When I began cooking seriously in 1983, I first explored making pastries.  About the third sweet I made was a batch of Orange Rolls; sort of cinnamon rolls flavored with orange instead.  Lately, I’ve  been craving some and decided to make a batch for Easter.  While we have a couple of orange trees on our property, I have plucked the last ripe one for the time being, so “oranges” made my grocery list.

As I looked at the line up of fruit available in the store, hoping to find a wide variety for a fresh fruit salad, I spied the most delightful, dark colored oranges.  Upon closer inspection, I realized they were the largest Mandarin Oranges I had ever seen.  In fact, I was really surprised having never seen one so large.  After all, in the States, when available, they are small and very thin skinned … but, fabulous!  I knew I would be making Mandarin Orange Rolls!

One of the interesting things about baking is that it may be done in more than one way.  In general, I like to simplify the process by merging the steps into as few as possible, while still yielding great results.   However, these rolls are so delicious, they are worth “going all out”, so I decided to patiently prepare them.  Also, I want to show you the step-by-step, sort of “Old Time” way of making a sweet yeast dough.

For the record, I served these with the Easter meal of Hickory Smoked Ham with Cranberry-Pineapple Glaze, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit Salad and Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream.  Sweet rolls aren’t just for breakfast!

Mandarin Orange Rolls

 

Author: Dennis Killebrew

Cuisine: American

Prep time:  30 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  1 hour

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Ingredients

• 3½ Cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 Teaspoons Yeast
• ½ Cup Warm Water (105 - 120 F Degrees)
• ¾ Cup Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Melted Shortening
• 3 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1 Egg
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• Filling:
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 4 Tablespoons Softened Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Peel (Just the Orange Part, no White)
• Glaze:
• 1 Stick Butter
• ¾ Cup Sugar
• ½ Cup Sour Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice
• ½ Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

1. Measure the yeast, warm water, 3 tablespoons sugar, ½ teaspoon salt and shortening into a bowl and stir well. Give it 5 minutes to allow the yeast to get into gear. Add the milk, the egg and 1½ cup of the flour. Beat with an electric mixer at low speed until well combined; about 2 minutes.
2. Add the balance of the flour and using a large spoon, stir until all of the flour is combined and a soft dough emerges. Because of the egg, this will be a very sticky dough. Therefore, you will be unable to hand knead it. If you have a machine with a dough hook, use it to knead the dough for 3 minutes. If not, proceed to the next step after the large spoon has done its work.
3. Pour a teaspoon of oil into a large bowl or spray it with cooking spray and place the dough into the oiled bowl. Use your spoon to turn the dough over to coat with the oil and to shape the mass into a ball. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. While the dough is rising, mix up all of the ingredients for the filling in a small bowl and set aside at room temperature.
5. Remove the risen dough to a lightly floured surface and dust it with flour. Shape the dough into an approximate 9" by 13" rectangle. Since this is a soft, moist dough, you can likely get this done with just your hands. However, feel free to use a rolling pin if you prefer.
6. Use a small spoon to spread the filling evenly over the rectangle of dough being careful to leave a ½" edge uncoated all around. Roll the long side of the dough up as for a jelly roll, placing the seam under the roll. Basically, you are shooting for a cigar-shaped roll.
7. You may cut them thinner for more rolls, but I like to make nice, tall ones. To do that, cross-cut your "cigar" into 1½" thick slices and place cut side down in a greased, high-sided bake pan or casserole. Be sure to keep the seam edge wrapped tightly and place it on the pan's edge or held in place by the adjacent roll. If you like, dot with a little butter.
8. Bake your rolls in a 350 degree oven until the tops are golden brown; about 25 - 30 minutes.
9. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by measuring all ingredients into a small sauce pan over medium heat until the sugar is melted and it is well-combined; do not boil. Remove from heat.
10. When browned, remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Then, spoon the glaze over the rolls evenly, using all of it. Enjoy!

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The yeast dissolves and begins to grow in the warm milk mix

The kitchen skylight was too sunny! But, I wanted to show you the filling applied.

Rolls after rising and ready to bake