Our Thanksgiving dinner would not be complete without orange rolls.
I also make Crescent Dinner Rolls
Yes, we have two kinds of rolls with our dinner. Tradition.
I actually use the same dough recipe for the orange rolls that I use for the crescent rolls. I double the batch of dough then use half of the dough for the crescent rolls and the other half for the orange rolls.
You could also use the dough recipe from Cheddar Cheese Rolls omitting the cheddar, of course. You could also use the dough recipe from Giant Cinnamon Twists. Any of the dough recipes will work great. You choose.
You will need 3 eggs, 1/2 cup butter, 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 4 1/2 - 5 cups of flour.
Oh my, I almost forgot the yeast. That would have been so bad!
Repeat after me....yeast is my friend...yeast is my friend....
The yeast will always be your friend as long as you don't kill it! How do you kill it??
You kill it by making the water too hot that you dissolve it in. The water should be warm to the touch. Not hot. Just warm. Not too cold that will make the yeast rise slower. Warmer than a baby bottle. About 110 degrees is safe.
I am using SAF-instant yeast. You can use whatever yeast you have.
Whisk the yeast into the warm water to dissolve.
In the bowl of a mixer add eggs.
Add the sugar. My granddaughter is helping me out today. She has been coloring with permanent markers as you can see. She isn't allowed to color with permanent markers. She told me that when I gave them to her. Whatever! Today she can!
Let me tell you one thing about adding sugar to eggs. If you add the sugar on top if the eggs and do not mix it in, the sugar will start a process which begins to cook the eggs. Not good. So please start mixing at once.
Add the salt.
Mix the eggs, sugar and salt together quiet well. I just let the mixer keep running on low at this point. You can turn it off if you want.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter.
When the butter has completely melted and the butter starts to bubble, add the milk all at once. Then immediately take off the heat. You don't want to get the milk, butter mixture too hot because it will cook the eggs AND kill the yeast.
With the mixer on low, add the milk and butter mixture.
Mix well.
Add the dissolved yeast.
Mix again.
Add the flour 1 cup at a time.
Mix well after each addition.
When you add the fourth cup of flour, let the mixer run for about 3-5 minutes. Now I determine just how much more flour I will add. NEVER let me repeat NEVER add more than 5 cups of flour. In fact, I rarely add more than 4 1/2 cups of flour. You don't want to dough to be stiff. It needs to be very sticky.
One good way to tell if you have added enough flour is to look at the sides of the bowl. Add flour just until the dough starts to pull away from the sides. Remember the dough is very sticky.
I use a dough scraper to scrape the dough from the sides of the bowl and to form a ball of dough.
Here you can see how sticky the dough is.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough overnight.
The rolls will need about 3-4 hours of rise time, so allow that time into your schedule. Prepare the orange filling and remove the dough from the refrigerator. The dough will have risen slightly. Not quiet doubled in size, but close.
To make the rolls "orange" you will need the zest from one orange, juice from half of an orange, 1/2 cup butter (1 cube) and 1 cup sugar.
Butter 2 muffin tins. Set aside.
Melt the butter and add to the sugar.
Add the zest.
Squeeze the juice from half of an orange. I find that the liquid from the juice creates enough steam while baking to dissolve the sugar and makes a wonderful glaze on the bottom of the rolls.
Stir together.
It's kind of thin. That's the reason I like using a cold refrigerated dough. Because as soon as you start to spread this mixture it will solidify the butter making it easier to slice the rolls.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. I like to use my canvas to roll out my rolls. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough into a rectangle about 13 x 22-inches.
Spread the butter, sugar mixture over the dough.
Spread the butter to within 1/2-inch of the edges.
Can you see how the butter thickened up from the cold dough. This will be so much easier to roll and slice.
Beginning with the long end, roll the dough like you are making cinnamon rolls.
You should have a roll about 22-inches long.
I like to take a clean, dry pastry brush and brush off any remaining flour.
Cut the dough in half. You can eyeball it, but I have to pull out my grandmas quilting ruler because I'm not so good at eyeballing anything.
Then cut into fourths.
Cut each forth into six slices. They are almost an inch wide.
Place the slices into prepared muffin pans.
I like to put the muffin pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment. The orange goo in the middle has been know to spill over. It can make one big mess of your oven and cookie sheet. It makes clean up a breeze.
Cover the rolls and allow to rise until they have doubled in size.
Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden .
Immediately flip the rolls out of the pan. I turn them out onto the baking sheet that has been lined with parchment.
Careful they are hot and the goo can burn like hot glue if you get in on your hands.
The sugar melts and creates a glaze on the bottom of the rolls. They are extremely buttery and divine.
Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day are not days to be on a diet. I do not deprive myself of anything on those two days. Why? I'll be a good girl after the holidays.
It's funny how most - ALL of our family traditions stem around food.
Orange Rolls
¼ cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
3 eggs
½ cut butter
¾ cup milk
½ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon salt
4 ½ - 5 cups flour
Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside for 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl mix together eggs, sugar, and salt. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter then add milk. Slowly pour into egg mixture mixing all the time. Add yeast mixture and 2 cups flour. Mix until dough is smooth. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Only use needed amount of flour to form a smooth yet sticky dough. DO NOT ADD MORE THAN 5 CUPS OF FLOUR. Cover dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator overnight.
Orange filling:
1/2 cup butter – melted
1 cup sugar
Juice from 1/2 orange
Zest from 1 orange
To make the orange filling: Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl and stir to blend.
Butter or grease 2 muffin pans then set aside. Roll into a rectangle. Spread the melted butter and orange mixture on the dough leaving ½-inch border around the sides. Roll dough from the long end. Cut roll into 24 slices and place in prepare muffin pans. Allow to rise until double in size. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediate remove from oven and flip rolls out onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Allow all the orange glaze to drizzle over the rolls.
Happy Thanksgiving.
