Orange Sweet Rolls
Cinnamon roll technique with an orange-sugar filling and a citrus glaze in place of cinnamon.
Makes 12 rolls · Prep 30 min · Rise 105 min · Bake 26 min
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup Milk, warmed
- 1 2/3 tsp Yeast — Instant/quick-rise: stir straight into the dry ingredients, no proofing needed.
- 1/3 cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg
- 1/3 cup Butter, melted
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 cups All-purpose flour
Filling
- 2/3 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp Orange zest — from about 2 large oranges
- 1/3 cup Butter, softened
Glaze
- 1 1/4 cups Icing (powdered) sugar
- 3 tbsp Orange juice
Instructions
Dough
- Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm milk and let stand until foamy.
- Whisk in the egg and melted butter, stir in salt and flour, and knead 8 minutes until smooth.
Rise
- Cover and let rise until doubled.
Filling
- Rub the granulated sugar and orange zest together between your fingers until damp and fragrant. (Tip: The sugar is doing mechanical work here, tearing open the zest's oil glands. It should smell strongly of orange by the time you're done.)
Fill
- Roll the dough into a 16x12 inch rectangle, spread with the softened butter, and sprinkle evenly with the orange sugar. Roll up and slice into 12 pieces.
- Arrange in a greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise until puffy.
Bake
- Bake at 175°C (350°F) until golden brown.
Glaze
- Whisk the icing sugar and orange juice until smooth and spread over the warm rolls.
Tips
- Zest before juicing: As with any citrus recipe, take the zest off the whole fruit first — a juiced orange is much harder to zest cleanly.
- Add a little zest to the glaze too: A teaspoon stirred into the icing sugar and juice sharpens the orange flavour on top without needing more juice, which would thin the glaze too far.