Sweet Cherry Rolls with Toasted Almonds!

Sol, picking blueberries! 

Sweet Cherry Rolls! 

Oh, you've gotta LOVE this time of year......fresh EVERYTHING! I made currant jelly from the red currants growing in my garden - My family has picked bags and bags of blueberries from our bushes - The local "bread and butter" corn is fabulous....need I go on? One thing that never used to be on my summer "MUST  EAT" list was cherries......somehow they never lit up my taste buds. Until now. Now, however, they are on the top of that list. The bag of cherries I recently bought from the farm market was printed with the words, "Nature's Candy" on it and, in my book, that couldn't be more appropriate. It's scary how fast that bag of cherries disappears when I sit down with them in front of me!! I used some restraint last week, though, and saved a few cups, as I kept dreaming about how amazing they would be in some kind of bread. 

Well, my dreams came true with these Sweet Cherry Almond Rolls. They are not an "over-the-top" sweet sweet roll. They showcase the fresh cherry goodness, which blends perfectly with the little bit of almond flavoring. Not only are they tasty, but they're beautiful, too. What a delightful summer breakfast they would make! Hmmm......maybe I'll need to think about adding a cherry tree for more backyard pickin'! 

Sweet Cherry Rolls with Toasted Almonds

Dough:

1 pkg/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum yeast 

½ Cup warm water

½ Cup warm milk

¼ Cup sugar

1/3 Cup softened butter or shortening

1 tsp. salt

1 egg

½ tsp. almond flavoring/extract

3 ½- 4 Cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

Filling:

2 Cups fresh sweet cherries, pitted and chopped

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

2 Tbsp. butter, softened

Stir together cherries, extract and sugar. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Icing:

¾ Cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp. milk

½ Tbsp softened butter

½ tsp. almond extract

½ Cup toasted slivered almonds

(I just take ½ Cup almonds, pour about 1-2 Tbsp. of melted butter over them and toast them in my toaster oven for 4-5 minutes. You might want to toast 1 cup of almonds- you may find yourself nibbling at them –sooooooo good!)

For Dough: Pour warm water into EZ DOH bucket. Add yeast and stir to dissolve. Let rest one minute. Add one cup of flour, then remaining dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it (or use traditional kneading methods) until dough is smooth, soft and elastic, usually about 2-3 minutes, adding additional flour as necessary (dough should not be “sticky”). Remove dough from bucket. “Smooth” the dough by pulling on the sides and tucking under. Spray the bucket with cooking spray and replace dough in bucket. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Roll dough out to a rectangle, approximately 15” x 9”. Spread with the butter. Drain any excess liquid from the cherry mixture, then spread mixture over the buttered dough. Starting at a long end, roll the dough, jelly-roll style. Pinch finished rolled edge. Cut into 12-15 slices and place in greased 9x13 pan (my pan is just a bit smaller). At this point, you may spray them lightly with cooking spray and cover with saran and let rise overnight in the frig . Or, you may cover them lightly and let them rise until they’ve filled the pan. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until golden. (If you’ve let them rise overnight, take them out of the frig ½ hr. prior to baking) . Cool slightly then drizzle with a confectioner’s icing. Top with toasted slivered almonds! YUM!!

Mix all ingredients together well. Using a spatula, scrape into a small baggy. Cut one corner of the baggy off and squeeze icing from bag onto rolls – This allows you a little “artistic control!” 

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Sweet Cherry Rolls with Toasted Almonds!