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Lucy's Orange Rolls

Source of Recipe

From "What Can I Bring?" by Elizabeth Heiskell


Recipe Introduction

"Lucy Mea Brown is fully responsible for my love of cooking and food. We were blessed to be raised by her. She came to work for my grandmother when she was eighteen. She helped raise my mother and her sisters. Then she came to help raise my brothers and me. Lucy loved to cook. She. Loved. To. Cook! She loved to make us happy through her cooking. Lucy was deeply talented, and she did it all by feel, look, and taste. She didn't turn to the Food Network for ideas, Pinterest didn't teach her a thing, she didn't scour cookbooks. Her creativity came from within. It was all hers, all original. It didn't matter what time it was or what she was doing, she would stop it in a second if we asked her to make her orange rolls. If she didn't have all the ingredients, we would hop in her baby blue Lincoln Continental and head to the Piggly Wiggly. Within a few hours, we were at the kitchen happy and eating, just like Lucy liked us to be."

List of Ingredients

Dough:
â—¦ ½ cup warm water (110° to 115° F)
â—¦ 1 (¼-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
â—¦ ¾ cup granulated sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
â—¦ ¾ cup warm whole milk (110° to 115° F)
â—¦ 4 ounces (½ cup) salted butter, melted
â—¦ 1 large egg, lightly beaten
â—¦ 1 teaspoon salt
â—¦ 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Filling:
â—¦ 1 cup granulated sugar
â—¦ 4 ounces (½ cup) salted butter, softened, plus more for greasing pan
â—¦ 1 tablespoon orange zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh juice (from 1 orange)

Glaze:
â—¦ 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar
â—¦ 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
â—¦ 3 tablespoons whole milk
â—¦ 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
â—¦ Pinch of salt


Recipe

Prepare the dough:
Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a small bowl. Let stand until bubbly, about 10 minutes. Whisk together the warm milk, butter, egg, salt, and remaining ¾ cup sugar in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture, and stir until smooth. Add 2 cups of the flour, and stir until smooth. Add the remaining 2 cups flour, ½ cup at a time, and stir until smooth after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead by hand until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm (80° to 85° F) place, free from drafts, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling:
Stir together all the ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended.

Punch the dough down, and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a 20- x 16-inch rectangle. Using a food-safe brush or offset spatula, spread the filling evenly over dough. Roll up dough, jellyroll fashion, starting at one short side. Cut dough into 14 pieces. Place the rolls about 1 inch apart in two greased 9-inch round cake pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm (80° to 85° F) place, free from drafts, until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake the rolls in preheated oven until golden brown and cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in the pans on a wire rack, about 10 minutes.

Prepare the glaze:
Whisk together all the ingredients until smooth and pourable. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Serves 14