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    Home » BREADS, PIZZA AND SAVORY TARTS

    Mamma's Refrigerator Orange Rolls

    December 23, 2012 33 Comments

    My great-grandmother's recipe for melt-in-your mouth orange sweet rolls with hints of cinnamon and cardamom.

    Orange Refrigerator Rolls crop : The Wimpy Vegetarian

    Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza, this is the time of year we celebrate the circles of family, friendship, and community. We revisit childhood memories and Christmases passed, and create new ones to treasure. We exchange gifts with people close to us, to thank them for being in our lives and contributing to who we are, and who we are becoming.

    For that reason, I like to reach back in time to make traditional dishes that have stood the test of time. Like this Boston Brown Bread Recipe, which dates back to the early 1800's and was steamed in cans. I've updated it to bake it in a Steamed Pudding Mold. And cinnamon rolls have been a favorite for a very long time. And these soft tangzhong cinnamon rolls are the softest ones I've ever made, thanks to the tangzhong method.

    A few generations ago, my family all lived in Alabama, a comfortable distance from each other so they could be a part of everyone's everyday life. I think that's true for most of our families - things weren't so mobile then. Living near each other, it was easy to create and hold family traditions close, and pass them onto the next generation; and I imagine it was important to all of them, particularly this time of year. Today with everyone scattered across the country, it can be easy to lose track of these touchstones in our lives, but I would argue the distance makes them even more important as a way to connect us to each other and to our family heritage. And for me, that begins with food.

    My great-grandmother, Mamma, was known for hosting lots of family holidays and reunions at her home. I first had these little orange rolls at one of her family brunches, and they remain to this day one of my earliest food memories. I was in her kitchen, and must have been young, because I can remember having to look up at the kitchen counter. People were bustling all around me, and I wasn't sure where to stand so I could be out of the way, but still part of the love being passed around. Someone, one of my relatives, crouched down to offer me one of these soft little rolls still warm from the oven. The drizzle was sticky and a little messy, and I remember being not so sure about that. But their aroma and softness convinced me to try them, and as they melted in my mouth, my world was transformed. I'm sure my mom eventually got me into the dining room and maybe got something else into my tummy besides these orange rolls, but I have no memory of any of that. I only remember standing in Mamma's kitchen eating these rolls, and being amazed that something could taste this good.

    I confess I don't make these tender morsels every year, and don't honestly know if Mamma did either, but I find myself yearning for more tradition in my life, a deeper connection to my family, and have decided that making these sweet-roll puffs over the holidays will be our newest family tradition to pass onto future generations with love.

    A few baking notes:

    • If you've never made bread before, and have a Kitchen Aid or other standing mixer that came with a dough hook, this is a great, easy recipe to experiment with. There's next to no kneading by hand, and sits overnight in the refrigerator for its first rise.
    • This is considered a sweet yeasted dough, and can be sticky if you're kneading by hand. If I'm not using a dough hook, I need to use more flour to make it manageable, which will change the texture slightly.
    • My best success for light texture in these rolls have come from kneading the dough with the hook for 15 minutes. It's very smooth and silky by then.
    • You may not see a large rise of the dough as it comes out of the refrigerator, but trust me, this will be a light, airy sweet roll. The slow overnight rise builds a lot of great flavor into the rolls.
    • As an alternative, depending on your schedule you can opt for the first rise in a warm draft-free area of your kitchen, shape the rolls, place them in a baking dish, and then move them into the refrigerator for an overnight rise for the second rise. If you don't bring them to room temp before baking off, your baking time will be a little longer than that suggested in the recipe.
    • On a cold winter morning, I do the second rise in my microwave oven. I first heat up a cup of water to boiling in the microwave, put it to the side, slide the dish with the rolls in, and close the door. The hot water will keep the interior of the microwave slightly warm for the yeast to expand and grow. If you decide to put them in a warm oven, make sure it's not too warm or the butter filling will melt and pool around the rolls, which can hinder how much they rise.
    Orange Refrigerator Rolls crop : The Wimpy Vegetarian
    Print Recipe
    5 from 4 votes

    Mamma's Orange Refrigerator Rolls

    Cuisine: bread
    Servings: 24 - 36 rolls

    Ingredients

    Orange Refrigerator Rolls

    • ½ cup water
    • ¼ cup butter ½ stick
    • ¼ coconut oil the original recipe calls for shortening
    • 3 ounces sugar
    • ¾ teaspoons salt
    • 1 packages dry yeast
    • ½ cup warm water 105 - 110 degrees F
    • 1 large egg slightly beaten
    • 3 cups 13.5 ounces all-purpose flour

    Cinnamon - Orange Filling

    • 6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
    • ½ cup granulated sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoon orange zest
    • ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/16 teaspoon ground cardamom

    Orange Glaze (Optional)

    • 1 cups confectioners sugar
    • 2 ½ tablespoons orange juice
    • 1 tablespoon crème fraîche

    Instructions

    Refrigerator Rolls and Assembly

    • Bring ½ 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 ½ 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 ½ 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 ½ 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 (Optional)

    • 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.

    Notes

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bea

      December 23, 2012 at 1:05 am

      What a great breakfast dish! Beautiful, and delicious at the same time. Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    2. The Ninja Baker

      December 23, 2012 at 1:34 am

      The magic of Southern gentility and close-knit family seems to be woven into your luscious looking orange rolls, Susan.
      Love to give them a try!

      P.s. Appreciate the substitution of coconut oil for the original shortening.

      Reply
    3. Liz

      December 23, 2012 at 4:11 am

      Susan, my hubby loves (and begs for) orange rolls! So glad to have a new recipe to try! Happy holidays and happy Sunday Supper!!! xo

      Reply
    4. Family Foodie

      December 23, 2012 at 4:13 am

      Can I please come to your house to Christmas Breakfast? Merry Christmas and thank you for being such a big part of #SundaySupper this past year!

      Reply
    5. apuginthekitchen

      December 23, 2012 at 5:34 am

      I'll be making these for Christmas morning, these remind me of the recipe I tested on food52. The orange and cinnamon are heavenly. Happy Holidays!

      Reply
    6. Jen @JuanitasCocina

      December 23, 2012 at 6:14 am

      I'm so excited to try these orange rolls! Merry Christmas!

      Reply
    7. Amy Kim

      December 23, 2012 at 6:22 am

      I love your story and these rolls look beautiful and delectable! Happy holidays!

      Reply
    8. Lane @ Supper for a Steal

      December 23, 2012 at 6:40 am

      These rolls look amazing! My family would love them.

      Reply
    9. Paula @ Vintage Kitchen

      December 23, 2012 at 7:49 am

      I think I like orange rolls more than cinnamon. And fresh out of the oven, that´s an incredible experience! Love your holiday tradition! Have a wonderful Christmas Susan!

      Reply
    10. s

      December 23, 2012 at 8:04 am

      ooooh decadent!

      Reply
    11. Tora Estep

      December 23, 2012 at 8:27 am

      These sound wonderful! Thanks for sharing the story and the recipe!

      Reply
    12. Nancy @ gottagetbaked

      December 23, 2012 at 8:28 am

      Susan, this is such a lovely post! I can't wait to try these rolls - they've got everything: carbs, orange, and icing. YUM! And I loved reading about your first experience tasting them. To this day, I can remember magic moments like that from my childhood and I know how special it is to treasure memories (and food) like this. Thankfully both my family and my Husband's all live in town so that we can celebrate the holidays together. Regardless of where your family is, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!

      Reply
    13. lizthechef

      December 23, 2012 at 9:30 am

      A beautiful recipe and family story...And one of your best shots of 2012! Can I join #SundaySupper? Email me in the New Year if I can? Thanks!

      Reply
    14. Hezzi-D

      December 23, 2012 at 11:53 am

      These sound like they are bursting with citrus flavor. Perfect for a holiday breakfast.

      Reply
    15. Laura

      December 23, 2012 at 12:25 pm

      What a wonderful post. Family traditions are so important and I think they are slowly being forgotten by so many families. This recipe looks amazing. My mom just looked over my shoulder and drooled at your photos. I think we might try to make them while I am here visiting.

      Reply
    16. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious

      December 23, 2012 at 3:54 pm

      Amazing! I could seriously clean off the pan myself!

      Reply
    17. Martin D. Redmond

      December 23, 2012 at 5:13 pm

      This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    18. Roxanne

      December 23, 2012 at 5:55 pm

      These look delicious. I can't wait to make!!

      Reply
    19. Carla

      December 23, 2012 at 6:13 pm

      Love your story! I don't make enough homemade rolls, so I'm bookmarking these.

      Reply
    20. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

      December 23, 2012 at 7:17 pm

      I have a English part to my family as well. Love these rolls!

      Reply
    21. Lyn @LovelyPantry

      December 23, 2012 at 10:15 pm

      I loved reading your post today, Susan. Family and heritage are so important to me. This is such a great recipe! I'm so glad you shared this story with us!

      Reply
    22. Conni Smith

      December 24, 2012 at 12:37 am

      These look fantastic! I love making sweet rolls, and the overnight kind make for a great morning 🙂

      Reply
    23. Cindys Recipes

      December 24, 2012 at 6:14 am

      Orange and cinnamon work so good together!

      Reply
    24. Yosef @ This American Bite

      December 24, 2012 at 7:33 am

      Looks delicious... and I love the high yield of this recipe.

      Reply
    25. Megan @ I Run For Wine

      December 24, 2012 at 8:24 am

      I love this recipe! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Holiday!

      Reply
    26. Renee

      December 25, 2012 at 4:48 am

      What lovely memories you have with these rolls. So great how food can help us recall the details of family events from the past. It is magical and shows how much more food plays a part in our lives.

      Reply
    27. Susan

      December 26, 2012 at 10:08 am

      I'm loving the orange filling! Very unexpected but completely refreshing too!

      Reply
    28. Sarah

      December 28, 2012 at 10:22 am

      Loving the new design! Your blog looks great. I hope you enjoyed your Holidays. The rolls look beautiful and I bet the orange filling made it even better.

      Reply
    29. Donna

      December 28, 2012 at 7:42 pm

      This would be perfect for breakfast any day. I love it!

      Reply
    30. Aleksia

      January 05, 2018 at 7:10 am

      mmm... Orange rolls! I made this last week. I must say it is beyond wonderful. Mine even turned out as pretty as yours. Thanks for the great recipe!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        January 05, 2018 at 11:41 pm

        I'm so happy you made these rolls. They're such a favorite of mine that I grew up with. And so so glad you liked them too! Thanks for letting me know how it worked for you!!

        Reply
    31. Aformations.Com

      March 15, 2020 at 10:10 am

      5 stars
      I have made twice and they are fabulous! Don't hesitate to try these. I used all butter, as I do not buy shortening. The second time I made them, I prepared all the way to cutting and putting in the pan and THEN refrigerated them over night. next morning, let come to room temp and rise (about one hour total) and then bake. Worked very well both ways!

      Reply
      • The Wimpy Vegetarian

        March 15, 2020 at 2:33 pm

        5 stars
        Thanks so much for letting me know! I'm so glad you made them and loved them!!!!

        Reply

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    Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

    I'm a mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore and am on a constant hunt for healthy, delicious recipes we'll both like. Most recipes here are vegetarian with tips for adding meat or fish for the meat-eaters at the table. Whether you're vegetarian, or just wanting to eat less meat, I hope you'll find inspiration here to try something new for your own table, even if you're sharing it with someone with different eating preferences.

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