Cranberry & Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buns

Happy Wednesday {or hump day, whichever you prefer} lovelies! How is everybody? I hope your New Year is off to a wonderful start <3

So I’m just going to call a spade a spade and admit that I have gotten a little cranberry happy on the blog lately what with all the cranberry posts. So I apologize to all of you who follow along and are not necessarily cranberry fans, but I can’t help it – I’m an absolute fool for cranberries.

Fresh cranberries, dried cranberries, cooked cranberries, raw cranberries – I am of the opinion that cranberries are incredibly amazing in all of their forms. Who else can relate to my cranberry addiction? Great – let’s be friends and get reallll cranberry happy with these Cranberry & Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buns…

So here’s the thing – before I came up with this recipe, classic cinnamon buns were pretty much one of my favourite breakfast foods of all time. The simplicity a cinnamony – brown sugar filling that is encased by a soft, fluffy dough, and is topped off with a velvety layer of cream cheese frosting was pretty much my definition of heaven. That is… until I baked these Cranberry & Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buns. ​

Now this may be a bold statement, but I think that it is safe for me to say that these Cranberry & Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buns are my new fav of all time……. oh yes – I went there.

Sometimes it can be tricky to find a good cinnamon bun recipe so let me assure you that this is one you can put your faith into. From the dough, to the filling, to the cream cheese frosting – these Cranberry & Brown Sugar Cinnamon Buns were absolutely on point.

This is my go-to dough recipe when it comes to cinnamon buns because it turns out perfectly every. Single. Time. So if you have been tirelessly searching for a no-fail recipe for sweet roll dough, look no further because this is the only one you will ever need. The dough never fails to rises up beautifully, and the rolls always come out super soft, fluffy and flavourful.

And as for that Cranberry & Brown Sugar filling… I don’t even think I have the words. All I can manage to articulate is that that balance between the caramelly-brown sugar and the tartness of the cranberries is just a match made in cinnamon bun heaven.

Still need some convincing? Well then all I have to say is…. Cream. Cheese. Frosting…. Yup. No more procrastinating – here is the recipe lovelies and I hope you enjoy <3

Makes: 6 Cinnamon Buns

Things you need…

9×9 inch baking pan

Cinnamon Bun Dough
1 pckg dry active yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Cranberry Brown Sugar Filling
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp flour
1 cup cranberries {fresh or frozen}

Cream Cheese Glaze
4oz cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
2-3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon zest

How to make…

Cinnamon Bun Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add your yeast and a couple tsp of the sugar. Pour the warmed milks over the yeast and sugar and lightly whisk to combine. Allow your yest to sit in the warm milk like this for 5-10 minutes to proof. When you come back to your yeast after 5-10 minutes it should be frothy – this indicates that your yeast is active and good to go. If you come back and your yeast hasn’t gotten frothy or foamed up, discard the contents in your bowl and start over with new fresh packages of yeast and proof again using the same technique.

Once you have proofed your yeast, add the remaining sugar to the mixture as well as the softened butter and turn your mixer onto low to begin combining the ingredients. Mix for a minute or so until the softened butter is broken up into chunks. Add your beaten eggs in two additions allowing about 1 minute of mixing time in between each addition. Slowly begin to add your flour 1/2 cup at a time allow the flour to incorporate slightly before each addition.

Once you have added all of your flour, turn your mixer onto medium speed and allow it to mix the dough until a large smooth mass forms. The dough should be soft and a bit sticky, but not so wet that it is sticking to the sides of the bowl. If you find that your dough is sticking to the sides of your bowl, add a bit more flour 1 tbsp at a time until it comes away from the sides of the bowl. Allow to turn on medium speed for 5 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl – it should be smooth and elastic. Knead with your hands for an additional 2 minutes on a lightly floured surface. Next, place your dough into a large greased bowl, lightly grease the top of your dough and cover with a dry tea towel. Set your dough aside to rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours or until doubled in size.

** My oven has a warming function, so I usually set the warming function to low and let my dough sit in here to rise. If your oven has this feature, this is a great way to let your dough rise. If not, simply preheat your oven to about 200 degrees, shut it off and place the dough in there to rise as there will be enough residual heat in your oven to keep it nice a warm.

Cranberry Brown Sugar Filling
In a small mixing bowl beat together butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until fluffy. Add flour and beat until combined.

Assembly
Once cinnamon bun dough has risen, punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a rectangle that is 1/4 inch thick.

Spread brown sugar filling out across the dough, leaving a 1 inch border at the bottom. Spread out cranberries on top of brown sugar filling, and gently press into spread.

Roll dough up jelly-roll style and pinch the end together to seal. Cut into 1.5 inch rolls – which should make about 6 even rolls. Place rolls into a parchment lined 9×9 baking dish. Set aside to rise again for another 30 – 45.

While your rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle with granulated sugar and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes.

Cream Cheese Glaze

While your rolls baking, whip up your cream cheese glaze. In a heatproof bowl soften your cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in 2 tbsp of milk, vanilla and lemon zest until smooth. Whisk in icing sugar until there are no lumps. If your glaze is too thick, add the additional tbsp of milk.

Pour glaze over your rolls while they are still warm and they are ready to serve!

Now whether you serve your cinnamon buns warm or completely cooled is totally up to you, but for an extra delicious effect, I always like to serve them warm – because really there is nothing more amazing that a warm, ooey, gooey cinnamon bun … am I right? 😛

Thank you all again for following along and for checking out this recipe 🙂 If you ever have any questions about my recipe’s or have something that you want to see me bake, please feel free to message me anytime <3<3

Happy Baking!

KP xoxo