These homemade Orange Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing are soft and fluffy with a rich and gooey cinnamon filling. These cinnamon rolls filled with orange marmalade are made with instant yeast so they come together quickly, making them one of my favorite breakfast recipes.
Classic cinnamon rolls are the quintessential comfort food. There’s nothing like the smell of warm cinnamon buns baking in the oven—as much as I love a good candle, the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls puts all other scents to shame.
Growing up, the best surprise was when we’d wake up to the smell of those Pillsbury orange rolls with orange icing baking in the oven (I still love those sweet orange rolls with all of my heart!). We usually had them on birthdays, on vacation, or on a holiday—and when you start the day like that, you just know pretty much nothing can bring you down.
These Orange Cinnamon Rolls (made from scratch!) are the fancier version of the canned ones, and while those ones still hold a place in my heart, they don’t hold a candle to the homemade version of an orange roll recipe. Cinnamon rolls from scratch are fluffier, gooey-ier, and all around more decadent. This is bound to be a new favorite for anyone who loves classic cinnamon rolls, orange rolls, and cream cheese.
Three Reasons These Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls Are The Best:
- Instant Yeast: Yeast can be a really finicky ingredient to work with so instant yeast is a life saver. It not only saves time, it’s much easier to work with. You do not need to activate instant yeast in warm water, instead you can add it directly to your dry ingredients.
- Orange Marmalade: Orange and cinnamon are one of my favorite flavor pairings. Fresh orange is such a bright and sweet flavor, and it really enhances the rich cinnamon flavor. Orange marmalade (jam or preserves work too) adds so much flavor and texture. Make sure you use a really good marmalade for the best flavor! You want to use one that you’d like to eat plain or on toast, biscuits, etc.
- Cream Cheese Icing: While the gooey centers of a cinnamon roll are hands down the best part, the icing might just be the next best thing. Cream cheese icing is slightly tangy and pairs so well with the sweet cinnamon orange flavor. These cream cheese glazed orange cinnamon rolls will knock your socks off!
These gooey orange cinnamon rolls are soft and fluffy and everything I want and need my cinnamon rolls to be. If you’re looking for a gluten free option, this Gluten-Free Cinnamon Roll recipe is a great choice!
Cream Cheese Glazed Orange Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients:
The ingredients for this orange rolls recipe are fairly straightforward. Pantry staple ingredients are paired with fresh oranges to make the best fluffy sweet rolls a success every single time.
Dough:
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer unsalted butter in baking because I can control the amount of salt in each recipe.
- Whole Milk: Whole milk is important because it adds a very rich texture to the dough.
- All Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Salt
- Instant Yeast: Instant Yeast is easier to work with than active dry yeast because it’s less temperamental, and it is a bit quicker during the rise times.
- Egg
Orange Cinnamon Filling Ingredients:
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Granulated Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Orange Marmalade
- Heavy Cream: This is an optional ingredient that you drizzle on the rolls right before baking. It makes for extra rich, extra decadent, and extra gooey filling.
Cream Cheese Icing:
- Heavy Cream: Alternatively, you can use whole milk. The icing won’t be quite as thick or rich.
- Cream Cheese
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Salt
- Orange Zest
How To Make These Orange Rolls From Scratch:
The steps on how to make homemade orange rolls are relatively simple, which is part of the reason why I love this cinnamon roll recipe. The recipe card below has far more details in how to make the perfect orange cinnamon rolls from scratch.
- Dry Ingredients: Mix flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Wet Ingredients: Heat milk and butter together on the stove (or in the microwave) in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until it reaches about 112-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Knead: Mix wet ingredients (the warm milk and butter mixture) and the egg into the dry ingredients and let the dough knead for about 6 minutes (using the dough hook).
- Rise: Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Set it in a warm place and let the dough rise until it is doubled in size.
- *Pro Tip: Warm your oven to the lowest temperature it goes, then turn it off. Place the bowl inside with the oven door cracked open.
- Roll: On a lightly floured surface, roll out your dough into a large rectangle.
- Filling: Spread softened butter on the dough. Don’t spread all the way to the edge of the dough; leave about 1/2” border. Spread orange marmalade on top of the butter. Then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. (Make sure it is softened butter, not melted butter. If the butter is melted, the filling is more likely to fall out of the rolls while they bake.
- Roll: Roll dough into a log and cut into 10-12 slices. You want to make sure you roll the long sides of the dough (the long edge), not the short side.
- *Pro Tip: You can cut these homemade orange rolls with a serrated knife or unflavored dental floss. Either of these tools help you to get a very clean cut on each roll.
- Rise: Place rolls in a 13×9 pan (or a large 10” pie plate) and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let it double in size.
- Bake: Drizzle lightly with heavy cream and then bake until golden brown on top.
- Icing: Make the orange cream cheese frosting and spread it on top of the warm rolls.
Let’s talk about how to store these fluffy orange rolls:
- Without Icing: If you don’t ice them, they can be left at room temperature for a couple of days. However, once they are iced, leftovers do need to be stored in the fridge due to the dairy in the cream cheese.
- I suggest warming the leftover orange rolls in the microwave to soften them and keep them perfectly fluffy.
- Freezing Instructions: You can also freeze these rolls too! After they have baked and cooled, remove them from the baking dish and flash freeze them. Then store them in an airtight container and freeze. You can freeze iced or un-iced. When you’re ready for one, warm them in the oven or microwave.
Variations:
- Buttercream Frosting: Instead of making cream cheese frosting, you can make buttercream frosting. A classic vanilla buttercream would taste great on top of these orange rolls or an orange frosting would taste amazing.
- Fresh Orange Glaze: Like the glaze I use on these Orange Scones, you could also top these cinnamon rolls with an orange icing. It’s a lot like an orange donut glaze, and it’s made with fresh orange juice so it’s sweet and tangy.
- Vanilla Glaze: You could also make a vanilla glaze. A basic vanilla glaze would pair very well with the orange and cinnamon.
Make Ahead Tips and Overnight Instructions:
You can definitely make these ahead of time! Let’s discuss a few ways to do it:
- Before Baking: You can refrigerate this dough overnight right before the second rise step. The next morning, let the rolls reach room temperature, then let them rise until they’re about doubled in size, and bake as directed.
- After Baking: You can bake these ahead of time, but leave them un-iced. When you’re about ready to serve, put the rolls in the oven (loosely covered with foil) and warm them up. Then add the icing on top and serve.
Other Cinnamon Roll Recipes To Make Next:
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls (the classic version): These baked cinnamon rolls are so soft and fluffy, and they’re filled with a ton of cinnamon and sugar.
- Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls: These cinnamon buns are filled with a homemade apple pie filling.
- Orange Blueberry Sweet Rolls: Fresh blueberries are baked inside these morning buns!
- Peaches and Cream Cinnamon Rolls: Fresh peaches are baked in these fluffy cinnamon rolls and they’re topped with a cream cheese frosting.
- Pumpkin Butter Brown Sugar Cinnamon Rolls: Filled with pumpkin butter and topped with a brown sugar frosting, these are one of my favorites for Christmas morning!
Homemade Orange Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing Tips and Tricks:
- Instant Yeast: Make sure you use instant yeast in this recipe! If you use active dry yeast, you will need to activate it in the warm liquid mixture first (until it’s foamy), and the rise times will also be longer. So if possible, use instant yeast.
- Warm Place: When it comes to rising, you really need the dough to sit in a warm place. As mentioned above, I like to heat my oven to the lowest setting and then turn it off. Then I place the dough, covered, in the warm oven with the door cracked open.
- Rise Times: The rise time number is an estimate. Sometimes, depending upon the temperature, the dough rises faster or slower than predicted. What you’re really looking for is for the dough to be about doubled in size.
- Extra Gooey: Pro tip for extra gooey rolls—drizzle a little heavy cream over the rolls right before baking. It makes the filling extra gooey and caramelized!
- Orange Flavor: Make sure you use a really good orange marmalade, jam, or preserves. The better the flavor of the marmalade, the better the flavor to the rolls.
These homemade Orange Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing are soft and fluffy with a rich and gooey cinnamon filling. These cinnamon rolls filled with orange marmalade are made with instant yeast so they come together quickly, making them one of my favorite breakfast recipes.
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 0.25 ounce packet instant yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup orange marmalade
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, optional
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tsp orange zest (about the zest from a medium orange), plus more for sprinkling on top
- In a small saucepan, or in a microwave safe bowl, heat butter and milk together until it reaches about 112-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast together.
- Add the egg to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Slowly drizzle the wet ingredients into the flour mixture while mixing on a low speed (using the dough hook attachment).
- Continue kneading the dough with the dough hook for about 6 minutes on med-low speed. Once the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and feels ‘tacky’ not sticky, it’s done.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow the dough to sit in a warm place to rise and double in size, about 45-60 minutes.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough, and turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 14x10 inches or so.
- Spread softened butter all around the surface of the dough, not going all the way to the edges of the dough (leave about a 1/2” border around the sides of the dough).
- Spread marmalade on top of the butter.
- Mix brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon together. Generously sprinkle the cinnamon sugar all over the surface of the dough.
- Carefully roll the dough into a long log and pinch the seams together to seal the dough (it won’t seal perfectly, but it helps the rolls keep their shape), then place the log seam side down.
- Cut into 10-12 rolls. (I did 10 rolls to make each roll slightly bigger, but you can easily get 12 rolls out of this dough).
- Place each roll into a greased 13x9 baking dish, making sure the rolls are spaced apart a bit.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap (or a damp towel) and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the cover from the rolls and, if desired, drizzle the tops of the rolls with heavy cream (this is optional; it makes for extra rich, extra gooey filling).
- Bake for about 28-30 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown. Allow to cool a few minutes before icing.
With a standing mixer or hand mixer, mix heavy cream and cream cheese together until smooth. Add in powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and zest. Mix until combined.
- Spread the icing over the rolls. Sprinkle the tops of each roll with more orange zest, if desired.
- Serve.
Pro Tip: Warm your oven to the lowest temperature setting, then turn it off. Let your dough rise in the oven with the door cracked open.
Updated 2023.
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