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Author: Sally
Published: 01/01/2013Updated: 12/18/2020
Copycat Pillsbury Orange Sweet Rolls. Gooey, fluffy, and dripping with orange glaze.
I planned for the first recipe of 2013 to be a healthier item… sorry, but I changed my mind.
Today’s rolls are a sequel to my Raspberry Swirl Sweet Rolls. The two dough recipes are completely different, but they are both fruity little spin-offs of your standard cinnamon bun. I am so in love with both fluffy, doughy, yeasty sweet roll recipes. And I know you will be too. Do not fear yeast!
Baking with Yeast Guide
Reference this Baking with Yeast Guide whenever you work with baker’s yeast. I include practical answers to all of your common yeast questions.
Have you ever had a Pillsbury Orange Sweet Roll before? You know, the kind that come in a can? I gladly admit that I LOVE those little things. My mom always made them for us on busy weekend mornings. The smell alone got me out of bed—light citrus paired with the nostalgic fragrance of gooey cinnamon buns.
Needless to say, down the stairs I ran with a grumbling tummy.
Today I bring you a homemade version of the zingy little breakfast rolls. The rolls are surprisingly SO easy to make. I know a lot of my readers have 2013 resolutions to begin playing around with yeast and this is a wonderful recipe to conquer that fear.
They’repuffy.
They’re zingy.
They’re dripping with sweet orange glaze!
I baked these in the evening for breakfast the next day. They definitely taste better fresh, but I didn’t hear anyone complaining. They can also be made ahead of time—either as overnight rolls (see recipe notes) or you can freeze the baked rolls. Just warm up and drizzle with the orange glaze when you’re ready to serve them.
You will love how doughy, soft, and fluffy these are! Each bite is tender—like the fluffiest bakery roll you’ve ever tasted. You will NEVER turn to the store-bought version again. There is simply nothinglike a fresh sweet roll made from scratch.
With one taste of the warm and sticky rolls fresh from the oven, I truly wondered why I waited so long to make these! I like to unravel the doughy cinnamon layers as I eat them. 🙂
New spin-off recipes from today’s sweet rolls are already swirling through my head. Make a batch of these for breakfast or brunch and invite your friends and family over. Or not. There really doesn’t need to be any occasion to make these!
Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls
4.6 from 15 reviews
- Author: Sally
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes (or overnight)
- Yield: 15 rolls
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
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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 ()
Filling
- 1/4 cupgranulatedsugar
- 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)
- 3Tablespoons 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: Preparethrough 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 at375°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 orStand) | 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.