I am always looking for an excuse to make my mom’s orange rolls. Ever since I can remember my mom would make these {along with cinnamon rolls and egg dish} for our special Christmas and Santa Lucia breakfasts. For me, it is one of my quintessential memory foods because one bite of these rolls takes me back to so many childhood moments. I’m thinking of starting a new Easter tradition with my family, too. The beautiful {natural} orange color of the sweet rolls is a natural choice for spring. And, if I must admit, it splits the year roughly in half so that we don’t have to wait until December to once again enjoy these orange delights.
The light buttery pastry rolls remind me of brioche. The orange flavor is the perfect combination of sweet and tart. I could eat the orange sauce by the spoonful, however, my oldest son loves the rolls {filled with a light orange sugar} without the sauce, too.
I think I need to take some new {orange roll} pictures…maybe I should make another batch. *wink wink*
- 1 Tbsp yeast
- ¼ cup warm water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream at room temperature
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2¾ - 3 cups flour
- ¼ cup butter, as needed, melted
- 2 Tbsp orange rind
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 Tbsp orange juice concentrate
- ½ cup butter
- Dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
- Stir in the sugar, salt, eggs, sour cream and butter.
- Gradually add the flour.
- Cover the dough and let it rise for two hours.
- Knead it on a lightly floured surface.
- Roll half of the dough into a 12-inch circle.
- Brush the dough with melted butter.
- Mix the orange rind and sugar.
- Sprinkle ½ of the orange mixture over the melted butter.
- Cut the circle into 12 wedges.
- Roll up each wedge, starting with the wide end.
- Repeat this process with the 2nd half of the dough.
- Place the rolled wedges in a greased 9x13 pan.
- Cover the rolls and let them rise for one hour.
- Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
- In a saucepan combine the sugar, sour cream, orange juice concentrate and butter.
- Boil the sauce for 3 minutes, stirring it occasionally.
- Pour the sauce over the baked rolls.
- *Leftover rolls need to be refrigerated or frozen.
- *The orange rolls can be made ahead of time, covered and placed in the freezer. Thaw and reheat to warm in the oven. Prepare and pour the warm glaze over the rolls right before serving.
