Orange Rolls

Made some orange rolls! nom nom.

Used this recipe for the dough:

• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup butter [i used less, like maybe 1/3 cup] 
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ cup sugar [i used brown sugar] 
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 4 ½ - 5 cups flour

• Dissolve yeast in warm water, set aside for 5 minutes. In a large mixing bowl mix together eggs, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter then add milk. Slowly pour into egg mixture mixing all the time. Add yeast mixture and 2 cups flour. Mix until dough is smooth. Add remaining flour 1 cup at a time. Only use needed amount of flour to form a smooth yet sticky dough. DO NOT ADD MORE THAN 5 CUPS OF FLOUR. Cover dough with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator overnight. 

(from http://simplysogood.blogspot.com/2011/11/orange-rolls.html ... but i wanted to do the rest differently.)

like she says, the dough should not be a stiff as bread dough. much softer and still a little sticky. refrigerating overnight makes it easier to handle.

For the filling, i mixed

• a half to a full can of orange juice concentrate or more (from less sweet/sticky to crazy orange madness)
• a couple spoonfuls brown sugar
• dash of cinnamon
• raisins & dried cranberries

• Soak overnight to for plump juiciness.

THE NEXT MORNING:
roll out the dough as long and thin as possible. i use powdered sugar instead of flour on the rolling surface for sweet breads to keep the dough soft. spread butter onto it.  spread the OJ/raisin filling evenly and roll into a giant log. cut into rolls! i like to make lots of little rolls rather than a few giant ones, but i couldn't even roll it as long and thin as i wanted because i didn't have enough space.
put in a buttered pan with a bit of space around each, and let rise for about 30-45 min.

warning: the OJ filling leaks like crazy.

oh right, before rising you can mix together:

• chopped pecans
• a spoonful of soft butter
• a couple spoonfuls of OJ filling

• Sprinkle on top of rolls in pan.

BAKE the rolls for 18-22 min in 350°F.
Made 24 rolls for me, or enough to fill a 9x13 and a 9x9 pan.

If that's not sweet enough for you, there's always FROSTING.

• cream cheese
• soft butter
• powdered sugar
• (vanilla) (i didn't have any)
• milk if needed

• mix to desired consistency. spreading onto warm rolls will make it melt a little which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

VARIATIONS (pick and choose carefully, not all of these go together):

• to make the filling easier to work with, you could soak the raisins in just a bit of OJ and leave the rest of the concentrate frozen, to spread on the dough, and then just sprinkle the sugar & spices on top before rolling.
• of course the raisins, nuts, glaze etc could all be omitted or substituted with something else. i'm not forcing you to make something you don't like, i'm enabling you to make something you DO like, duh
• soak the raisins in rum, brandy, etc
• maple flavoring in the frosting
• maybe soft caramel on top instead of a glaze
• orange zest: i didn't have any but you *should* use it in the filling, glaze, or dough itself
• for a wassail-inspired roll, include grated apples in the filling]
• berry-based glaze or added to filling: blackberry, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry
• full pie style: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice
• ginger
• anise/fennel
• chocolate in the frosting and/or filling if you're a sick, depraved, no-good menace (i think putting chocolate where it isn't necessary is horrible, and a sign of more serious underlying issues)
• cardamom
• pineapple and coconut in the filling or on top
• caraway in the filling or in the dough (rye)
• coriander
• top with candied orange peel
• use orange juice in the dough instead of milk
• pomegranate seeds