Description
Copycat Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. Gooey, fluffy, and dripping with orange glaze.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 and 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1/2 cup warm water
- fresh orange zest from 1 medium orange
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 to 3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Filling
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (or more for a thicker glaze)
- 3 Tablespoons orange juice
- fresh orange zest from 1 orange
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- 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’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 – about 1.5 – 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 9×13-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 pin, roll into a 10×15-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 – 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 wire cooling 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.
Notes
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare through step 4. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let rise, about 1 hour.
- Freezing Instructions: Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm up before enjoying. You can also freeze the unbaked rolls and here’s how: let the rolls rise through step 5. Then, bake the rolls for only about 10 minutes at 375°F (191°C). Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze. Take the rolls out of the freezer and put into the refrigerator a few hours before serving. Then, finish baking them.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Wooden Spoon | 9×13-inch Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin | Cooling Rack | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.