The ultimate warm and fluffy Homemade Orange Rolls baked in a muffin pan with a simple orange glaze drizzled on top.Â
Homemade Orange Rolls are like a cousin to Perfect Cinnamon Rolls. Both recipes are filled with delicious sweet filling and topped with sweet glaze. Some of my other popular bread/roll recipes include Cranberry Orange Scones and Lemon Poppyseed Bread.
This recipe is REALLY special to my family! It was given to us by a good friend and we make it every year for family parties or special occasions and especially on Thanksgiving and Christmas! Everyone always looks forward to them, and they really are simple and fool-proof to make.
What we love about these Orange Rolls:
- Muffin tin: This is my favorite thing about this recipe because it makes them a cross between cinnamon rolls and muffins. They have the same rolled dough and swirled filling, but they’re much less messy and easier to eat in the form of muffins.
- Homemade orange filling and glaze:Â Making the glaze and filling is the easiest part and also the most delicious!
- Easy, step-by-step instructions, pictures, and video:Â This recipe is fool-proof! Â Homemade sweet breads can be intimidating but not these. Follow the instructions and you’ll end up with the most fluffy, amazing Homemade Orange Rolls!
How to Make Orange Rolls:
- Proof the yeast: In a small bowl, add water, yeast and sugar. Let rest for 15 minutes.
- Make the dough: In a large mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, add eggs, butter, salt, flour and yeast mixture.
- Knead and rest 3x: knead with your mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Knead dough again for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes. Knead dough one more time for three minutes. Let rest again for 10 minutes.
- Form dough balls. Divide the dough evenly into three balls.
- Roll a rectangle. Lightly flour your counter-top and roll each dough ball out into a 15”x8” rectangle.
- Spread the orange filling. Mix ½ cup softened butter with ½ cup sugar and the zest of 2 oranges. Spread this mixture evenly over the three rectangles of bread dough.
- Roll and cut. Roll-up each rectangle lengthwise into a long tube (similar to how you would roll cinnamon rolls). Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the dough into 1 1/2” sections. Put each small dough round into a greased muffin tin.
- Rise and Bake. Allow dough to rise once more, for 30 minutes.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes.
- Drizzle with glaze. Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze.
- Store orange rolls in a tightly sealed container or bag at room temperature.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Make the roll dough and instead of kneading and resting, knead with a mixer for 5-7 minutes, then transfer to a well greased large bowl. Cover bowl with a lid or tightly with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate for several house or overnight. Remove from fridge allow to rest on counter for 30 minutes before rolling out dough and adding butter/orange zest filling.
To Freeze: Allow the rolls to cool completely after cooking (before topping with glaze). Place in a ziplock freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, microwave the muffins for 15-20 seconds and top with fresh orange glaze.
Consider trying my other favorite sweet breads:
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Recipe
Orange Rolls
The ultimate warm and fluffy Homemade Orange Rolls baked in a muffin pan with a simple orange glaze drizzled on top.Â
Ingredients
Rolls:
- 1 3/4 cups warm water
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 2 large oranges
Orange Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest (from fresh orange)
- 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add water, yeast and sugar. Let rest for 5 minutes, until foamy on top. In a large mixing bowl fitted with a dough hook, add eggs, butter, salt, flour and yeast mixture.
- Knead the dough with your mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Knead dough again for 3 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Knead dough one more time for three minutes. Let rest again for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 3 balls. Lightly flour your counter-top and roll each dough ball out into a 15''x8'' rectangle.
- Mix ½ cup softened butter with ½ cup sugar and the zest of 2 oranges. Spread this mixture evenly over the three rectangles of bread dough.
- Roll-up each rectangle lengthwise into a long tube (similar to how you would roll cinnamon rolls). Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the dough into 1 1/2'' sections.
- Put each small dough round into a greased muffin tin. (You could also lay them in a greased baking dish, like cinnamon rolls, but we always make them in muffin tins!)
- Cover dough lightly with greased piece of plastic wrap and allow dough to rise once more, for 30 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze.
Orange Glaze:
- Whisk powdered sugar, orange zest and orange juice until smooth. Drizzle over warm orange rolls.
- Orange rolls are best enjoyed fresh, the day they are made. Store leftoevers in an air-tight container for 1-3 days, or freeze.
Notes
To Make Ahead: Make the roll dough and instead of kneading and resting, knead with a mixer for 5-7 minutes, then transfer to a well greased large bowl. Cover bowl with a lid or tightly with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate for several house or overnight. Remove from fridge allow to rest on counter for 30 minutes before rolling out dough and adding butter/orange zest filling.Â
To Freeze: Allow the rolls to cool completely after cooking (before topping with glaze). Place in a ziplock freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, microwave the muffins for 15-20 seconds and top with fresh orange glaze.
Nutrition
Calories: 156kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 114mgPotassium: 25mgSugar: 11gVitamin A: 175IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.8mg
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I originally shared this recipe November 2013. Updated August 2019.
Soft and delicious ,like little puffs of orange heavenly yum-ness
These are without question the easiest, fastest, best rolls of any kind I have ever made. I made them for my birthday dinner they were light and fluffy, super orangey. I had never done a recipe where you left them in the bowl and kept kneading with a stand mixer! Absolutely amazing. Everyone loved them.
Hi!! How long do these rolls last? And do you have to reheat it after storing it in a container?
They will last for 2-3 days. Reheating is optional based on your personal preference.
These were absolutely delicious. The roll was so soft and light. They were time consuming, but not hard. Directions were easy to follow. I loved the look of the individual rolls from the muffin tin. So cute! Make sure to take the roll out of the tin fairly quickly after removing them from the oven, or the sugar hardens and sticks making it more difficult to remove them and keep them pretty. after the rolls come out of the tin, then glaze, like in the video. The glaze is pretty when it drips down the sides. Our new favorite orange roll recipe. More work – but WORTH IT!
These were easily the softest baked bread I’ve made from TBFS. The dough was very easy to work with and the rolls melt in your mouth! One addition I made was to brush the tops with butter before drizzling the glaze over the rolls to round out the flavor a bit. I made these for Christmas dinner and the samples (before dinner) were a HUGE hit with my family! Highly, highly recommend 😀
I have a hard time making breads of any kind. I never know when I have needed enough. These instructions were specific and easy to follow. I made a half recipes and they were perfect. I will make a full recipe for our family Thanksgiving dinner.
I have given up on making bread. The only problem I can think of is the temp of the water. If you can advise of a temp range I would be really happy to try once more.
That is a Kitchenaide mixer. They are expensive, but worth it. You can occasionally find them used when someone is upgrading to a bigger model.
Very nice.. I have a recipe for orange rolls that was passed down in my family that’s similar but has significantly longer raising times for the 3 raises. Also, the glaze is made very thick and is what is pasted inside when you roll them up. I may try this as is seems very similar and it’d be nice to be able to make them without taking forever. I don’t have a mixer and noticed in the video that the mixer you were using looks really convenient.. would you mind sharing what mixer you used in the video? Thanks in advance!
That is a Kitchenaide mixer. Expensive, but worth it. You can occasionally find them used when someone is upgrading.