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Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

This Orange Pecan Cinnamon Roll recipe is made with a super soft, fluffy dough that’s flavored with fresh orange juice and orange zest. It’s generously filled with a buttery, melt in your mouth brown sugar cinnamon pecan filling, then topped with a smooth and creamy orange cream cheese icing.

You may all be guessing by now that cinnamon rolls are one of my favorite desserts, and you are right! Since this past summer I’ve shared a handful of cinnamon roll recipes, including my super soft 1 hour cinnamon rolls, overnight cinnamon rolls and blueberry cinnamon rolls. I mean, to be honest, you can’t beat a standard cinnamon roll. You’ve got the nostalgic memories from standard cinnamon rolls, and standard cinnamon rolls are just good all year round.

However, when it comes to the different seasons, I like to play around with flavors and bring in some of the seasonal produce. Enter these orange pecan cinnamon rolls. These cinnamon rolls rank right up there with some of my favorites I’ve created. The fresh orange juice and orange zest that is speckled throughout the dough, combined with the buttery brown sugar pecan filling and orange cream cheese is just melt in your mouth delicious!

The details

Kneading the dough

For this recipe I used instant yeast, but if you have active dry yeast on hand, go ahead and use it! However, make note of the following. If using active dry yeast, you need an activation time. Add the active dry yeast to the warm milk and sugar. Whisk to combine, then allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until the surface becomes frothy in appearance. This indicates that the yeast is active. If it does not get frothy, discard it. Either the yeast was old and inactive, or the warm milk was too hot. Try to keep the milk between 108 and 112 degrees Fahrenheit.

If using instant yeast, just simply add the yeast in with the remaining ingredients and begin kneading the dough. Knead the dough for 5 minutes, then transfer to a lightly greased bowl. I like to spray the top of the dough with nonstick cooking spray, then cover with plastic wrap. Covering the dough helps to ensure it stays soft and doesn’t develop a crust on the dough.

first rise

If you are like me and never have time for anything (or so it feels like), then you are in luck. I have a method that will make the rising time faster. Preheat your oven to 100F. Once the oven reaches the temperature, turn the oven off and place the covered dough in the warm oven. The bread takes 30 minutes to rise.

If you have a bit more time, you can just allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

rolling, filling and the second rise

Punch the dough down, then roll the dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar cinnamon mixture over the dough and top with pecans. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a log.

Cut the dough into 9 or 12 rolls, then place in an 8×8 (for 9 rolls), or 13×9 (for 12 rolls) greased pan. Cover and much like the first rise, you can either allow the rolls to rise at room temperature for 30 minutes, or in the warm oven for 15 minutes.

baking and icing

Remove the orange pecan cinnamon rolls from the oven, then preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the rolls for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Spread the orange icing over the warm rolls and enjoy!

If you make these orange pecan cinnamon rolls, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I always appreciate your feedback as it helps me improve my recipes to make them better for you! Make sure you follow me on instagram and youtube for some fun behind the scenes and the full baking video for these orange pecan cinnamon rolls.

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Orange Pecan Cinnamon Rolls


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  • Author: Jolene
  • Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Yield: 9 1x

Description

This Orange Pecan Cinnamon Roll recipe is made with a super soft, fluffy dough that’s flavored with fresh orange juice and orange zest. It’s generously filled with a buttery, melt in your mouth brown sugar cinnamon pecan filling, then topped with a smooth and creamy orange cream cheese icing. If you’re crunched for time, don’t worry, these rolls can be made in roughly an hour.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Dough:

  • 3/4 cup warm whole milk (warmed to 110F) (240 grams)
  • 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast (7 grams)
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams)
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (roughly the juice of 1 orange)
  • Zest of 1/2 orange
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (56.7 grams)

Filling:

  • 4 tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Icing:

  • 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice (roughly the juice from 1/2 an orange)
  • Zest of 1/2 an orange
  • 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the milk, yeast, sugar, egg, flour, salt, orange juice, orange zest and softened butter. Knead for 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl. Spray top of dough with nonstick spray. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour, OR, for a faster rise, preheat oven to 100F. Once the oven reaches 100F, turn oven OFF. Place covered dough in warm oven and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the filling. Combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Use a fork to stir together, breaking apart any clumps in the brown sugar.

3. Once the dough is done rising, roll into a 12×18 inch rectangle. Spread softened butter over dough, then sprinkle brown sugar cinnamon mixture over top. Sprinkle pecans evenly over top.

4. Staring at the short end, roll dough into a log. Using a serrated knife, cut into 9-12 rolls. If making 9 rolls, place into a greased 8×8 pan. If making 12 rolls, place into a 9×13 inch pan. Cover pan with plastic wrap.

5. Allow rolls to rise for 30 minutes, OR for a faster rise, preheat oven to 100F. Once oven reaches the temperature, turn the oven off. Place covered rolls in warm oven and allow to rise for 15 minutes.

6. If you warmed rolls in oven, remove rolls form oven, then preheat the oven to 350F. Once the oven is up to temperature, bake the rolls in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown on top.

7. Make the icing. In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the icing until combined. Spread icing over warm rolls and enjoy!

Notes

You may use active dry yeast for these. However, if you choose to use active dry yeast, you need to activate the yeast. Add the yeast to the warm milk (the milk should be between 108 and 112F), as well as the sugar. Whisk to combine. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, or until frothy. If the mixture does not get frothy, the yeast is inactive (it may be old, or the warm milk could have been too hot). Discard and get fresh yeast if this happens.

  • Prep Time: 60
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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