pressed lightly with your fingertip.

Again, due to the high butter content, be mindful where you proof. Don’t choose a space that’s too warm!

While the portions are rising, this is the best time to preheat your oven to 350°F and set out your cream cheese frosting if you prepared it ahead of time.

Step 9 – Bake

Transfer the baking dish to the preheated oven. Bake until the portions have risen significantly and look puffy, with lightly golden-brown tops.

This will take about 30 minutes – but if you prefer a gooier treat, check them a little sooner at 25 minutes.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Step 10 – Spread Frosting and Serve

Evenly spread the cream cheese frosting over the tops – the warm pastries will help to soften and spread the frosting.

Serve while still warm – that’s when cinnamon rolls are best!

Save for Later

While we’ve provided detailed instructions for making ahead each component of our cinnamon rolls, there’s also an opportunity for you to bake the entire recipe ahead of time!

You can do everything two days in advance, through spreading the cream cheese frosting over the baked pastries.

Allow the frosted cinnamon rolls to cool completely, about one hour, before making your next move.

You can leave the completed cinnamon rolls in the baking dish and cover the top with a lid, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil. Or, you can transfer the pastries to an appropriately sized airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator for up to two days.