Soft and fluffy Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls baking in the oven is the best Christmas morning breakfast. These gooey cinnamon rolls are filled with a homemade cranberry jam, a generous amount of cinnamon sugar, and lots of cream cheese frosting on top.

Cream Cheese Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls

There’s nothing—I mean nothing—like the smell of gooey cinnamon rolls baking in the oven. It’s this incredible mix of fresh bread with cinnamon sugar that smells better than any Christmas candle (and believe me, I am a Christmas candle aficionado).

Classic cinnamon rolls are one of the best things in the entire world. You truly can’t beat the combination of fluffy and soft rolls with gooey cinnamon sugar inside. And the frosting! Whether it’s a vanilla icing or cream cheese frosting, cinnamon rolls are perhaps one of my favorite breakfast pastries.

Clearly, I’ll never tire of a classic recipe, but this time of the year, all I want is cranberry orange everything. Cranberry Orange Scones. Cranberry Orange Cake. Orange Cranberry Custard Pie. Cranberry Orange Cream Pie. I think you get the picture. So, today I’m sharing perhaps my very favorite cinnamon roll recipe yet:

Soft, fluffy, and gooey Cranberry Orange Cinnamon Rolls with an Orange Cream Cheese Frosting. The cinnamon roll itself has thick spirals of fluffy brioche bread (an enriched dough of eggs, oil, and whole milk and cream) with swirls of cranberry jam and cinnamon sugar.

What Makes These Cranberry Orange Sweet Rolls So Good?

Soft and Fluffy: These cinnamon rolls are ultra soft. Like, pillowy soft. I have very strong opinions on what constitutes a good cinnamon roll from a “meh” one, and softness is a key factor. The enriched dough adds a softer, fluffier texture. And, it’s important not to rush the dough rise process. We’ll talk more about that below.
Gooey: The only way to eat a proper cinnamon roll is to have the filling be gooey and kind of ooze out everywhere while eating it. There’s not room for a dry cinnamon roll in my heart or world. These cranberry cinnamon rolls are filled with buttery cinnamon sugar and then have the best homemade cranberry jam spread throughout.
Instant Yeast: Yeast can be a giant pain to work with. In fact, I struggled to make homemade cinnamon rolls and homemade rolls for a long, long time. Instant yeast was a total game changer for me, because it not only cuts down on the rise time process, it also is so much easier to work with. If you feel intimidated by making cinnamon rolls, try out this recipe. I am so confident you’ll love how easy it is.

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter
Whole Milk
Heavy Cream
Granulated Sugar
Salt
All Purpose Flour
Eggs
Instant Yeast: Instant yeast is also known as rapid rise yeast (it’s different than active dry yeast).
Orange Juice
Orange Zest
Fresh Cranberries
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Cream Cheese
Powdered Sugar
Vanilla Extract

How To Make These Orange Cranberry Rolls From Scratch:

Enriched Dough:
1. Warm the milk, heavy cream, and butter until lukewarm/hot (you don’t want it boiling), about 100 degrees to 114 degrees.
2. Pro Tip: If you don’t have a thermometer, you can use your finger. If you can submerge your finger into the liquid and it’s warm/hot, but not burning, it’s probably the right temperature. If you can’t do it, because it’s too hot, then you need to let the milk mixture cool. If it’s too hot, it kills the yeast.
3. Pour the milk mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer (I like to use my standing mixer, because it kneads the dough for me) with the paddle attachment. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over the liquid and let it sit 5 minutes or so. Add in the eggs, vanilla extract, and salt and mix until combined.
4. Remove the paddle attachment and put on the dough hook. Add in 4 cups of flour and mix for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is tacky, but not sticky. If the dough is too sticky, or hasn’t come away from the sides of the bowl, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and continue to mix with the dough hook until the dough is tacky.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form the dough into a ball. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl (I like to spray a glass bowl with baking spray) and cover with a damp cloth. Place in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This usually takes about 1 hour, depending upon how warm it is.
Cranberry Jam:
1. Mix sugar and orange juice together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let the sugar dissolve into the orange juice while mixing constantly. Once dissolved, add in the cranberries and orange zest, and let the mixture come to a boil, over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, while stirring constantly, let the mixture cook 2-3 more minutes, or until it begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and let the cranberry jam cool completely. It’ll get thicker as it cools.
Assembly:
1. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough in the bowl, then turn it out. Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll into the shape of a rectangle, about 20×15 in size.
2. Spread butter all over the dough, then spread the cooled jam all over the butter. Finally, add the cinnamon sugar on top, generously sprinkling it all over the dough.
3. Roll the dough into the shape of a log (you want to roll the long side of the dough), and then pinch the seams together. Place the seam side down.
4. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. I like to use a serrated knife, but you can also use unflavored dental floss. Place each roll in a parchment lined 13×9 pan, leaving a little space around them, as they need to rise a second time.
5. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm place about 30-40 minutes, or until they’ve about doubled in size and are touching each other.
Bake:
1. Pour a splash of heavy cream on top of each cinnamon roll (this makes the filling extra gooey) and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly golden. Allow to cool.
Frosting:
1. While the cranberry orange rolls are cooling, make the cream cheese icing. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, whip cream cheese and butter together. Once combined, add in powdered sugar and salt. Mix until combined. Add in vanilla extract and orange zest.
2. Spread the frosting on top of the warm rolls and serve.

Storage Tips:

Store any leftover sweet rolls in the fridge in airtight container. You can also freeze the rolls in individual bags and warm in the microwave when ready to eat.

Instant Yeast VS Active Dry Yeast:

Instant yeast is a little less temperamental, and it cuts the rise time in half. If you don’t have instant yeast (also known as rapid rise yeast), you can substitute with active dry yeast without changing the recipe at all. Just note that it’ll likely double your dough rise time.

How To Make Cranberry Cinnamon Rolls Ahead Of Time:

Make ahead cinnamon rolls are what I put on my grown-up Christmas list. There’s no greater gift than making the dough ahead of time, getting them into the baking pan, and then being able to put them in the fridge overnight.
Pro Tip: The fridge slows down the rising process, which keeps them from over-proofing. However, in the morning, the rolls will likely still need some time to rise. So, I like to pull the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge about 1 hour before baking, and I put them in a really warm place to rise. Once the rolls have risen and are touching each other, I bake them.

Best Tips For Proofing Cinnamon Roll Dough:

Double In Size: What’s most important to getting soft and fluffy dough is to let it rise properly. You need the dough to have doubled in size, which sometimes can be as quick as 40-45 minutes, and sometimes can take up to 60-90 minutes, depending upon the temperature of your kitchen.
Finger Proof Test: If you think you’re dough is ready but aren’t positive, the best hack in the entire world is the finger proof test. Gently press your finger into your dough, about 1 inch or so. If it springs back immediately, it’s under-proofed and needs more time. If it springs back slowly, and only about halfway, it’s ready to go! If it stays indented, the dough might have over-proofed, so you should try to roll out and bake pretty quickly.
Warm Space: I like to turn my oven onto the warm setting. Once it has heated up, I turn the oven off, place the dough inside, and leave the oven door open a crack. It creates a really warm space for the dough to rise.