Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls for #TwelveLoaves

The dough was rising in a warm spot in the kitchen. Or I thought it was. I went to check on it after 45 minutes and it was exactly the same size as it was after kneading. Everything had been done according to the recipe. Quantities were correct and a thermometer was used to verify liquid temperature. So what had happened? A quick look at the yeast package gave the answer. It was old and I forgot to check the expiration date. Off to the store I went for yeast. Soon a successful rise occurred for these wonderful cherry almond sweet rolls.

Yeast plays such an important role in bread. The failed rise was a great reminder to double check ingredients for quality and freshness. It’s a lesson learned from wasted food, time, and effort. Anyway, I was relieved to punch down the dough of the second batch. Then there was the fun of spreading butter, cherry preserves, brown sugar, and almonds on the dough and rolling it up for the rolls. Seeing the rolls after the second rise was interesting. They had filled every nook and cranny of the pan. The rectangular pan made for some unique shaped rolls.

Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls puffed up nicely while baking. The puffing led to further uniqueness of their shape. It was as if they were fighting with each other for room. The middles slid up or down and so did the edges. It is no matter if they are perfectly round and swirled. What matters is how they taste. They have a light and airy texture, are moderately sweet with touch of cherry flavor plus crunch from almonds. The tops have a glaze reminiscent of caramel that’s made with brown sugar and butter.

Have you had a bread rise failure? I hope it didn’t stop you from trying again. I see my baking failures as a learning experience and challenge to overcome what went wrong. There are also some very talented bakers who inspire me to keep at it. They come together each month for Twelve Loaves. Scroll down to find a list of breads and links to recipes. Cherries are the theme this month. Oh, and check out my Cherry Muffins for Twelve Loaves stone fruit theme last year.

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Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls

A recipe for cherry almond sweet rolls. They are filled with cherry preserves and chopped almonds plus have a sticky brown sugar and almond topping.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours

Author Renee

Ingredients

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped blanched almonds

For the dough:

• 3 3/4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 ounce
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1 egg at room temperature
• 1/2 cup cherry preserves

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons cherry preserves
• 1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped blanched almonds

Instructions

For the topping:

1. Combine brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until blended. Spread in the bottom of an ungreased 13- X 9- X 2-inch baking pan. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top.

For the dough:

1. Whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Heat milk, water, and shortening in a small saucepan until warm (120 to 130 degrees F). Shortening does not have to melt. Add to flour mixture along with the egg.
3. Using the flat beater, mix on low speed until moistened. Increase speed to medium and mix for 3 minutes. Add preserves and mix or stir to combine.
4. Change flat beater to dough hook. Turn mixer on low (setting 1 or 2 as recommended by manufacturer when using dough hook). Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface. Knead a few times and shape into a ball. Place dough in the greased bowl and turn to coat dough. Cover and let rise in a warm draft-free place until double, about 1 hour.
6. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 18- X 9-inch rectangle.

For the filling and finishing:

1. Spread butter and preserves over rolled-out dough. Sprinkle brown sugar and almonds over dough.
2. Starting with the longer side, roll up dough tightly. Pinch to seal edge. Cut into 18 slices. Place slices on topping in pan.
3. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until double, about 45 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F while the rolls are rising.
5. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Cover pan with aluminum foil and invert on wire rack. Cool for 1 minute then remove pan. Cool rolls completely.

Recipe Notes

A recipe for cherry almond sweet rolls. They are filled with cherry preserves and chopped almonds plus have a sticky brown sugar and almond topping.

Recipe adapted from The Red Star Centennial Bread Sampler cookbook published in 1981 (no longer in print).

Are you ready to bake bread with cherries? Take a look at these recipes by talented Twelve Loaves bakers:

• Buns with Cherries and Beetroot wrapped in Bacon from Luisa of Rise of the Sourdough Preacher
• Cherry-Almond Focaccia from Lora of Cake Duchess
• Cherry Almond Sweet Rolls from Renee of Magnolia Days
• Cherry Almond Twists from Dionne of Try Anything Once Culinary
• Cherry English Muffins from Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Cherry Chocolate Hazelnut Muffins from Alice of Hip Foodie Mom
• Cherry Cream Cheese Danish from Heather of girlichef
• Cherry Oatmeal Muffins from Kathya of Basic N Delicious
• Cherry Quick Bread from Holly of A Baker’s House
• Cherry Sweet Bread Twist from Stacy of Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Swirl Overnight Sweet Rolls from Donna of Cookistry
• Double Cherry Muffins from Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Gluten Free Cherry Almond Muffins with Streusel Topping from Sherron of Simply Gourmet
• Dried Cherry and Mahlab Scones from Felice of All That’s Left Are the Crumbs
• Sweet Cherry Rolls with Almond Cream Cheese Glaze from Renee of Kudos Kitchen by Reneé

#TwelveLoaves June: Cherries. The month of May was filled with lovely onion breads! We have chosen cherries for our June theme. Choose a recipe including cherries (fresh, dried, canned, jam, or preserves). Whatever you bake, (yeasted, quick bread, crackers, muffins, braids, flatbreads, etc.) have fun and let’s have a delicious month of bread with cherries. Let’s get baking!

Do you want to add your bread to the collection with the linky tool this month? Here is what you need to do:

• When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post. This helps us to get more members as well as share everyone’s posts. Please make sure your bread is inspired by the theme.
• Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
• Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this June, 2014, and posted on your blog by June 30, 2014.

Twelve Loaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs smoothly with the help of our friend Renee from Magnolia Days and this month the wonderful Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake.