Orange Cinnamon Rolls
They have the perfect touch of sweetness with zesty orange to make you want to keep coming back for more.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer or
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 pkg dry yeast (2 and ¼ tsp)
- ½ c warm water
- fresh orange zest from 1 medium orange
- ½ c orange juice
- ¼ c granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 - 3 ½ c all-purpose flour level cups
Filling
- ½ c granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ c unsalted butter softened to room temperature
Glaze
- 1 c confectioners sugar can add more for a thicker glaze
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- fresh orange zest from 1 orange
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Dissolve the yeast in ½ cup warm water for about 1-2 minutes.
- Then add orange zest, orange juice, sugar, salt, egg, butter, and 1.5 cups of flour.
- Beat everything together on low with a handheld mixer, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make the dough easy to handle – about 1.5 – 2 more cups.You are looking for a dough that is not sticky and will spring back when poked with a finger.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 5-6 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 10×15 inch rectangle that is no more than 6mm thick. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.
For the Filling
- In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon. Spread the dough rectangle with softened butter and sprinkle generously with all of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Line the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving room on the sides.
- Tightly roll up the dough and cut into 16 even rolls (1 inch in width each) with a very sharp knife.
- Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up.
- Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes – 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until they are lightly golden in color. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
Glaze your Buns
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle over rolls before serving. Add more orange juice to thin out, if needed.
Notes
Overnight Instructions: Prepare all the way to start the oven. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let rise, about 1-hour.
Freezing Instructions: Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2-months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying them. You can also freeze the unbaked rolls and here’s how: After letting them rise and fluff up. Bake the rolls for only about 10-minutes at 375°F. Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze. Take the rolls out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Then, finish baking them.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!