Valentines Day used to be my favorite holiday growing up- mostly because my mom made it so special for us at home! The older I got, the less special the day felt and the more it felt like a money grab holiday the candy companies created. Honestly February 15th is the best day now, when all of the Valentine’s candy goes on sale, but that’s besides the point! Now that I’m a mom, I want to recreate the same magic my mom gave us for my own kids. 

I’m still getting the hang of baking but when I stumbled upon a recipe for cranberry cinnamon rolls with orange glaze, I knew I had to try! To make the treat a little more festive, I wanted to try adding extra cranberries to the dough to maybe make the dough pink. I have never made a bread from scratch so I had absolutely no idea if this would work but I wanted to try before my son can talk and tell me if it’s gross or not! 

Here’s what you need:

Dough: 
1 cup Whole Milk (warm)
2 ¼ tsp Active Dry Yeast
1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
2 Egg Yolks
½ cup Granulated Sugar
⅓ cup Salted Butter (melted)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbsps Orange Zest (about one orange)
4 cups Bread Flour
½ tsp Ground Nutmeg (I would at least double this next time)                                                           I added 1/3 Cup cranberries- that’s optional!

Filling
12 oz Fresh Cranberries
2 tbsps Orange Zest.                                                 
2 tbsps Lemon Juice
1 cup Granulated Sugar
½ cup  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

Start by whisking warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp of sugar in a small bowl. Let sit until yeast becomes foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Add the yeast mixture to a mixing bowl add eggs, ½ cup of sugar, nutmeg, melted butter, vanilla extract, orange zest, bread flour, and kosher salt. Attach the dough hook and knead dough in the mixer for 10 minutes.

Once dough is formed, add to a large well oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 1 ½ hours, until the dough has doubled in size.

While the dough is rising, begin the cranberry filling and allow it to cool completely before using on the dough. 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 the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 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.

Thank you to britneybreaksbread.com for the recipe!