orange sweet rolls

Copycat Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. Gooey, fluffy, and dripping with orange glaze.

Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls

active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)

water

orange orange

orange juice

sugar

salt

Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

– all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

cup granulated sugar

cinnamon

butter,

confectioners’ sugar (or

vanilla extract

Make the dough

Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water for about 1 minute. No need to use a thermometer for the water&#8217;s temperature, but to be precise: about 105°F (41°C)-115°F (46°C). Stir the yeast/water around. 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. (A mixer is definitely needed to break up all the butter and beat everything to the proper consistency.) With a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough easy to handle &#8211; about 1.5 &#8211; 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.

Line the bottom of a 9&#215;13 inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving room on the sides. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling in, roll into a 10&#215;15 inch rectangle. I used a ruler for accuracy. 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. 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 &#8211; 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). 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.

Make the glaze

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.

I've made this twice now and it's great! The orange flavor comes through and it has a traditional cinnamon roll texture.  It can also be used with a sticky roll topping - I tried this the last time (swapping walnuts for the usual pecans to pair with the orange) and really enjoyed the results.

I just made these last weekend and they WERE SO DELICIOUS. They were so soft and so fluffy and they got SO BIG throughout each rise.
I substituted white whole wheat flour and they tasted incredible AND  I used instant yeast instead of dry active. Perfect! they turned out absolutely perfect.

This recipe is amazing. Just the right amount of orange and the dough was super soft and easy to work with.

Roommates ate half the pan within minutes of it coming out of the oven

These were way better than the Pillsbury version. They absolutely exceeded our expectations. So delicious!! We loved them. We'll definitely be having these again...and again!

After making these once, I can easily go from 3 to 5 stars the next time I bake them. The dough is phenomenal to work with. I used fresh squeezed orange juice and added extra zest. The recipe says to cut 16 one inch rolls from a 15" log and use a 9X13 inch pan. I cut 15 rolls and made 3 rows of 5 which fit perfectly in my pan. Next time I will be adding orange zest to the filling before rolling and cutting for an extra layer of flavor. I baked them until the tops were golden brown as stated in the recipe. I regret not going with my instincts and pulling them from the oven at the minimum baking time when they were barely turning color, as golden on top meant burnt on the bottom and somewhat denser than I prefer in the center. Looking at the photos I see they are quite dark on the bottom. They are edible, but knowing what I now know from my first attempt, my next batch will definitely be a perfect 5 star batch of rolls! I hope this helps others to achieve a 5 star rating  on their first go at baking these orange lovelies.

My husband loves these. He doesn't like a lot of sweet foods, nor breads (he has a condition which calls for high amounts of protein and sodium), but as I bake things that aren't too sweet, he has gotten to like a few items. These I will make once or twice a month (with less sugar in the dough and a very small amount of glaze) and they go down a treat. When he is in too much pain to eat much but needs something to lift his sugar levels and take with medicine, these are a go-to. It helps these are citrus, which is his favourite flavour profile!

Thank you Sally! Finally w/your help, I've used yeast &amp; not messed up! These taste just like the Pillsbury--just better &amp; w/healthier ingredients. Do you think it would work, if I substituted milk for the orange juice &amp; olive oil for the butter in the dough, &amp; swapped garlic &amp; asiago (or Mozz) for the cinnamon/sugar in the filling, that I could make savory rolls? There was a restaurant close to me called The Pizza Cookery &amp; I'd like to make their pizza rolls, but I keep sucking at any bread recipe I make...except this one. Thank you for answering.

Thank you Lexi &amp; Sally! I made them again w/fresh garlic in place of zest &amp; milk in place of orange juice in the dough &amp; garlic powder in place of cinnamon &amp; 1 tsp sugar in place of 1/4 cup in the filling (+ 1/2 cup Mozz). I kept a bit of sugar for the filling to caramelize &amp; stick. I used butter (not EVOO) &amp; omitted the frosting :o)-- Results: the 2nd time something I made w/yeast wasn't trashed! My husband doesn't like bread/rolls (Sacre Bleu!) but he liked these. They tasted like tender Hawaiian rolls w/a hint of garlic. That's how good Sally is. Next time I'll add fresh garlic in the filling also, salted butter in place of unsalted &amp; more Mozz! Hooray!

Soft, buttery rolls made with orange zest and a citrus glaze make these Knotted Orange Sweet Rolls the perfect choice for Easter brunch or Easter dinner!  

Deborah's Knotted Orange Sweet Rolls

Tablespoons granulated sugar, (divided)

Tablespoons active dry yeast

whole milk, (scalded)

eggs

Tablespoon orange zest ((from 1 orange))

all-purpose flour ((625 grams))

salted butter, (softened)

Tablespoons orange zest ((from 2 oranges))

Tablespoon orange zest

In a small bowl, combine warm water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the yeast and allow to proof until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, scald the milk by heating it in a small saucepan over medium-high heat without stirring just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan and the milk starts to steam a bite. Remove from the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Once the yeast has proofed, stir in the other 2 tablespoons of sugar and the salt. Add eggs and slightly cooled scaled milk along with 2 cups of the flour and orange zest. Beat with the paddle attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Switch to the dough hook. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time, kneading until a smooth, soft dough is formed, about 5 minutes on medium speed. Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for one hour or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough into a large rectangle. Spread softened butter evenly over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle with granulated sugar and reserved orange zest.

Fold one long edge of the dough over about 1/3 of the way, then do the same with the other side sort of like folding a piece of paper to fit in an envelope but lengthwise. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut into 16-20 strips that are about 1-inch wide.

Pick up one strip of dough and cross the ends over to form a loop. Push one end of the strip through the loop to form a knot and place the roll on a baking sheet.

Repeat with the remaining dough to shape all the rolls, then cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for 30 minutes until puffy.

Bake at 400°F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned on top.

Make glaze by combining ingredients and whisking until smooth. Brush or drizzle glaze over the rolls, then let it set up for 30-45 minutes before serving.

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