These fluffy, cinnamon swirled Orange Sweet Rolls taste even better than their from-the-can counterparts!
Orange Rolls just might be the Mr.’s all time favorite breakfast. He grew up on Pillsbury’s can of fluffy cinnamon rolls topped with a thick, sweet orange glaze. So on Valentine’s Day and his birthday I don’t get up super early to whip up a new epic breakfast recipe. Instead, I stumble downstairs in my PJs, pop the can open, and wait 15 minutes for the smell of cinnamon and oranges to fill the house and the look of adoring love to cross my husband’s face. That man loves his orange sweet rolls.
But this year I wanted to do something a little more special. It’s not that I mind opening up a can every now and then. But taking my time with a more involved baking project is something I really enjoy. I guess you could say it’s my love language. Kneading dough by hand? Love. Patiently waiting for the dough to rise? Love. Rolling out dough and slathering it in cinnamon and butter? Lots and lots of love.
On a side note, if you ever receive yeasted cinnamon rolls from me, take note. I really, really love you.
So this year I wanted to recreate the Mr.’s favorite, but do it from scratch. Luckily, the hard work of coming up with the recipe was already done for me thanks to Sally of Sally’s Baking Addiction . I just made a few changes to her recipe to yield these fluffy, buttery, orange-scented cinnamon rolls.
Since the recipe does involve several different steps, I decided to break it down for you in pictures. I really hope you give these a try! There’s nothing that says “I Love You” quite like from scratch orange sweet rolls.
It all starts with yeast and water. Sorry no picture included. You’ve totally got this part! Warm water + Yeast = Frothy bubbles! Always look for the bubbles!
In the yeast mixture goes sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice, salt, egg, and butter. Beat it up (either in your stand mixer or with an electric mixer) until it’s nice and smooth!
Then comes the flour. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to add the flour a cup at a time. You’re looking for a dough that pulls away from the edges of the bowl and is tacky but not sticky. When you press on it with your fingertip it should bounce back and not stick like crazy to your finger.
Then comes the kneading. Spread some flour onto a clean countertop and turn your dough out onto it. Flour your hands and knead the dough, folding it and pressing into it with your palms. Give it a good 5 minutes, adding flour if the dough starts to stick to your hands. Put some love into it! It’ll smooth out and become a nice round ball.
Put that lovely little loaf in an oiled bowl and set it in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. It’ll take about an hour and a half. In the meantime, make the filling—it’s just melted butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. And while you’re at it, why not whisk together some powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest for that luscious citrus glaze?
After the dough has risen, turn it out onto another lightly floured surface and use a rolling pin to press it into a rectangle approximately 15 inches long and 9 inches wide. If the dough keeps springing back, let it rest for 10 minutes before trying again. Spread the dough rectangle with the cinnamon filling then roll it up into a long tube.
Slice the dough into 16 even rolls and place them in 2 large greased pie plates. Allow them to rise another hour or so, then preheat the oven and bake. Or leave them at room temperature overnight and bake in the morning–they’ll be HUGE, but they’ll bake up beautifully!
You know what all that hard work and love gets ya?
This.
Totally worth it. Baked, unglazed rolls can be frozen for up to 1 month.
Orange Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
For the filling:
For the glaze:
Instructions
For the dough:
For the filling:
For the glaze:
To assemble:
Notes
Recipe adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction
Yeast rolls definitely show a lot of love. 🙂 A dear friend brought us some sweet orange rolls for dinner one night and they were divine. Can’t wait to try these!
That friend must really love you! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by to comment!
Yeast rolls are definitely a labor of love. But they’re always worth it in the end! These are beauties! I’m sure the Mr. was super happy that you made these…though now, there’s probably no going back to that can…
Oy. I know. What have I done?!
I have never tried orange sweet rolls! I have made raspberry once, but I think I need to try some of these!
Definitely. The citrus taste is so great!
Gosh, I’d love to receive some lovin’ via these gorgeous fluffy sweet rolls, Courney. The mister really is a lucky man! And aren’t Sally’s recipes the absolute best? Guess I need to keep racking up brownie–er, cinnamon roll–points with you so I can coax you into sending me a batch 😉
Yes! I’ve found several favorites from Sally. I totally WISH I could figure out a way to ship cinnamon rolls. Pretty sure I could be a billionaire if I figured that one out.
Courtney!!! You must really really really really really love your man 😉 Just like how I really really really really really love these orange sweet rolls and all of your fabulous, gorgeous step-by-step photos. Orange sweet rolls have been on my must-bake list for the past two years. It’s about time I get my butt moving into the kitchen to make these! Yours look glorious!
Thanks dear! And yes, it’s a whole lot of love in all directions!
So nice of you to make these for your husband, very nice. These sound amazing I can see why he loves them.
These sound amazing, and such gorgeous pictures!
Thanks so much Kate!
I love cinnamon Orange Rolls!! My mother used to make these for us all the time as kids (though out of a can…) Thanks for the recipe. I will be trying this out ASAP!! Also, this was my first time stopping by your blog and I love it!! Amazing pictures!!!! Something for me to aspire to!
Awesome! Thank you so much for stopping by. It’s been a long road with my photography and I’ve still got a long way to go. It’s been a fun learning experience though. I hope you love these as much as we did!
These take me back to grade school summer mornings with Pillsbury orange rolls and the Price is Right! You deserve the significant other award of the year, by the way. What a special treat for the Mr.!
Yeeeeees. I love picturing you eating these and watching the Price is Right. Classic. 🙂
orange rolls out of the can were one of my very favorite treats as a kid. I live in Australia now and that treat isn’t available now…apple and raisin scrolls just don’t hit the same sweet spot! I can’t wait to try these out this weekend! Will they rise well enough if I leave them in the fridge overnight?