Orange Rolls...Warm Comfort Food

 

Ingredients

Orange Refrigerator Rolls

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 coconut oil (the original recipe calls for shortening)
• 3 ounces sugar
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 packages dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105 – 110 degrees F)
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Cinnamon – Orange Filling

• 6-8 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon ground cardamom

Orange Glaze

• 1 cups confectioners sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon crème fraîche

Instructions

Refrigerator Rolls and Assembly

Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the butter and coconut oil, and stir until melted. Add the sugar and salt, and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Pour the warmed 1/2 cup water into a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over it, and stir to dissolve. Allow to sit until the yeast begins to expand and billow. Add the butter / sugar mixture and stir to mix.

Add 3 cups flour or enough to make a thick dough and mix thoroughly. In my great grandmother’s day, this likely meant a lot of kneading. For me, I put everything into the bowl of my Kitchen Aid, fitted it with the hook attachment and let it knead the dough for 15 minutes on the lowest speed, until the dough is silky and stretchy. The best way to check the stretchiness (glutenous) of this dough is to dig the hook in and pull a piece of dough up. If it quickly tears, keep kneading.

Cover and put in the refrigerator overnight.

About 2 – 2 1/2 hours before serving the rolls, turn the dough out onto a floured workspace, divide in half and roll out each portion into a 12″ X 8″ rectangle.

Spread the Cinnamon Orange Filling (recipe below) on the dough, dividing it between the two rectangles. Roll up each rectangle like a jelly roll and slice into 18 equal slices for small rolls, or into 12 slices for larger rolls

Place the rolls in 3 greased 8″ or 9″ square baking pans. Let rolls rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Drizzle the Orange Glaze over the warm rolls and serve.

Orange Filling

Combine the sugar and orange zest in a bowl, and rub between your fingers until the sugar has absorbed all the zest. It will be damp. Add the spices and rub into the sugar mixture.

Place the softened butter and the sugar mixture in the bowl of a mixer and beat together until it’s completely mixed.

Spread on the rolled out dough rectangles using a knife.

Orange Glaze

Mix together the confectioners sugar and orange juice until the sugar liquifies. Mix in the crème fraîche.

Drizzle over warm rolls fresh from the oven.