We absolutely love the sweet kick of citrus and hint of cinnamon in these pillowy rolls. The cranberry adds a nice extra zing, but feel free to leave them out if you don’t have any on hand. They’ll still be plenty delicious. Unbelievably soft and doughy with a sweet filling with a hint of tartness and sugary gooey icing cascading over the top, these sweet orange rolls are everything you could want them to be. Enjoy!
Orange Sweet Rolls
30 minutes active, 3 hours inactive to prepare serves 12-16
Ingredients
- For the Dough:
- 3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- zest from 1 orange, finely grated
- For the Filling:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- For the Icing:
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest and juice from 2 oranges
- 1/4 cup whole milk, more if needed
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and heavily grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water mixed with a little of the sugar and let rest for a few minutes, until the top starts to looks foamy.
- Add the orange zest, orange juice, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, egg, melted butter, and 2 cups of flour. Beat on low with an electric mixer.
- Using a wooden spoon, mix in 1 1/2-2 (1 ½ to 2) cups more flour, just enough to make dough easy to handle and not sticky. The dough should spring back when you poke it with your finger.
- Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes, then transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rest until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 (1.5)hours.
- When doubled, punch down the dough. Transfer to a floured surface, and roll out into a large rectangle, about 10×15 inches.
- Spread melted butter all over the dough, followed by orange marmalade, making sure both are distributed evenly.
- In a small bowl, stir cinnamon into brown sugar and sprinkle over marmalade. Top with dried cranberries, if using.
- Roll the dough towards you and cut into 12-16 even rolls (about 1 inch in width) with a sharp knife. Place slices close together in the prepared pan and let rise until dough has doubled, about 45 minutes-1 hour.
- Bake until puffy and nicely browned, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make icing. Mix together butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and orange juice. Add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached. Let rolls cool slightly before icing.
