These Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls are seriously some of the best bites of food that I've ever made. After much trial and error, I believe I have achieved cinnamon roll enlightenment. I don't want to sound like I'm tooting my horn too much here, but if you want soft, fluffy, and super flavorful cinnamon rolls, this recipe totally has you covered!
My favorite part about this recipe is hands-down the orange glaze. It's such a perfect pairing with the cinnamon filling; you won't want to have them any other way!
Let's dig in.
Recipe Components and Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
The cinnamon roll dough is really simple and uses minimal ingredients. It's also really forgiving and easy to work with. Plus, it's super delicious, so what's not to love? If you're intimidated by making bread, this is a great place to start.
- Whole Milk
- Active Dry Yeast
- Honey
- Bread Flour
- Sea Salt
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- Softened Unsalted Butter
The proofing and shaping steps for the dough are outlined in more detail below, so go check it out!
Cinnamon Roll filling
Again, simplicity is the name of the game here. This is as simple as softening the butter and mixing it with brown sugar, cinnamon, and just a pinch of fine sea salt.
I have found that softening the butter to a "not-quite-melted" state helps to make the filling super easy to spread. You can also add a splash of heavy cream or milk to the mix to thin the filling as well. In my trials, I have found that doing this causes the filling to tend to melt and seep out of the cinnamon rolls and into the bottom of the dish while it's baking.
Orange Icing Ingredients
This orange glaze is quite possibly the best part of this whole recipe. It really sends these into stratospheric levels of goodness. (It's my favorite part, at the very least!) This glaze is so bright and fresh-tasting, yet sweet and slightly creamy, that it's a perfect contrast to the cinnamon filling.
- Powdered Sugar
- Fresh-squeezed Orange Juice
- Heavy Cream
- Orange Zest
- Pinch of Fine Sea Salt
As with most icing or glaze recipes, you may need to tweak exactly how much sugar or liquid is used to get the consistency just right. You want it fairly thick but not super sticky. It should run a little bit, but not completely run off and pool up in the bottom of your pan.
Proofing and Shaping Methods for Cinnamon Rolls
As mentioned previously, this dough is super easy to work with and is a great "jumping off" point if you're new to making bread. It goes through two proofing stages (or rises). These proofs are crucial to creating that super soft and squishy texture we're after.
Proofing and Shaping Instructions
- After mixing the dough, cover tightly and let proof for 1 hour in a warm spot in your kitchen. The dough should double in size.
- Punch the dough down and turn it onto a lightly floured work surface. Pull into a rough rectangle shape before beginning to roll.
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle that is roughly 12 by 18 inches. The sharper you can get your corners, the easier they are to shape.
- Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a small space along the top edge to allow the dough to seal on itself once rolled.
- Starting with the long edge closest to you, tightly roll the cinnamon rolls into a log.
- Use a very sharp knife or unflavored dental floss to cut the log into 1 ½-inch cinnamon rolls.
- Place the cinnamon rolls into a prepared baking dish (either one 9 x 13-inch pan or two 7 x 11-inch pans, greased and then lined with parchment paper, will work).
- Cover everything tightly, then allow it to proof for an additional hour. Optionally, proof for 45 minutes, then refrigerate overnight. Remove the cinnamon rolls from the fridge while the oven preheats the next morning.
- Preheat the oven with the rack moved to the upper ⅓rd of the oven to 325°F towards the end of the second proof (or the next morning if resting overnight).
- Pour the measured heavy cream between the proofed cinnamon rolls immediately before baking. This keeps the bottoms from becoming too hard or caramelized.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, until golden brown. (This may take a few minutes extra if baking from the overnight fridge rest.)
- Allow to cool for several minutes, then glaze with your fresh orange icing.
Overnight Proofing
To recap the overnight instructions, you can make them the day before if desired. Shorten the second proof by 15 minutes, and store them covered in the fridge overnight. Take them out of the fridge while the oven pre-heats to warm them up slightly, then bake as directed. This is perfect if you want to have fresh-baked cinnamon rolls in the morning.
Cinnamon Roll Shaping
To shape your cinnamon rolls, follow the following guide:
1: After the first proof, place the dough on a floured work surface. 
2: Pull your dough into a rough rectangle before rolling all the way out. 
3: Roll the dough into a 12 by 18 inch rectangle. The dough should be about ¼ to ½-inch thick. 
4: Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough. Leave a little space on the edges -
5: Tightly roll the dough into a log. -
6: Use a very sharp knife or unflavored floss to cut the dough into 1 ½-inch-thick slices. Place in a deep-sided pan or baking dish lined with parchment paper for the second proof.
Serving Suggestions
These are amazing for breakfast or brunch on special occasions, or holidays. Honestly, you really don't need anything else to go with them; they are amazing on their own. Besides, maybe a tall glass of milk or hot coffee-it doesn't get much better than these.
Did you make this this recipe for
Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls?
Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out, and don't forget to leave a rating!
Recipe
Orange Glazed Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- Rolling Pin
- 1 9x13-Inch Baking Dish Or two 7x11-inch Baking Dishes
- Parchment Paper
- Plastic Wrap
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1 ¼ Cups Whole Milk Warmed to 90 - 100°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Tablespoons Honey
- 4 ½ Cups Bread Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
- 2 Eggs Beaten
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter Softened - Plus more for greasing
- ¼ Cup Heavy Cream For in between cinnamon rolls before baking
Cinnamon Filling
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter Softened
- 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar Packed
- 3 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
Orange Glaze
- 2 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Orange Zest Zest from 1 Orange
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice Juice from about ½ an orange
- 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
- ¼ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- Add the milk and honey to a small sauce pan and heat to 90 - 100℉ over medium high heat, stirring occasionally to ensure the honey is dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the yeast and allow to bloom for 5 to 10 minutes.
- While the yeast is blooming, whisk together the bread flour and fine sea salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture and begin to combine on low speed. Add in the beaten eggs, vanilla extract, and softened butter. Increase speed to medium and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until a smooth dough is formed, and is pulling away from the edges of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out and shape into a large ball. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and cover completely. Allow to rise until doubled in sized, about 1 hour.
Cinnamon Filling
- While the dough is rising, combine the softened (almost melted) butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and fine sea salt in a small bowl until smooth.
Assembly and Baking
- Towards the end of the first proof, preheat the oven to 325℉ (if baking the same day) and move the rack to the upper ⅓ of the oven.
- Prepare your baking dish(es). Generously grease a 9x13 baking dish (or two 7x11 dishes) with unsalted butter. Add a layer of parchment paper, and another layer of butter and set aside.
- After the dough has proofed, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface, and punch the dough down. Shape the dough ball into a rough rectangle shape, and roll out with a floured rolling pin until you have an approximate 12x18-inch rectangle. The dough should be about ¼ to ½-inch thick at this point. If needed, use a bench scraper or sharp knife to trim the edges of the dough in order to straighten the edges.
- Use a spatula and spread the prepared cinnamon filling evenly across the surface of the dough, leaving about 1-inch of dough exposed at the top-most edge.
- Tightly roll the dough into a log, starting with the long edge that is closest to you. Lightly pinch the seam together if it doesn't stick on its own. Use a very sharp knife or unflavored floss to cut the last inch or two off. (You want to expose some of the cinnamon filling on each end, otherwise you end up with some dry spots and uneven rolls after they're baked.)
- Using the same sharp knife or floss, cut the dough into individual rolls that are 1 ½ to 2-inches wide and transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to proof for 1 hour until doubled in size. (To make these the day before, shorten the second proof to 45 minutes, then transfer to the fridge and rest overnight. Remove from the fridge while the oven preheats and continue as below).
- After the second proof (or overnight rest), add the measured heavy cream between the proofed rolls to the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. (It may take a few minutes longer if baking from the fridge).
Orange Glaze
- Add the powdered sugar, heavy cream, orange juice, orange zest, and fine sea salt to the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Apply glaze to the rolls while still warm but not hot, and serve.
Lorie Klickman says
These will be perfect for the holidays!