Orange Rolls

Dough Adapted from A Hint of Honey and Frosting Adapted From Tasty Kitchen

I prefer sweet orange rolls to cinnamon rolls.  And I prefer them a little gooey.  My friend makes this recipe and, knowing my love for them, made them for my baby shower a few months ago.  I've been meaning to make them ever since.  I intended to just make them for Christmas morning, along with a quiche {recipe to come!}, but they take some time and the recipe makes quite a lot of sweet rolls.  So, I decided to make them today to enjoy over several days and to share with a few friends.  My first attempt at orange rolls turned out to be an ooey-gooey success!

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 6-8 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs instant yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 2 ¼ cups warm milk

Filling:

• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 cups brown sugar
• Zest of 3 oranges

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• ½ cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 8 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• ½ tsp almond extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

• In a large bowl combine 3 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar.  Whisk to combine.  Pour in wet ingredients (butter, eggs and milk).  Stir until it is a thick paste.  Add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until it comes together in a ball.
• Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough, adding more flour if needed to prevent sticking, 8-10 minutes, until smooth.  Spray the inside of a bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough and divide in half.  Roll out each half into a large rectangle.  Brush melted butter over the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and orange zest.  Roll up lengthwise.  Cut each log into 12 evenly sized pinwheels.  Place into lightly greased 9x13” baking pans.  Cover each pans and let rise until doubles in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 F.  Bake rolls in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden on top.  Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. 
• While the rolls are baking, prepare the frosting.  Beat the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Slowly add the orange juice, powdered sugar, almond extract and salt.  Beat until smooth.  If the frosting is too thick, add more juice.
• Pour frosting over the hot rolls, dividing it among the two pans.  Serve warm.

Makes 24 rolls.