Light and fluffy Cranberry-Maple Cinnamon Rolls studded with chopped pecans and cranberries all drizzled with a maple brown sugar glaze!
Anytime I think of Fall I think of gooey yummy delicious cinnamon rolls. Â And spiced pumpkin lattes of course.
I must admit the past few days have been pretty rough for me {yes this would be the part where I insert my own personal venting sesh because this is a blog and we can write whatever we want, right?} Long story short, I had my identity stolen which compromised all my bank accounts and social security number…which isn’t the greatest timing since I’m currently in the middle of purchasing a home and waiting on a loan approval. So if placing fraud alerts on my credit and freezing/cancelling bank accounts weren’t enough for one day, of course my car had to break down on my way home.  Ugh.
Yes when it rains, it seriously POURS. Not to mention it’s kind of hard to get your car fixed when your bank account is currently frozen. Moral of the story? Cheer yourself up with your favorite comfort food on days that you pretty much wish you could do over!
Like how I brought this full circle??
Cinnamon rolls, truly the single greatest comfort food. But comfort doesn’t always have to mean unhealthy! These are made with whole wheat flour and very little butter. Sweetened with pure maple syrup and a touch of brown sugar, these cinnamon rolls are certainly something to swoon over!  Feel free to plump your cranberries up before baking by mixing them with a little water and nuking them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I love this little secret and it really brings out their flavor!
I challenge you to eat just one. Â Can you do it??
Cranberry-Maple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup fat-free milk
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup, or agave nectar
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Maple-Brown Sugar Icing:
- 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp very hot water
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp. maple flavoring
- 1-2 tsp. fat-free milk
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine warm water and yeast and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until just warm then set aside.
- Using a stand mixer, add egg and milk mixture to yeast mixture and slowly add in the whole wheat flour. Add as much all-purpose flour as you can, reserving the rest.
- Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make dough moderately soft so that it is smooth and elastic (kneading about 3 to 5 minutes). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for an hour until doubled in size. Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking pan and set aside. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in dried cranberries and pecans.
- Roll dough into a 15×8-inch rectangle. Sprinkle with pecan mixture, leaving one inch unfilled along one of the sides. Starting from the long filled side, roll up rectangle. Pinch dough to seal seam and slice into 15 equal pieces. Arrange pieces, cut sides up, in prepared baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place, about 30 minutes, until nearly doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine brown sugar and the hot water, stirring to dissolve brown sugar. Whisk in powdered sugar and maple flavoring. Whisk in enough milk to make drizzling consistency. Once rolls are done, let them cool for about 5 minutes and remove rolls from pan. Drizzle with maple-brown sugar icing and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oooh these look incredible!! I love your new focus on food for the fall…over in the UK we seem to be having a slight ‘Indian Summer’: a rather late spurt of sunshine. So I am hugely in denial that autumn may be on its’ way, but I am certainly looking forward to rustling up some seasonal goodies such as these and your tarts. Yum! Thanks for the inspiration.
Lulu. x
I cannot wait to try these. And SO sorry about your bad day, indentity fraud AND car problems are so terrible. Things will start to look up soon, once your accounts are sorted out and the car is fixed.
You have been through so much. It is a shame that one person can take your identity and turn your life upside down. I really hope it gets better for you.
As far as the cinnamon rolls, they look totally yummy. It would be hard to eat just one.
These look absolutely amazing Kelly!!
These rolls are definitely a way to make up for when the rain “pours”.. About 4 years ago I had my identity stolen (by a relative) it sucks majorly.. Hang in there my fabulous friend!!
This looks so delicious I’m whipping up a batch today! Do you know what would the points be without the icing, because I don’t like glazes or icing on my rolls (I know I know, I’m weird!)… 🙂
I’m so sorry about the identity thing. We’ve had that happen and it STINKS! Nothing like timing on that too, eh. Sigh.
180 per cinnamon roll!??! I’m THERE dude…uh, dudette.
I am sorry to hear about all of that girl that is terrible! Hope everything gets resolved and quickly! The recipe looks amazing can’t wait to try them perfect for fall!
Oh my gosh, you poor thing!! Hopefully everything gets sorted out and back to normal for you! I definitely agree that comfort food (and maybe a large glass of wine) is the best solution to bad days, and these cinnamon rolls look amazing in every way!
Those look amazing! And love that they won’t ruin my health day!
Will have to try them out after fall offically starts :)!