Orange Sweet Rolls

Something special happens twice a year for our religion, and it's called General Conference. I won't go into detail on here because we need to get to these amazing sweet rolls like, yesterday, but if you're curious about Mormons & why your Facebook/Instagram feed was flooded with pictures of us basically "watching our church on TV" as some would call it, (when in reality, we are receiving guidance & council from our living prophets and apostles) click here. It's kind of a really awesome thing, and I look forward to it between conferences. 

Anyway, each time we spend the weekend at home watching, it's been a tradition of mine to make a cinnamon roll breakfast for us. I start the night before, let the rolls rise overnight in the fridge, and then pop them in the oven the second we wake up. This year, I wanted to skip the traditional cinnamon rolls, and dive into a warm gooey flavor that definitely deserves it's stardom from these amazing rolls: zesty, beautiful orange! 

These sweet rolls came together perfectly, and were actually a lot lower-maintenance than I thought they'd be. I added a little ginger to the filling (I love the taste of orange and ginger together!), and ended up kneading my dough right in my stand mixer with the dough attachment. It saved brain cells, guys, just sayin'. 

The orange flavors bursted right through these amazing sweet rolls! The fresh zest is in the dough, that incredible glaze, and you can toss a little right into the filling in you'd like. Go orange crazy with these guys - you can't go wrong! We happily gobbled them up while watching Conference, and spent some serious much-needed family time together. The leftovers were amazing - and heated up perfectly for breakfast the next day. Tip: when microwaving these up, place a small (I'm talking a 1/2 C) of water in the microwave, too. It'll keep the rolls soft, and they won't harden/crust up while re-heating. Glaze those rolls up for days, and these will seriously have you wondering why we even have regular cinnamon rolls. 

Okay, maybe not that far, but you get the idea :) 

Orange Sweet Rolls 

makes 15 rolls

ingredients:

rolls:

1 package active dry yeast 

1/2 C warm water 

pinch of granulated sugar

fresh orange zest from 1 medium orange

1/2 C orange juice 

1/4 C sugar 

1 t salt 

1 large egg

2 T unsalted butter, softened to room temp

3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

filling:

3 T brown sugar

2 ground cinnamon

1/2 t of grated ginger 

2 T unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

glaze:

1 C powdered sugar

1 T orange juice 

fresh orange zest from 1 medium orange

1 t vanilla extract

method:

1. Make the dough: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, pour in warm (a little warmer than lukewarm) water, pinch of sugar, then the yeast. Give it a little stir, then let it sit for 2 minutes for yeast to activate. 

2. Add orange zest, orange juice, sugar, salt, egg, butter and 1 1/2 C flour. Beat everything together on low, and scrape down the sides when needed. Switch to a paddle attachment, Add in 2 C of flour and mix until the dough is not sticky, but will spring back when poked with a finger. Continue "kneading" in your mixer for about 3-4 minutes on medium-low speed. Form the dough into a ball, then transfer to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough with a light towel or lightly with plastic wrap with a little spritz of cooking spray. Let rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. 

3. Line the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on the sides. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it out to a 15x9 inch rectangle. Make sure dough is evenly thick and very smooth. The more rectangular, the better. 

4. For the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Spread the dough with softened butter and sprinkle with all the sugar mixture. Tightly roll up the dough (long) and cut 16 even rolls (I use a string and cut the log in half, then the two longs in half, then the four logs in half), about 1 inch thick. Arrange rolls in the prepared baking pan with the cut sides up. Cover the rolls again and let rise for about 30 min-1 hour. 

5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for 15-30 minutes, until they are lightly toasted (don't overbake!). Transfer the pan to cool for about 10 

6. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together all the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the rolls before serving. 

recipe adapted from: sally's baking addiction