Orange Roll Rosettes are a family tradition!  My grandmother and mother made them every holiday.  Now I make them as well on holidays.  They are a staple on our dinner table at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

Orange Roll Rosettes are a regular dinner roll recipe enhanced with orange peel and juice.  Of course, the thing that makes them over the top is the powdered sugar icing with orange zest and fresh orange juice.

How To Make Orange Roll Rosettes

1.  Heat the water, to dissolve the yeast.  If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast.  If it is too cold, it will not activate the yeast.  Using a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water is the best way to ensure you will be a successful bread maker.

The water needs to be between 105 and 120 degrees.  Once I started measuring the temperature of the water, when making bread, it opened a whole new world for me.  I found I had so much more success.  Now, I use a thermometer every time I make bread.

2.  Put the yeast in a small bowl with the warm water.  Add a little sprinkle of sugar on this.  The sugar will help activate the yeast.

Use fresh yeast for the best results.

When using yeast, make sure it is fresh.  Yeast comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes.  It is very fresh when you buy it directly from the grocery store.  If you have yeast in your cupboard, and it has been there for a while, you might think about buying a new one. I keep my yeast in a plastic bag in my freezer.  The bag is a large one from Costco, I make a lot of bread.  Keeping yeast cold will preserve it longer.  

3.    When the yeast begins to foam and create bubbles, it has been activated.  If you do not see bubbles or foam, it is an indication your yeast is too old or is not working.  

4.  Melt the butter.  You can melt butter in the microwave or on the stove.  I like to leave the paper wrapper on the stick of butter when melting it in the microwave.  This protects the butter from popping up and making my microwave a mess.

Add the melted butter gradually to the egg/sugar mixture.

5.    In a stand mixer, add the eggs and beat them until a light yellow color.  Gradually add the sugar and salt and continue to mix.  Gradually add the melted butter.  Pour the butter into the egg mixture in a thin stream.  This will gradually heat the eggs up without cooking them and turning them into scrambled eggs.  

If the butter gets too hot, it will kill the yeast.  When melting it, make sure you watch it in the microwave or on the stove.  When it leaves the solid butter yellow and turns into the golden melted butter color, that is when you want to take it out of the microwave or off the stove.  If you are worried about the temperature, use your thermometer to check it is below 120 and over 105 degrees.

6.  Add the yeast and water mixture to the egg mixture.  

7.  Begin adding the flour one cup at a time.  After adding two cups of flour, add the orange zest and orange juice to the dough.    Change out the beaters to the dough hook and add the rest of the flour, one cup at a time.  When the dough begins to pull away from the outside of the bowl you are almost done adding flour.

The dough needs to pull away from the side of the bowl and make one large dough ball.  Keep kneading the dough for 5 minutes in the bowl to create a light and fluffy dough.

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Cover rolls with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with vegetable oil.

8.  Grease a large bowl and put the kneaded dough in the bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Let rise for 2 hours.
Letting the dough rise long enough is essential.

9.  Once the dough has risen double in size, it is ready to roll out and form into rosettes.  Cut the dough into two pieces.  Roll the first piece with a rolling pin into a large rectangle about 12 inches by 18 inches.  Cut the dough into 18 pieces that are about 1 inch thick and 12 inches long.  Spray two cookies sheets with vegetable spray.

10.    Take each piece of dough and tie it like you would a shoe lace.  Threading one end of the dough over the other end and tucking it inside.  Then continue to tuck the bottom end underneath and threading the top end over the top until is wraps over the top and underneath.  Now you have a loose knot with the ends tucked underneath.  Place these on the greased cookie sheet and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for two hours.

11.  Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. 

12.  Make the icing.  Mix the powdered sugar with the orange juice and orange zest until smooth.  Spoon over the warm rolls and spread with a pastry brush.

Here are a few products I like to use when making Orange Roll Rosettes.

When you purchase items from the Amazon links below, I receive a small commission.

Let me know on Instagram or Pinterest if you make this.  Post a picture and tag me @dinasdiner.