Great orange!

Mike and Randall in unit 1 moved away
so Fly Guy in 11 moved to unit 1
And one girl from unit 6 moved away
so her roommate took an open one-bedroom downstairs
and another girl moved into the opposite apartment,
next to the laundry room.
So Raymond and I joined the fun
and moved to unit 6,
where the kitchen sink is pink,
the bedrooms are on the left instead of the right,
and we now have a tiny, muddy, glorious back yard!
We also live right next door to our beloved Earls
(who were a lengthy three doors away before)
and have a nice view of the Council Crest radio tower.

We're still unpacking; Raymond hooked up our TV tonight and I'm arranging books on the living room shelves. However, my new kitchen is unpacked and running at 100 percent. It's the first room I set up. (A gal must have her priorities.) As soon as we got our new keys, I started transferring jars, pots and pans, and warming up these orange rolls for breakfast.

The recipe comes, indirectly, from my Great Aunt Carmon. She blessed me with a grocery bag full of cooking magazines last summer--old issues of Cooking Light and A Taste of Home, Better Homes and Gardens and Southern Cooking. While leafing through these issues, I found tips on how to clean a kitchen with sliced lemons and baking soda butted right up against reader-choice recipes for meat loaf and Parmesan scalloped potatoes. What a gift!

Among the clip-and-keep recipes, I found these "easy orange rolls" in a Better Homes and Gardens Hometown Cooking issue. They're heavenly to eat and a joy to prepare because, unlike many yeast rolls, you don't have to fuss with kneading the dough or waiting for it to rise. Just stir it up, chill it in the fridge--for up to a day--then roll it out! They bake in an oiled muffin tin and store beautifully. Thanks again for the great recipes, Aunt Carmon.


Easy Orange Rolls adapted from BH&G Hometown Cooking
makes 12 - 16 rolls

• 1 package active dry yeast (about 2 3/4 tsp.)
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 - 110 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, cut into small slices
  
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup boiling water
• 1 beaten egg
• 3 to 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tb. melted butter
• 1 1/2 tsp. finely shredded orange or tangelo peel
  
• 2 Tb. orange/tangelo juice
• 1 tsp. orange oil (optional)
• 1 tsp. each of ground ginger, ground cardamom (optional)
  

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes, until you see small bubbles on the mixture's surface.

In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup butter. Add boiling water, stirring to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. Let the mixture sit until it's cooled to 110 degrees Fahrenheit, about 10 minutes. With a wooden spoon, stir in the yeast mixture, a beaten egg, and 1 1/2 cups of flour. Beat until a smooth dough forms. Stir in another 1 1/2 cups of flour. If the dough is still sticky, gradually stir in more flour --a spoonful at a time--until you've got a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Remove the dough from the bowl--plop it into one hand--while you quickly grease the bowl with cooking spray or a smear of melted coconut oil. Plop dough back into the greased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill it for 2 - 24 hours. (See? No kneading or rising.)

Sometime while the dough is chilling, prepare the frosting. Mix together the powdered sugar, melted butter, orange peel, orange juice, spices, and orange oil to create a frosting consistency that you like. I ended up adding more powdered sugar to my mix, but you may enjoy runnier frosting.

Remove the dough from the fridge and punch it down. Turn the dough onto a floured counter, cover it with a tea towel, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Grease the inside of a muffin tin, then roll the dough into a 12" by 18" rectangle. Spread half of the orange icing onto the dough, leaving a 1/2" from each edge clear. Roll the dough lengthwise to create a log of dough, crimping down the long edge. Using a sharp knife, slice rolls about 1" thick. Depending on how large you make the rolls, the dough should be enough for 12 to 16 rolls.

Carefully drop one roll in each greased muffin cup, then bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes, until the rolls are nicely puffed and golden brown. Let the rolls cool for a few minutes, then remove then from the tins and drizzle with the remaining icing. If you do not stuff your face with these orange rolls immediately (as I recommend), let the rolls cool, wrap with plastic, and store at room temperature for several days.

If you want to make these orange rolls even more convenient, prepare the rolls as above, but instead of baking them, pop the sliced dough in the freezer for at least an hour. Once the rolls are frozen, you can wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap, then in a freezer bag, and bake the rolls at your leisure. This way, you can enjoy a freshly baked snack without having to wrap leftovers. Bliss.

If you liked this recipe, you might enjoy:

Candied orange peel with almond
Almond biscotti with lemon icing