Create the best sweet rolls ever with this easy recipe! Soft, orange-zest dough filled with a blend of almonds, cinnamon, and butter, then twisted into spirals and baked to perfection.
To begin making the dough for these rolls you’ll need to combine the dry ingredients and then melt the butter in some milk until it’s warmed, but not too hot. Combine this with the rest of the dough ingredients, including some freshly-grated orange zest.
Then you’ll need to let this rise for 30-50 minutes. I let mine go 60 minutes and it rose beautifully. While it’s rising you can work on the filling, which is a yummy blend of ground almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, powdered sugar, and butter.
When the dough had doubled in size I rolled it out on my handy dandy baking mat. This thing is a lifesaver and came in useful in 3 ways during baking. It keep the work top clean, it proved a non-stick surface, and I was able to use the measurements to roll out the dough to 12″x22″.
The next step is to spoon the filling over one half of the dough vertically and then fold the other half over the filled side. I used flexible mat to do this and I can’t recommend it enough. After that use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 20 or so strips.
For the next step you’ll need to carefully twist each strip of dough 4 or 5 times, then gently roll that into a flat spiral. Some of the filling does fall out when you do this, but I just took the fallen pieces and placed them into the center of each sweet roll.
After they rise again bake them for 9 minutes and while they’re in the oven you can make the glaze- which is just orange juice with a small amount of powdered sugar mixed in. Then brush the rolls with the glaze and bake for a few more minutes.
Once these are out of the oven you’re left with lovely rolls that aren’t cloyingly sweet. They are great with tea or coffee, but they also make the ideal midnight snack, too.
I can honestly say these are the best sweet rolls I’ve ever made!
Yield(s): Makes 20-22 rolls
2h prep time
19m cook time
227 calories
For the dough:
- 4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1/2 cup sugar, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons grated orange peel (zest of 1-2 oranges)
- 2 packets dry active yeast
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 egg
For the filling:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup almonds, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- For the glaze:
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Preparation
- In a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt, orange peel, and yeast. Set aside.
- In a saucepan combine milk and butter and cook over low heat until warm (not hot). Add to flour mixture along with egg and use an electric mixer to mix for 2-3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour by hand until stiff dough forms.
- Cover and set dough in a warm place to rise for 35-50 minutes. When risen dough should be double in size. While dough is rising combine filling ingredients and set aside.
- Roll dough to a 22”x12” rectangle. Spread filling over half the dough going lengthwise. Fold dough over so that filling is covered. Cut into 20-22 strips crosswise to end with with many short strips of dough. Twist each dough strip 4 or 5 times and then form into swirl shape.
- Place on lined cookie sheets and allow to rise again (covered) for 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375˚F. Remove covering from rolls and bake for 9-12 minutes. While rolls are baking combine glaze ingredients. Brush with glaze and then return to oven to brown for 3-5 more minutes.
Recipe adapted from Tomatoes
