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Buttery dough sprinkled in an orange cinnamon sugar and topped with a bright orange glaze makes these orange rolls a breakfast favorite.
Who doesn't love breakfast/brunch? From mini ham and cheese quiche to chocolate hazelnut biscotti to sourdough French toast to eggnog bread pudding. But there is just something about homemade rolls.
Have you ever had Pillsbury Orange Rolls with Orange Icing that's in a can? If your answer is yes, no judgement here. I mean cinnamon rolls themselves are pretty addicting, but when you combine that lovely aroma with the citrus smell from the orange, it really becomes hard to wait for them to be done cooking.
And while, taking something from a can and baking is about as easy as it gets, these homemade orange rolls are surprisingly simple to make.
Even better, these can be prepared the night before and just popped in the oven the next morning which makes them great for a holiday brunch like Easter or Christmas.
Each bite of this dough is soft and fluffy with a hint of orange. After one bite, you'll never buy store-bought rolls again. So if you're looking to step up your breakfast/brunch game this weekend, give this orange rolls recipe a try. Or if you are a fan of blueberries, you can never go wrong with blueberry cinnamon rolls. Or how about chocolate cinnamon rolls? Or even apple pie cinnamon rolls!
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Ingredient Notes
- Milk - it is important to use whole milk as it has the right fat content to create that fluffy texture.
- Instant yeast - I'm a fan of instant yeast for this recipe as you can just throw it in with the ingredients and you don't have to activate it with water.
- Oranges - I like to use oranges to make fresh orange juice and get the zest. Just more powerful flavors.
- Sugar - light brown sugar is used for the filling and powdered sugar is used for the glaze that goes on top of the orange rolls.
Ingredient Swaps
As with any recipe, you can mix up the ingredients. Some variations include:
- While I like instant yeast, you can use active dry. You'll need to heat up ¼ cup of water to 110°F and let yeast bloom for about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Honey is great for some added sweetness to the orange rolls, but maple syrup works great.
- While I'm a fan of light brown sugar for the filling, you can use granulated or dark brown sugar as well.
Step-by-Step Photos
Add the ingredients for the dough in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Mix on medium speed for 4-5 minutes or until the flour is incorporated. Cover the dough at room temperature for 1 hour.
While it is resting, mix the sugar, zest and cinnamon in a bowl. After 1 hour, the dough should have doubled in size.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to ¼" thickness into a rectangle that is about 10x16". It doesn't need to be precise. Spread the softened butter evenly throughout before sprinkling the sugar filling over top and pressing in so it sticks.
With the longer edge closer to you, tightly roll the dough into a log and cut into 12 even rolls. Transfer to a greased 9x13 baking dish and cover.
Place the rolls in the fridge overnight. Make the orange glaze by whisking all of the ingredients.
Bake the rolls at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and the middle is done. Pour the glaze over the top of the orange rolls.
FAQs
You want to add just enough flour where the dough is just starting to not stick to the sides of the bowl. It varies between 3 ½ and 4 cups.
No you can do the 2nd rise at room temperature for 30 minutes in a pinch. I just prefer to make ahead and throw in the oven in the morning.
As I said above, you need to add just the right amount of flour. Too little flour and the dough will be too sticky and will result in dense rolls. Too much and they'll be tough and dry.
You know the cinnamon rolls are done by inserting an instant read thermometer in the middle of one and it registers at 190°F.
You can freeze these orange rolls before or after baking.
If freezing before baking just proceed to the step with the 2nd rise. After risen, cover with aluminum foil and place in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. When read to bake, let them thaw in the fridge overnight before proceeding.
Baked cinnamon rolls can freeze for up to 3 months. Just let them come to room temperature before placing in an airtight container. Let them thaw overnight before warming up in the microwave or oven.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Don't overheat the milk. When it says warm milk, that means between 100 and 115°F. Anything warmer than that will kill the yeast. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the milk by dipping your finger it it. It should feel warm, but not hot enough to make you recoil.
- Use melted butter in dough. The softer the butter the better it incorporates into the dough which means tasty rolls.
- Use room temperature butter for filling. Room temperature butter is much better for the filling. If you use melted butter, it just oozes out when rolling up, which means losing filling which isn't the goal.
- Dental floss. If you have dental floss, use it to cut the dough so it doesn't compress it like a knife.
- Chill the dough overnight. Not only does chilling overnight break up making the orange rolls over two days, it allows for the rolls to really double in size.
Other Breakfast Recipes
If you’ve tried this orange rolls recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Orange Rolls
Ingredients
Rolls
- ½ cup warm whole milk
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon orange zest (2 oranges)
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, orange juice, instant yeast, honey, eggs, butter, 3 ½ cups flour and salt. With a dough attachment, mix the ingredients until the flour is incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time but it's better to be on the sticky side. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon and orange zest for the filling. Set aside.
- Lightly dust your work surface with some flour. Remove dough from mixing bowl and punch down. Roll the dough to about ¼" thick and a rectangle about 10x16 in. It doesn't have to be perfect. I use a 9x13 baking dish as reference. Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the filling over the butter and lightly push into the butter.
- Starting with the long edge close to you, roll the dough into a log, trying to keep tight throughout. With a sharp knife, cut 12 rolls. Place the rolls in a greased or parchment-lined 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to fridge to rise overnight. (You can let rise for 1 hour at room temperature in a pinch)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and the middles are done.
- While baking rolls, make the orange glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla extract. Add more orange juice to thin out or more sugar to thicken.
- Drizzle the glaze over the rolls before serving.
Notes
- Don't overheat the milk. When it says warm milk, that means between 100 and 115°F. Anything warmer than that will kill the yeast. If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the milk by dipping your finger it it. It should feel warm, but not hot enough to make you recoil.
- Use melted butter in dough. The softer the butter the better it incorporates into the dough which means tasty rolls.
- Use room temperature butter for filling. Room temperature butter is much better for the filling. If you use melted butter, it just oozes out when rolling up, which means losing filling which isn't the goal.
- Dental floss. If you have dental floss, use it to cut the dough so it doesn't compress it like a knife.
- Chill the dough overnight. Not only does chilling overnight break up making the rolls over two days, it allows for the rolls to really double in size.
Chris says
These were fantastic!