Pull-Apart Orange Rolls

Oh. My. Gosh. These are so good! Hubby and I cannot stop eating them! I guess I should say couldn't stop eating them... they're gone now. Our 3 year old likes them too, but he usually stops after he's eaten the icing off the top. I've had rolls like this before, and these really are pretty similar, but I must say these are so much better. I think the difference comes from the fact that there is a little bit of orange in the dough itself, and from using fresh zest instead of the dried stuff from the spice aisle. This is Martha Stewart's recipe. I made no changes, but have a few ideas in my head I want to try. More on that when I actually do it. (think like cinnamon rolls. with chocolate)

Pull-Apart Orange Rolls

• 2 envelopes yeast


• 1/4 C warm water mixed with a pinch of sugar


• 1 C scalded milk, cooled slightly


• 2 large eggs


• 1/4 C sugar


• 1 1/2 tsp salt


• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 oranges


• 1/4 vegetable shortening


• 3 1/2 C flour


• 2 1/2 C powdered sugar


• 5 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

1. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast over sugar water; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add milk, eggs, sugar, salt, half the zest, and shortening. Slowly add flour, mixing until combined. Knead until shiny and elastic, 3-5 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl; cover with plastic. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/4 hours.

2. Make filling: In a small bowl, mix remaining zest, 1/2 C powdered sugar, and melted butter. On a well-floured work surface, gently knead dough 2-4 times to release air pockets. Roll out dough to an 18"x14" rectangle. Brush some of the filling over bottom half; fold to enclose. Brush half with filling, and fold again to enclose. Let rest about 5 minutes.

3. Roll out dough again to a 16"x10" rectangle. Brush half with remaining filling and fold. Cut into small squares, about 2 inches. Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray, and place squares in cups, layers facing up. Let rise till almost doubled in bulk, 12-15 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350 while rolls are rising. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool in tins for 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Make a thick icing by whisking together remaining 2 C powdered sugar and the juice from the oranges. You might not use it all, you might need to add a little more if you've got it, or just use water. Drizzle over cooled rolls. Yield: about 24. Try not to eat them all in one day.

I didn't even use half of the icing, so next time I will only use 1 C of powdered sugar and see how that goes. I guess if you like a lot of icing make the 2 C, but one of the best things about these is that they are not super sweet.