In case you haven't noticed, I have a thing about less-than-mainstream flavor combinations. So many times I come up with a flavor profile first, then decide how to execute it. It was the same story with these Almond Rolls with Cherry Glaze, and I'm so happy with how these flavors shine together!
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Filled with homemade almond filling and topped with a gorgeous cherry glaze, you need these Almond Rolls with Cherry Glaze at your next brunch! Or...anytime, really. 😀 They're soft and chewy the sweet/bitter flavors of cherries and almonds!
If you enjoy this recipe, check out the posts for my Chocolate Cherry Pie, Chocolate Dulce de Leche Rolls, and Funfetti Cinnamon Rolls!
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Ingredients
Almond Roll Ingredients
- Sour Cream - For moisture and richness. I used full fat sour cream. If you prefer, you can substitute full-fat plain Greek yogurt.
- Unsalted Butter - For moisture and richness. Unsalted so that you control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Salt - To balance and enhance the flavor of the dough.
- Sugar - For sweetness and moisture.
- Water - For moisture.
- Yeast - For leavening and flavor. The flavor develops when the dough rests. I use instant yeast, which technically you don't need to bloom (wait for it to get foamy), but I still like to do this step to make sure my yeast is active/alive.
- Eggs - For moisture, richness, and a little leavening.
- Flour - For structure for the rolls. I used all-purpose flour.
- Almond Flour - For an additional kick of almond flavor. You can use almond flour made from blanched or unblanched almonds. I had unblanched on-hand, so that's what I used. Don't be tempted to change the ratio of flour to almond flour here--you still need the structure provided by the all-purpose flour!
Almond Filling Ingredients
- Whole, Blanched Almonds - For flavor. You can really use blanched or unblanched almonds. I wanted to use blanched almonds specifically because I knew they'd be easier to process in the food processor, and because then the filling would turn out a lighter color than the dough, allowing you so see those swirls! (Check FAQ section below for instructions on how to blanch almonds yourself!)
- Powdered Sugar - For sweetness. I chose powdered sugar because it dissolves completely.
- Egg Whites -
- Unsalted Butter - For richness and a spreadable consistency for the filling. Unsalted so that your filling isn't salty. You want your butter to be at room temperature so your filling will be smooth.
- Almond Extract Paste - For an extra punch of almond flavor. If you prefer, you can substitute with an equal measure of almond extract.
Cherry Glaze Ingredients
- Cherry Juice - For flavor and gorgeous color! You can either buy cherry juice, or make your own with fresh or frozen cherries (directions included in recipe)!
- Powdered Sugar - For sweetness. I chose powdered sugar because it dissolves completely.
Instructions
Fair warning: this dough sits in the fridge overnight before baking for the best texture and flavor. On one hand it's hard to wait, but I also enjoy that the recipe is broken into parts so that you don't have to complete all the steps in one day!
Making the Almond Roll Dough
- In a small saucepan, combine sour cream, butter, salt, and ¼ cup sugar. Warm mixture until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to 110°F-115°F.
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy.
- Combine sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, and eggs. Gradually add the flour and almond flour until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough over to grease the top. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough overnight (8-24 hours).
- After refrigerating, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 20"x16" rectangle.
Making the Almond Filling
- Place almonds and 1 cup of the powdered sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are ground as finely as possible. Add the remaining powdered sugar and pulse to incorporate.
- Add egg whites, butter, and almond extract paste and process well to combine. Use as soon as possible after processing. The filling will set a bit and be harder to spread the longer it sits.
Assembling the Sweet Rolls
Rolling the dough out on a pastry mat keeps the dough from sticking to your counter! Mine also has handy measurements on it so I know exactly how large I need to roll the dough out without having to measure. You may have to use a teensy bit of flour on the pastry mat to keep this sticky dough from sticking, but not nearly as much as if you were to roll it out on your countertop.
Once you've rolled out the dough and spread it with the filling, it's time to cut! Using a thin, serrated knife, cut the roll into 14 equal pieces. The filling is quite sticky! I found that I got cleaner cuts when I used a clean, wet blade for each cut. If you clean the blade between cuts and dip the knife in a drinking glass filled with water before cutting (letting excess water drip off), you'll have better success.
As I mentioned, the filling is quite sticky, so I lined my baking sheets with a nonstick parchment to ensure no sticking and easier cleanup!
Making the Cherry Glaze
This cherry glaze could not be simpler or easier to make! Cherry juice and powdered sugar. That's it! You're going to want to use the best cherry juice you can find so that the cherry flavor shines through!
I didn't want to buy cherry juice just for this recipe, so I used the juice of fresh cherries (you can also use frozen if that's what you have on-hand). Just warm about 2 ounces of fresh cherries on the stove until they break down and release their juice, then press the cherries in a fine-mesh strainer to get as much juice out as possible. You only need two tablespoons of juice for the recipe. Pour the glaze over the sweet rolls and you're doooone!
You want to wait until you're ready to serve to glaze the sweet rolls. A few hours ahead of time is fine, but the glaze will absorb into the sweet rolls and not be nearly as pretty if you glaze them too far ahead of time (they are still mighty tasty, though).
Frequently Asked Questions
Not really. I used unblanched almond flour for the rolls because that's what I had on-hand. I used blanched almonds for the filling so that they'd be a little easier to process, with the added bonus that the filling would be a little lighter than the dough so you could see those swirrrrrls a bit better.
If you can't find blanched almonds (I couldn't!), you can blanch them yourself! Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the almonds for about one minute, then drain and cool. The almond skins will pop right off!
Er...no. Not officially. The overnight rest in the refrigerator will give you the best flavor from the yeast. If you're in a hurry, you can just let the dough rise for about an hour at room temperature, you just won't have the most flavorful rolls possible.
Yes! The recipe indicates that the sweet roll dough needs to chill for about 8 hours. I've left the dough in the refrigerator for up to 36 hours and they still turn out fabulous. The almond filling is rather sticky and can be difficult to spread. It becomes more difficult the longer the filling sits, so I do NOT recommend making the filling in advance. You want to use the filling immediately after making it.
Once the rolls are baked and cooled, you can freeze them (wrapped well and unglazed). They'll stay good for several months in the freezer if wrapped well, then you just thaw and glaze them.
You want to wait until you're ready to serve to glaze the sweet rolls. A few hours ahead of time is fine, but the glaze will absorb into the sweet rolls and not be nearly as pretty if you glaze them too far ahead of time (they are still mighty tasty, though). Regardless of appearance, the glazed rolls will keep on your counter (covered) for 2-3 days (if they last that long)!
So these beauties take some time...but they're a fantastic weekend project, and totally worth the effort! My family flipped over these rolls! Even my 'I-only-eat-granola-bars' five-year-old enjoyed these (although he only ate the centers)! 😉 So serve them up for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon pick-me-up...just make sure you make them! <3
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Almond Rolls with Cherry Glaze
Ingredients
Sweet Roll Dough:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup sugar (+1 teaspoon to activate yeast)
- ⅓ cup water, warm (100°-110°F)
- 2¼ teaspoon yeast (1 envelope)
- 2 eggs
- 3½ cups flour
- 1 cup almond flour (see note)
Almond Filling:
- 2½ cups whole, blanched almonds (see note)
- 3 cups powdered sugar, divided
- 2 egg whites
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ teaspoon almond extract paste (see note)
Cherry Glaze:
- 2 tablespoon cherry juice (see note)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
For Dough:
- In a small saucepan, combine sour cream, butter, salt, and ¼ cup sugar. Warm mixture over medium-low heat just until the butter melts. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool to 110°F-115°F, about 10 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Combine sour cream mixture, yeast mixture, and eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the dough hook attachment on medium-low speed, gradually add the flour and almond flour until a soft dough forms. The dough will be sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Try to add as little flour as possible while kneading.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough over to grease the top. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough overnight (8-24 hours).
- After refrigerating, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 20"x16" rectangle. Introduce as little additional flour as possible. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out on a nonstick pastry mat (see note),
For Filling:
- Place almonds (see note) and 1 cup of the powdered sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the almonds are ground as finely as possible. Add the remaining powdered sugar and pulse to incorporate.
- Add egg whites, butter, and almond extract paste (see note) and process well to combine. Use as soon as possible after processing. The filling will set a bit and be harder to spread the longer it sits.
Assembly/Baking:
- Spread the almond filling evenly over the dough. Roll the dough up from a long edge. Trim rough ends, if necessary, and discard.
- Using a thin, serrated knife, cut the roll into 14 equal pieces. The filling is quite sticky! I found that I got cleaner cuts when I used a clean, wet blade. If you clean the blade between cuts and dip the knife in a drinking glass filled with water before cutting (letting excess water drip off), you'll have better success.
- Place the cut pieces on baking sheets lined with parchment (see note). Cover the pans and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Tuck the ends of the sweet rolls underneath so the rolls maintain their round shape while baking. Bake sweet rolls 15-18 minutes, or until just golden.
For Glaze:
- Combine cherry juice (see note) and sifted powdered sugar in a small bowl, and mix until smooth. Pour the glaze over the sweet rolls and serve immediately. (I suggest not glazing the sweet rolls until you're planning to serve them.)Enjoy!
sasha
I want to put this glaze on everything!
Amee
Haha I approve! Thanks for your review, Sasha--so happy you enjoyed the recipe!