Cream Cheese and Jam Sweet Rolls

As I was trying to figure out what to do with the remaining 1/2 recipe of brioche from Tuesdays With Dorie, I came up with a wonderful idea. Why not make a cheese danish sort of version?

I wanted to use sour cherry jam, but alas, I pulled it out of the fridge and found mold growing around the edge. Yikes. Thank goodness I had some apricot jam on hand. (Our very favorite–Organic Low Sugar from Trader Joe’s.) Next time I will try sour cherry, even though apricot was so unbelievably delicious.

Cream Cheese and Jam Sweet Rolls

brioche recipe from Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients:

For Golden Brioche Dough:

1 packet active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 1/2 tablespoons just-warm-to-the-touch water
2 1/2 tablespoons just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
1 1/2 plus 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (might need a little more)
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

For filling:
4 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbsp. sugar (omit if your jam is sweet)
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup or so reduced sugar apricot jam (cherry or peach would be great, too)

Glaze and topping:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. almond extract
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
a little water (about 3-4 tsp.)
sliced, toasted almonds

Instructions:

For The Brioche:
Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can– this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you’re doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you’ll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You’ll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)

For Sweet Rolls:
Prepare pans: Grease a 9″ by 13″ or two 9″ pans with shortening or butter. (I like to use my Pyrex for this.)

Prepare the filling: Mix the softened cream cheese with the sugar and almond extract.

Prepare the rolls: On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough into a rectangle about 16″ by 12″. Spread the sweetened cream cheese over the entire surface of the dough, leaving a small border of plain dough around the edge.

Spoon the apricot jam over the cream cheese and spread in a thin layer.

Starting with one of the 16″ sides, begin rolling the dough over itself. The jam will leak out a bit, that’s okay, do your best. When you get to the edge of the dough, crimp the edge along the entire length to seal the dough roll. Tuck in the ends to prevent more jam from spilling out.

Use a ruler and a knife tip to mark notches in the dough every inch. Using a piece of thin twine or dental floss, cut the dough into rounds. (You should end up with 16 rolls.) Place each roll into the greased pan. (If using 9″ pans, each pan will get 8.”

Cover the rolls with plastic wrap or waxed paper and let them rise in a warm spot until doubled in size. When the rolls have almost risen, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Bake the rolls for about 25-30 minutes, or until they are golden on the bottom and tops. (Using Pyrex will let you see the bottom.)

Let the rolls cool a bit while preparing the glaze.

For glaze:
Place the powdered sugar in a bowl and add the extracts. Whisk in a little water at a time until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle.

Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls and sprinkle with the almonds. Serve warm.

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20 Comments

  1. Beautiful photo’s! I must try these, they look delicious! I do have Dorie’s book, but I must say, I haven’t had much luck with any of her recipes, I’m sure it’s just me, but I will keep on trying!

  2. Now these I could really go for! they look delicious. I don’t know why I didn’t see them before! I must give these a try!

  3. Lindsey these are gorgeous! Gooey, gooey, gooey and the photos are stunning. I love the lighting and the soft colors… I want to photograph in your kitchen!

  4. Your alternative recipe sounds soooo fantastic. Great job on the idea of adding those 2 together.
    Your pictures make me want to eat my computer screen.

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