Go Back
–+ servings
A individual orange sweet roll on a blue plate with a fork cutting it in half.

Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls

Course: Breakfast / Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Proofing: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 684kcal
Author: Kris Longwell
These Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls are everything you think they should be...and more. Heavenly and delicious.
Print Recipe

Equipment

  • 9" diameter cake pan, or 8"x 8" baking dish

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 3⅔ cup all-purpose flour
  • 2¼ teaspoon rapid rise dry yeast 1 package, active dry yeast will work, too
  • ½ cup whole milk warmed to approx. 100° F
  • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter melted, and then cooled to approx. 100° F
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ⅓ cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 large egg lightly beaten

FOR THE SWEET ROLLS

  • 6 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
  • ⅔ cup sugar
  • 2 tbs orange zest

FOR THE ICING

  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 cups confectioner's sugar aka powdered sugar
  • 4 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH

  • In a large bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough attachment, mix together the flour and the yeast.
  • With the mixer on medium speed, add the warmed milk and melted butter (that's cooled slightly) to flour/yeast mixture. Next add in the sour cream, sugar, salt, and egg.
  • Beat at medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, approximately 5 minutes (Dough should pull away from sides of the bowl, but still stick to the bottom).
  • Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Place the dough in prepared bowl, turning to coat top.
  • Cover, and let rise in a warm draft-free place until the dough has about doubled in size, approximately 1 to 2 hours (seen note).

PREPARE THE SWEET ROLLS

  • Spray a 9-inch round pan (2 inches in height works well) with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
  • Lightly punch down the prepared dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14"x10" rectangle.
  • Spread the softened butter (6 tablespoons) evenly over dough.
  • In a small bowl, stir together sugar (⅔ cup) and zest (2 tablespoons) then sprinkle over butter.
  • Starting on one long side, roll dough into a log.
  • Slice into 9 to 10 rolls.
  • Place rolls in prepared pan.
  • Cover, and let rise in a warm draft-free place until almost doubled in sized, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
  • Let cool in pan on a wire rack for about 10 to 15 minutes.

MAKE THE ICING AND FINISH THE ROLLS

  • In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining 1 teaspoon zest, confectioners' sugar, and orange juice until smooth.
  • Drizzle and smear icing over warm rolls.

Video

Notes

If using active dry yeast in place of rapid rise, simply allow the dough to rise a little longer.  There are multiple factors that will cause the time for the dough to rise to vary from time to time.  It may only take 1 hour for the dough to double in size, but it could take up to 3 hours.
IMPORTANT: Don't add really hot milk and melted butter to the flour/yeast mixture.  If you do, it will kill the yeast and the dough won't rise.  We recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature.  Neither the milk or the melted butter should be over 100° to 105° F.
The dough can be prepared the night before.  Instead of letting it rise in a warm, draft-free area, simply cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
If you don't have a zester or micro-plane, you can rub the skin of the oranges against the small blades on the side of a box cutter. 

Nutrition

Calories: 684kcal | Carbohydrates: 134g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 817mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 74g | Vitamin A: 915IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 4mg