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Orange Sweet Rolls

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There's nothing better than freshly-baked sweet rolls and these bake up especially delicious. These rolls are the perfect combination of orange, fresh ginger, cinnamon and brown sugar. If you are looking for the best homemade cinnamon rolls, this is the recipe for you.

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Orange sweet rolls arranged on a serving dish with a slice of orange.
So delicious hot out of the oven and the freezer option means making these rolls fresh is a cinch.

Ingredients to have on hand

  • orange juice
  • an orange and a lemon
  • fresh ginger

Fresh ginger adds a great element to the flavor and freshly squeezed orange juice makes a big difference too.

Sweet roll dough all rolled out.
Roll out the dough into an even rectangle, that helps ensures each roll is sliced to the same size.

Top Tips and FAQ

How important is it to use a pastry mat?

You absolutely can roll the dough on a cutting board or a kitchen counter dusted with flour. But I've found that using a pastry mat is helpful because you can see the size of each section of dough as you slice it. I bought my pastry mat a few years ago, but this one looks very similar.

Can I leave the ginger out of the recipe?

Yes, for sure. The fresh ginger adds a delightful, fresh flavor to these sweet rolls, but if you don't have it on hand or if your family isn't a fan of ginger, by all means, simply leave it out. The rolls will still turn out great.

Cinnamon filling spread out over sweet roll dough.
Leave about an inch of two of dough without the filling, this will help keep the filling from running out once you roll this up.

Fresh Baked Rolls Any Time

I've included an option for freezing the dough so you can enjoy fresh from the oven rolls with breakfast any morning. Scroll down for the details.

Rolled sweet roll dough.
Roll the dough into one long roll.
Sweet roll dough being sliced
Use plain dental floss to the slice the dough into rolls. It works better than even the sharpest knife.
Sliced raw cinnamon roll dough.
Look at the perfect sweet roll, ready to rise.

Fresh from the Freezer

For fresh baked sweet rolls any time, after rolling and slicing, place the rolls in the muffin cups, then place in the freezer until frozen solid. Remove the rolls from the muffin cups and place the frozen rolls in a zip top freezer bag.

On the night before you plan to enjoy fresh baked rolls in the morning, remove them from the freezer and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

The sweet rolls will defrost overnight on your kitchen counter. In the morning, bake as usual and enjoy fresh sweet rolls with your morning coffee or tea. 

Sweet rolls in the pan, after rising.
Use muffin pan to help keep each orange sweet roll the same size.

Auntie's Favorite

Sweet rolls made from scratch have been a baking tradition for generations in my family. Hat tip to my Auntie Iva and Auntie Faye who both made the most delicious homemade rolls when I was growing up. They both provided me with a LOT of inspiration for cooking and baking the old fashioned way, from scratch.

This is now one of my go-to recipes any time I want fresh sweet rolls. The icing for these rolls is what really sets them apart. Be sure to use freshly squeezed orange juice - it does make a big difference. This recipe was inspired by a bread recipe I found in a little cookbook my Auntie Maureen sent me. I'm so tickled with how it turned out, it's now my go-to recipe for sweet rolls.

other baking ideas

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Recipe

Orange sweet rolls arranged on a serving dish with a slice of orange.

Orange Sweet Rolls

There's nothing better than freshly-baked sweet rolls and these are so fresh and bright - the perfect combination of orange, fresh ginger and brown sugar. These rolls are a light and not-too-sweet made from scratch treat that everyone loves.
5 from 67 votes
Print Rate Pin Recipe
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour
Servings: 9 people
Calories: 286kcal
Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

Ingredients 

Dough

  • ⅓ cup orange juice
  • ⅔ cup milk
  • 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast or one ¾ ounce envelope
  • 3 tablespoons butter softened
  • ½ teaspoon fresh ginger grated
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoons orange zest about 2 oranges
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 3 cups flour

Filling

  • 2 teaspoons butter melted
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
  • ⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg

Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon softened butter
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice freshly squeezed
  • pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Heat orange juice and milk to 120° and combine with yeast, allow to sit for a few minutes before adding the remaining sweet roll ingredients in a stand mixer (or large bowl with a sturdy spoon for stirring). Using the bread hook, stir until combined and the dough is smooth and elastic. (If using a bowl and spoon, you'll want to knead the dough for a few minutes on a floured surface.)
    Place dough in a greased bowl and turn to grease top. Cover and let rise for about an hour. While the dough rises, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and set aside. In another small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients and set aside.
    After the dough has doubled in size, turn onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 18"x 8" rectangle. (I highly recommend using a silicone pastry mat. It helps gauge the size of the dough when you roll it out and how large each roll is when you are dividing them. Spread melted butter on top, followed by the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg mixture. Starting with a long side, roll up tightly. Slice the dough into 1" sections and place in greased muffin cups. Allow to rise for about an hour.
    Bake in preheated 375° oven for about 9-11 minutes. Place rolls on a cooling rack and allow to cool for a few minutes, but drizzle with icing while still warm.

Nutrition

Calories: 286kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 6gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 278mgPotassium: 133mgFiber: 2gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 75IUVitamin C: 8mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 2mg

Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database and are offered here only as a guideline for informational purposes.

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  1. Meenakshi Thakur says

    5 stars
    Orange and ginger! already sounds delicious. Going to give it a try this weekend, thanks for the recipe.

    Reply

  2. Kalin says

    Orange cinnamon rolls are the bestttt! I've made plain cinnamon rolls before but will have to try this orange addition

    Reply

  3. Cindy Mom the Lunch Lady says

    5 stars
    Oh man I bet these smell intoxicating! I love citrus flavoured pastries!!

    Reply

  4. Jeannie says

    5 stars
    I love the idea of adding some ginger with bake goods this looks easy to do. I will give it a try.

    Reply

  5. Emily Flint says

    5 stars
    These orange sweet rolls look and sound so amazing, this is just what I was looking for to make for my guy for Father's Day! He loves anything with orange in it so this will be a winner for sure. Thank you!

    Reply