Sour Cherry Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
MAKES
9 rolls
TAKES
Prep time: 11 hours 35 minutes - 15 hours 35 minutes (includes rise times)
Bake time: 25 minutes
Total time: 12 - 16 hours
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Bakers know that the magical reverse creaming method makes for incredible baked goods. In this method, all of the dry ingredients (including the sugar) are mixed together, then cold butter is added and mixed until fully incorporated. (My Ankarsrum Assistent Original + their Stainless Steel Beater Bowl and Premium Cookie Beaters attachment can handle mixing cold butter and can mix up to two pounds of dough!) This technique inhibits the formation of gluten, resulting in delightfully tender cookies. In this snickerdoodle recipe, it yields a truly perfect cookie - lightly crisp at the edges, with a soft, tender crumb inside.
INGREDIENTS
Dough
173 g / ¾ cup whole milk
75 g / ⅓ cup water
450 g / 3 ¾ cups bread flour
28 g / ¼ cup dry milk powder
25 g / 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 g / 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
7 g / 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast
56 g / 1 large egg
28 g / 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
30 g / 2 tablespoons sour cream
Sour Cherry Filling
340 g / 12 ounces sour cherries, pitted and halved
15 g / 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
50 g / ¼ cup granulated sugar
14 g / 2 tablespoons cornstarch
5 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 g / ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Cream Cheese Icing
113 g / 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
170 g / 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
60 g / ¼ cup heavy cream, at room temperature
5 g / 1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
1 g / ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
More Cookie Fun:
METHOD
1. The day before you want to make the cinnamon rolls, make the dough. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and water to about 110°F / 45°C over medium-low heat (you can also do this in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave). Remove from the heat.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, milk powder, sugar, and salt to combine, 30 seconds. Add the yeast and the warm milk mixture, egg, butter, and sour cream, and mix on low speed for 4 minutes, or until a soft dough forms.
3. Scrape the bowl well, then mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes more, until the dough is very smooth. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased medium bowl. Use both hands to gently turn the dough around so it’s coated lightly on all sides, then gently tuck it under itself to slightly round it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until visibly puffy and almost double in size.
4. While the dough rises, make the filling. In a medium pot, toss the cherries and lemon juice to combine. In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cornstarch together to combine. Add this mixture to the cherries and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the cherries are softened but not broken down and the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender into a coarse jam-like texture. Cool the filling completely - cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to avoid a skin from forming.
6. When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your hands and/or a rolling pin to pat/roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 x 12 inch / 30 x 30 cm in size.
7. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving ½ inch / 1 cm uncovered on one side.
8. Begin rolling up the dough from the side opposite to the uncovered portion, so that when you roll it up, you can form a clean seal using that exposed dough. Roll up the dough into a tight spiral. Gently pick up the spiral and stretch it to increase its length to 14 inch / 36 cm.
9. Use a serrated knife or bench knife to score the dough log into nine even 1 ½ inch / 3 cm wide pieces. Use a piece of kitchen twine to cut the rolls cleanly—slide it under the log and then cross the ends of the twine until it slices the cherry roll. (You can also use the knife or bench knife to portion the rolls.)
10. Grease a 9 x 9 inch / 23 x 23 cm pan with nonstick spray. Arrange the rolls in three rows of three rolls inside the baking dish, leaving a small amount of space around each one. Cover the pan with greased plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
11. Let the rolls rise at room temperature for 30-45 minutes until slightly puffy, then transfer to the refrigerator to continue to slowly rise for 8 to 12 hours (overnight).
12. The next day, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature until visibly puffy, 1 hour to 2 hours (it will take less time in a warmer space, and more time in a cooler one). Towards the end of this time, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C with an oven rack in the center.
13. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake until the sweet rolls are lightly golden on top, 20-24 minutes. If desired, you can check the internal temperature of a dough section of a roll towards the center of the pan, it should read at least 200°F / 93°C on a thermometer. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 to 15 minutes (or, cool completely).
14. While the rolls cool, make the icing: in a small bowl, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar until well combined. Add the cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until smooth and well combined.
15. Spoon the icing over the rolls, spreading to generously cover the top of each roll. Serve immediately.
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
