This recipe is coming to you as a special request. I love to cook and bake. I love cooking and baking for others. I was not kidding when I said I thought food was my love language. One of the most awesome things I was introduced to when I had babies was this idea of blessing a new mom with dinner so she could focus on baby, resting/healing and adjusting to the new non-sleeping sleep schedule. I try to do this as much as I can because I know what a blessing it has been to me.
I also like to play around with a recipe once I get the original down. These orange rolls came from that. I knew that there were sweet orange rolls that came in a blue can at the store, so I figured I could make something similar (but better since, frankly, those things taste like they came from a can). I also knew that I had my cinnamon roll recipe down, it is my usual go-to recipe for meeting new people. They always say to put your best foot forward when meeting new people, my best foot is cinnamon rolls.
So this recipe came from that, playing around trying to get as much orange flavor as possible and wanting to bless others with awesome goodness. And by goodness, I mean flavor, these are in no way, shape or form healthy.
I use the Kitchenaid stand mixer my husband blessed me with to make the dough. I have no experience mixing dough by hand, so I can’t really help there. Sorry. I will include some notes at that bottom, so check those out, too.
Without further ado, here is the very first recipe here on the Vicki Arnold blog. Putting my best foot forward…
Dough
- 1 cup milk
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/3 cup butter
- 4 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- a few drops of orange essential oil (optional)
Put yeast in mixing bowl. In saucepan, melt butter. Turn off heat, pour in milk, stir, and let sit until warm. Pour milk and butter into mixing bowl. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes. Add eggs, sugar, salt, orange extract and flour to bowl. Using the dough hook, mix and let knead for 10 minutes. The dough will be a little wet and very soft. If too wet, add a little extra flour. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1-2 hours until doubled in size.
When first rise is complete, dump dough onto a buttered surface. Roll (or press) dough into a large rectangle.
Filling
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- zest of 1-2 oranges
Smear the butter all over the dough. Sprinkle sugar evenly across butter. Do the same for the orange zest. Roll the dough into a log, using the long side. Slice the rolls into 1″ rounds and place in a buttered baking dish. Depending on how pliable the dough is, you will have 12-16 rolls. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 20-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. After rising, cook for 15 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before icing.
Icing
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined, then beat until fluffy. Either spread icing on warm rolls or place in a bowl for individual icing preferences.
Notes:
- Orange essential oil is optional, but does add a little extra orange flavor. I’ve made it with and without, both are great.
- My buttered surface is a clean counter top.
- I use my fingers to stretch and press the dough into shape. I’m not very good with a rolling pin.
- You want the dough thin, but not see-through when rolled out. You will get better with practice, I promise.
- I use my fingers again to smear the butter on the dough. I’ll use them to even out the sugar if I need to as well. I figure it’s easier to wash my hands than more dishes.
- I use a handy-dandy zester from Pampered Chef to get my zest off the oranges. I then chop it so that it is easier to sprinkle evenly.
- Pans, 13″x9″ work great. I’ll use a large bar pan if I double the recipe. Works great.
- Cooking times can vary. Know your oven. I will often bake the 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and cook an additional 2-3 minutes to finish off the center ones and those in the cool spot of my oven.
Rachel N. says
This made great orange rolls this morning. I grind my flour fresh and used hard white with just a 1/2 cup of soft white and they were amazing. It made 16 large rolls so I get to freeze some for later in the month and still have some for breakfast tomorrow morning in the fridge. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.
Vicki says
You’re welcome! Thank you for sharing how you modified it. 😀