Frosted Orange Rolls

Incredibly soft and fluffy, these frosted orange rolls have a no-knead dough that is filled and topped with a sweet orange icing. Prep these sweet rolls the night before and bake them in the morning for a delicious holiday breakfast.

My grandma Poor has always been a source of some of my favorite recipes. Cream cheese ranch roll ups? Veggie pizza? You can thank Grandma for those. 

When I was a little girl, I remember spending the night at my grandma and grandpa Poor’s house on a Saturday night and waking up to Grandma’s cinnamon rolls on Sunday morning.

I’m biased, but no cinnamon roll has ever lived up to Grandma’s soft, pillowy rolls. 

When I moved out on my own and started this site, Grandma sent me her cinnamon roll recipe, which she inherited from her mother, and I learned that it’s one of those recipes that uses one dough to make about 3 or 4 different flavor variations.

This frosted orange roll version is one of my very favorites. Over the years, I have a number of friends who have created their own family traditions around this recipe, making these orange rolls for Christmas or Easter morning.

And that, friends, is exactly why I do what I do. There’s no better feeling than seeing a recipe you grew up loving become a part of other families’ special traditions.

If you haven’t tried Grandma’s orange rolls yet, you absolutely must. I bet they’ll become a favorite for your family, too.

What are frosted orange rolls?

These frosted orange rolls are a sweet, citrusy take on cinnamon rolls. 

They use a cinnamon roll dough, but the cinnamon-sugar filling has been replaced with an orange-flavored icing. Then, after baking, they’re topped with even more orange icing.

Holy moly. 

And remember how I said that no other recipe has ever matched the soft pillowy texture of Grandma’s rolls? Well, that’s because this dough requires absolutely no kneading.

That’s right, this is a no-knead dough, just like my no-knead refrigerator rolls! Eliminating that step means that the dough stays incredibly soft and pliable, making for the absolute softest sweet rolls you’ve ever eaten.

Now, just because there’s no kneading doesn’t mean there’s no rising and waiting time involved. But I’ll walk you through how to make these ahead of time so you’re ready to dive right into warm and delicious orange rolls for breakfast.

How to make my grandma’s no-knead frosted orange rolls

The dough for these orange rolls takes a bit of time to rise, but it’s super easy to make. You don’t even need a mixer! 

Ingredients you’ll need

For the dough itself, you will need:

• 1 envelope active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 cups warm milk
• 1/2 cup sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 4 1/2 cups flour, divided
• 1/4 cup shortening, melted

If you have a jar of yeast instead of envelope packets, one envelope of yeast is equal to 2 ¼ teaspoons.

The water and the milk should be warm to the touch, but not hot. On an instant-read thermometer (which I highly recommend having), they should be between 110°F-120°F.

If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, test the temperature on the inside of your wrist to make sure it is warm but not hot. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your dough won’t rise.

For the orange icing, which is used for filling and topping these orange rolls, you will need:

• 4 1/2 tablespoons softened butter
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

I prefer using freshly squeezed orange juice in the icing, since I already have to zest an orange for it anyway. But you can use the orange juice you already have in your fridge if you like.

Making this recipe

To make the dough for these frosted orange rolls, start by dissolving the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, along with ¼ cup of the sugar and the salt.

Stir in 3 cups of the flour. The mixture will be runny – don’t panic, it’s supposed to be. 

Lightly cover the bowl and let the mixture rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

After an hour, stir in the rest of the sugar and the melted shortening, then add the rest of the flour. The dough will still be pretty wet, but don’t be tempted to add any more flour!

Cover and let it rise again until doubled, about an hour.

While the dough is doing its second rise, make the icing.

Cream the softened butter, then add the orange zest, juice, and powdered sugar and beat until well combined.

Once the dough has doubled in size, dump it onto a well-floured surface and divide it in half.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll each half of the dough into a large rectangle about 15 inches long. Spread ⅓ of the icing onto each portion of the dough, reserving the last ⅓ of icing for topping the rolls.

Roll the dough into a log from the long side and cut each log into 6 equal pieces – they’ll be pretty big!

Place the cut rolls into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Because the dough is so soft, the cut rolls will slump over, but that’s ok. As they continue to rise and bake, they will regain their shape.

If you are baking the orange rolls right away, cover the pan and let them rise until they have doubled, about 30-45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Bake the rolls for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let the rolls cool for a few minutes before frosting with the remaining orange icing.

Overnight and make-ahead tips

Ok so, if you’re anything like me, this is not a recipe you want to mess with early in the morning. Luckily, I’ve got a couple ways around that.

Making the rolls overnight

I’m a big fan of overnight cinnamon rolls, so that’s one of my favorite methods to use with these orange rolls, too.

To make the rolls the night before, follow the recipe directions up through rolling, shaping, and cutting the rolls.

Place the cut rolls into your baking pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

Pop the rest of your orange icing into an airtight container in the fridge, too.

In the morning, allow the pan of now-risen orange rolls to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats. Bake and frost the rolls as directed.

Freezing the rolls

I spent all of my childhood thinking Grandma was getting up with the sun to bake a pan of cinnamon rolls before church on Sunday morning. Turns out, she absolutely was not.

Instead, she would let the rolls cool completely, cut them apart, and place them in zip-top freezer bags.

Then, whenever she needed them, she could take out as many as she wanted and microwave each one for 30-60 seconds. This thaws the rolls and warms them through.

This is a great way to keep leftover rolls for whenever you get a random orange-roll craving!

Recipe FAQs

Frosted Orange Rolls

Incredibly soft and fluffy, these frosted orange rolls have a no-knead dough that is filled and topped with a sweet orange icing. Prep these sweet rolls the night before and bake them in the morning for a delicious holiday breakfast.

4.84 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Rising Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings12 rolls

Equipment

• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls (Set of 6)
• Instant-read thermometer
• 13×9-inch pan

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the dough:

• ▢ 1 envelope active dry yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons
• ▢ 3/4 cup warm water
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups warm milk
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar divided
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• ▢ 4 1/2 cups flour divided
• ▢ 1/4 cup shortening melted

For the orange icing:

• ▢ 4 1/2 tablespoons butter softened
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
• ▢ 3 tablespoons orange juice
• ▢ 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add milk, 1/4 cup of the sugar and salt. Stir in 3 cups of the flour. Mixture will be runny. Let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
• Stir in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and shortening. Add remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour. Dough will still be wet – this is ok, don’t be tempted to add any more flour! Let rise until doubled, about an hour.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cream butter for icing. Add orange zest, juice and powdered sugar and beat until well incorporated.
• After second rise, dump dough on a well-floured surface and divide in half. With a floured rolling pin, roll each half into a large rectangle, about 15 inches long. Spread each rectangle with 1/3 of the icing. Roll up into a log from the long side. Cut each roll into 6 equal pieces. Place cut rolls into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes (see notes for overnight directions).
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• After the final rise, bake rolls for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before frosting with the remaining icing. If freezing, allow to cool completely before cutting apart and placing in zip-top bags.

Notes

This recipe makes 12 large rolls. If you prefer to make smaller rolls, roll each half of the dough into a rectangle about 18-inches long and cut each roll into 9 pieces for 18 total rolls. Divide into 2-3 cake pans or place in an 11×14-inch pan. Rise as directed and bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes.

The water and milk for the dough should be warm, but not hot to the touch. The inside of your wrist is a perfect place to test this if you don’t have an instant-read thermometer. If you do have a thermometer, you want to aim for around 115°F.

For overnight rolls:

• Roll out, shape, and cut the rolls. Place into your baking pan and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the pan into the refrigerator overnight.
• The next morning, allow the pan to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes while the oven preheats. Bake and frost as directed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll | Calories: 388kcal | Carbohydrates: 69g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 114mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 192IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg

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