Evenly spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a ¼ inch strip on the far edge that you will roll towards.
In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture over the buttered dough, and then gently press the sugar mixture into the butter.
Carefully spread the cranberry sauce over the sugar mixture. You can use the entire can, or as much or as little as you prefer. Just make sure that it is spread evenly. *It will get a little bit messy when you go to roll the dough into a log*
Tightly roll the dough into a log, starting from the smaller size. Place seam side down. You can gently pinch the dough together to seal the edges. Some of the cranberry sauce may squeeze out, that is okay! There will also likely be excess dough on the ends. Cut these off to have even rolls. Cut the log into 1-inch sections with a serrated knife. You should get 12 rolls. You can measure this with a ruler before cutting and make indents in the dough for accurate cutting.
Place cinnamon rolls in a greased and lined 9x13-inch baking pan. Lining the pan with parchment will make things easier if any filling leaks out. Carefully corver the pan with plastic wrap and let the cinnamon rolls rise again for about 30 minutes, then preheat your oven.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove plastic wrap, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until just slightly golden brown on the edges. You want to slightly under-bake them just a bit so the middles stay soft. Allow them to cool for 10 minutes before frosting.