Cranberry Kringles

Nothing speaks more to a scrumptious holiday breakfast than Cranberry Kringles. Except maybe two! Kringles are perfect for breakfast and brunch celebrations and are stuffed with cranberries and white chocolate.

I make delicious things in my kitchen all the time. I’m not trying to brag. I’m just stating how much I adore cooking and baking. Naturally when you love to do something so much you just get better and better at it along the way because you tend to do it as much as possible. I’m by no means a master chef (and never will be). I’m basically a self taught home cook and baker who enjoys challenging myself in the kitchen. That said, these Cranberry Kringles I made for December’s #TwelveLoaves challenge is one of the best things I’ve made in a long, long time! And that’s saying A LOT!

When I learned that December’s #TwelveLoaves theme was holiday breads, Cranberry Kringles immediately came to mind. After all, what better fits the season than something called a Kringle? Next I went looking for a recipe since I had never made one before. The one I found was from Food Network so I printed the recipe and planned on giving my filling a thought at a later date. Naturally I wanted something holiday but couldn’t put my finger on just what it should be.

It was right after Thanksgiving dinner as I was packing away the leftovers that I knew. Why not fill my Kringle with leftover homemade cranberry sauce? Ding! And, since I’m at it, why not add white chocolate chips to boot? Double ding!

Our #TwelveLoaves posts are always due on the first Tuesday of the new month. So naturally, I waited until two days before it was due to read through the recipe and make it, (feels like my school days all over again,,, but I digress).

Upon reading through the Food Network recipe they state at the bottom of the page: “Please note that the best quality Kringle require patience. This process is most successful when spread out over three days. Day 1, roll in first piece of butter. Day 2, roll in second piece of butter and additional fold. Day 3, create your Kringle or other fine Danish pastries. A quality Danish pastry should be light, tender, flaky, and full of flavor. With patience and pride this recipe will yield just that.”

Say what?!? Three days? I don’t have three days to make this thing. I have one afternoon, so I’m going to push it and see what happens. As I’ve stated before, instructions aren’t really my forté and I tend to do things my own way when it comes to cooking and baking. Sometimes they work…sometimes they don’t. Luckily for me, this time it worked, and with flying colors!

So this Cranberry Kringles recipe is dedicated to whoever thinks they need three days to make a proper Kringle. I say ~ BAH, HUMBUG! Get busy in the kitchen and you’ll have these beauties ready to eat in just a couple of hours! WOOT!

Flaky, buttery layers of sweet Danish pastry encompass sweet, tart cranberry sauce and a light sprinkling of white chocolate chips. Trust me when I tell you that this will become a family favorite and tradition for many, many years to come! You can also play around with the filling flavors and make this year round. Apple, blueberry, peach, plum, cheese…you name it. Once you have the pastry recipe worked out, the rest is left up to your creativity.

CRANBERRY KRINGLE   {PRINT THIS RECIPE}
Yield:   2 Kringle’s       Prep Time: 3½ hours        Bake Time: 30 minutes

2 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
1 gallon sized zip lock bags
1 package dry yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup lukewarm milk
1/4 cups granulated sugar, (plus a pinch)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce, divided
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, divided
2 cups confectioners sugar
1½ tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
colored sprinkles

-Place the softened butter inside the zip lock bag. Use a rolling pin to carefully roll the softened butter evenly within the inside of the bag, from corner to corner, forming a “sheet” of butter. *Note – do not close the bag as you’ll need to express the air out as you roll to insure a flat surface of butter. Place the bag on a baking sheet and place the flattened butter in the freezer as you prepare the dough.
-In a small bowl, warm the water and milk in a microwave to lukewarm, not hot. Dissolve the yeast in the water/milk mixture and add a pinch of sugar. Allow the mixture to sit and get foamy (about 5 minutes).
-In a stand mixer, and using the dough hook, mix the 1/4 cup sugar, salt, lemon zest, vanilla, egg and flour. Pour in the yeast mixture and continue kneading with the dough hook until the mixture comes together in a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl (approximately 5 minutes).
-Remove the dough from the bowl and form it into a flattened rectangle shape. Wrap the flattened dough in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for about 30 minutes.
-On a lightly floured surface, roll the chilled dough to form an approximate 8″x12″ rectangle. Remove the frozen butter from the freezer and use a scissors to cut open the bag. Working quickly, cut the butter “sheet” into 3 even pieces. *Note – these measurements are approximations, so no need to get out the ruler. Eyeballing works just fine! Make sure to replace the 1/3 of the butter sheet back into the freezer until called for.
-Place 2 of the butter sheets next to each other on the left side of the rolled dough. Fold the right side of the dough to the center, and then again over the butter sheet. Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet and place it in the freezer for approximately 30 minutes.
-Remove the dough from the freezer (and also the reserved 1/3 butter sheet). Repeat the same process as before with by carefully rolling out the dough again to form an approximate 8″x 12″ rectangle. Place the final butter sheet on the left side of the rolled dough and fold the right portion of the dough in thirds to the left and over the butter sheet.
-Roll the dough once again to an approximate 6″x 20″ rectangle. Use a pizza cutter or knife to even out the edges at this point as you want the dough to be as even as possible. Cut the dough evenly in half length wise.
-Working with half of the rolled dough at a time, spread half of the cranberry sauce down the center of the strip of dough and sprinkle the cranberries with half of the white chocolate chips.
-Fold the dough edges over the filling, making sure to moisten the edges with water to adhere the two sides together over the filling.
-Gently and carefully shape the Kringle into an oval shape and moisten the edges with water pressing the ends together to seal.
-Place each Kringle on a parchment lined baking sheet and gently press the Kringles down to flatten slightly. Cover the Kringles and allow them to sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Bake the Kringles in a preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
-In a medium size bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 1½ tablespoon milk and the almond extract until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled Kringles and sprinkle the top with colored sugar or colored sprinkles if desired.

Here are some step-by-step photos that I hope will be helpful to you when you’re making your own Kringle. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them for me. I promise I’ll get back to you with an answer as soon as possible.
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Place the softened butter into the large zip lock bag and use a rolling pin to form a “sheet” of butter with a rolling pin. Freeze until ready to use.

Roll the pastry dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll a portion of the butter sheet into the pastry dough; folding the dough into thirds. Refrigerate again until ready to butter and roll again.

Roll the buttered dough out into 6″x 20″ sheets (trimming as needed), and cut in half length wise. Place the filling along the center of each dough strip and fold over the edges to cover the filling, and adhering the edges with water.

Shape each dough length into an oval shape (adhering the edges with water) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten each Kringle with your hands. Cover and allow the Kringles to rest for 1 hour. Bake the Kringles for 30 minutes in a preheated oven. Cool, glaze and decorate (if desired).

I hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe as much as I’ve enjoyed bringing it to you. If there is one thing I can stress as we move into the new year…don’t be afraid of yeast breads!!! You can do it!! And, if the worst thing is that you don’t have a beautiful loaf to share share, remember you’re learning and that takes time. The good news is that taste buds don’t care. Have fun and keep on keeping on!

You know you love it!!! To check out the other awesome holiday breads from the #TwelveLoaves bakers (quick and otherwise), please click on the links below. I know they’ll blow you away with their tasty and creative recipes…:

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and run with the help of Heather of girlichef, which operates smoothly with the help of our bakers.

Our host this month is Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake, and our theme is Holiday Breads. For more bread recipes, visit the #TwelveLoaves Pinterest board, or check out last month’s mouthwatering selection of #TwelveLoaves Pumpkin Breads.

• Apricot Ginger Panettone from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Bacon Fat Spice Loaf from girlichef
• Cranberry Kringle from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Eggnog Streusel Muffins from From My Sweet Heart
• Fruitcake Quick Bread from Rhubarb and Honey
• Gingerbread from Nik Snacks
• Holiday Fruit and Cheese Bread from Basic N Delicious
• Joululimppu (Finnish Christmas Bread) from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Kardemummakrans from Ma che ti sei MANGIATO
• Raisin and Nut Wreath Bread from A Baker’s House
• Stollen from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Stollen Wreath from Cake Duchess
• Swiss Butter Braid from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Whole Wheat Cranberry and Walnut Bread from NinjaBaker

If you’d like to add your bread to this month’s #TwelveLoaves collection, here’s what you need to do:

• Post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, making sure to mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post (this helps us to get more members as well as share everyone’s posts).
• Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of this blog. The bread MUST meet the Twelve Loaves theme (enter theme). 
• Share your Twelve Loaves bread (must be baked and posted this month) on your blog by enter the last day of the month.

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To coordinate this holiday post with some wine glasses I’ve painted in the past, here are some pine bough and pinecone wine glasses that would be an elegant compliment to this Cranberry Kringle. Of course, you’d need to fill them with mimosa’s (to go along with the breakfast theme), but I’m OK with that 🙂

If there is ever anything I can paint for you, please don’t hesitate to contact me or visit my shop. Custom order are always welcome, and I can work from any photo or description you send my way.

Until we bake again,