Sarah makes cinnamon rolls only once a year, always on Christmas morning after being absolutely annihilated from hosting 34 people in our home for our annual Christmas Eve gathering, which is equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. We plan the menu for months and prep for days. We expertly and thoughtfully craft an ever-changing bespoke feast inside our warm winter wonderland of a home. The night begins at 2:00 p.m. sharp when my in-laws arrive an hour and thirty minutes early. From that point on, the night is officially off the rails. Our gas-powered fireplace sets the mood while The Rat Pack holiday playlist sets the tone for a raucous evening of eating, drinking, laughter and gambling. Throughout it all, Sarah and I are officially on host and hostess autopilot, catering to every single request and requirement that is shouted in either of our directions. Amidst the constant bussing, washing, coffee-making, tidying and garbage bag-stuffing of what seems to be an endless stream of wrapping paper, we neglect to sit down and eat a proper dinner. Sure, we have some dessert and plenty of fun, but we never really EAT — which is a common plight of the large family host. I don’t mind, though, for I know that by the time every wish has been granted, every dish has been loaded, every floor dust-mopped, every leftover packed, every folding chair folded and brought back to the garage and every Pinot Grigio-loving parent departs, we can finally STOP and melt into our couch for a much-needed quiet nightcap, and laugh hard about how INSANE those last 10 hours were, how GOOD and gooey those homemade cinnamon rolls will be in the morning, and how lucky we really are to live where we live and have such a big, wonderful and loving family.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 3 hr |
| Active: | 55 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus more for greasing
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 4 candied orange slices, finely chopped
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon orange zest plus 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, at room temperature
Instructions
- For the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with the beater blade, combine the warm milk and the yeast. Let it bloom for 5 minutes. Add the eggs, melted butter, granulated sugar and salt and mix until combined. Add 4 cups flour and beat until JUST combined. Let the dough rest for at least 5 minutes or up to 15.
- Attach the dough hook and knead the dough for 5 minutes, adding a small amount of flour only if the dough is not coming together. (The dough should be sticking to the side of the bowl a bit and sticky to the touch.)
- Scrape the dough out and place in a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and let proof in a warm spot in the kitchen until the dough DOUBLES in size, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- This is a good time to make the filling and the glaze.
- For the filling: Add to a bowl the butter, brown sugar, orange zest, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg and candied orange. Whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- For the orange glaze: Set up the stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Add to the bowl the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, butter, orange zest, orange juice and salt. Start beating on very low speed until incorporated, then turn to medium and whip until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Flour the top and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangle shape with the longest edge facing you, 25 by 14 inches.
- Spoon on the filling and smooth out using a rubber spatula. Roll the dough lengthwise into a tight pinwheel. Cut the log into 12 pieces and place in a well-greased 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and let it proof one more time until almost double, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Pour the heavy whipping cream directly onto the raw rolls and let it soak into all the crevices of the rolls. This makes it extra gooey!
- Bake until lightly golden brown and center rolls are no longer raw in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Use a toothpick or skewer to test doneness.
- Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes. Spoon the orange glaze on the warm rolls and spread around. Serve!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 625 |
| Total Fat | 33 g |
| Saturated Fat | 20 g |
| Carbohydrates | 76 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 39 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Cholesterol | 118 mg |
| Sodium | 409 mg |
Reviews
Getting ready to make these. HOW do you finely chop candied orange slice? It’s all gooey and stuck together on knife and fingers, am I using wrong product? I feel so stupid
Made these delish rolls for Christmas morning. Easy to follow directions and they turned out delicious! I will definitely make these again.
Made these for Christmas morning and they were a big hit. I actually refrigerated on the lm Christmas Eve after placing them in the 9 x 13 pan. Took them out early and let them complete the 2nd rise. Took a couple of hours but they rose and baked beautifully. So delicious ! The dough is beautiful. And the orange zest is a treat! This will definitely be a holiday tradition and a brunch one as well! Thanks Jeff Mauro for sharing his recipe!
I just made these for Christmas morning for the family. Usually I make the standard cinnamon, these weee a delightful change of pace. Soft and pillowy rolls, the perfect amount of spice in them, and not too sweet frosting. I make a lot of cinnamon rolls every year, and these are now in my top two for recipes! I highly recommend!
I made this with King Arthur gluten free flour, put them in the refrigerator overnight after they raised. Let them come warm up on the counter about 45 min before pouring cream over them and baking. Wow! What a Christmas Day treat!! Thank you, Jeff!
Simple to make and tasty. Personally I like regular cinnamon rolls better but was a nice change. Probably won’t make again
Wonderfully delicious rolls made easier with KitchenAid. The candied oranges elevated the decadence, too.
Amazing! These orange cinnamon rolls were ooey-gooey, fluffy and delicious. Definitely use the heavy whipping cream before baking!
Watched the show saved the recipe and acquired the ingredients! Well what resulted was out of this world! Couldn’t have done it without the kitchenaid and the dough hook! Making them again for Christmas morning breakfast along side 2 ingredient biscuits with sage sausage gravy.
Made them this morning. The orange glaze is amazing. Dough turned out smooth, easy to roll. Couldn’t find candied orange so we used dried cranberries. Ours don’t look as nice as Jeffs but the taste makes up for that.