Happy Christmas Eve Eve! Yes, I am a “Friends” fan and because all of you are my friends, I wanted to share this Orange Almond Roll recipe. Big thanks to all my new followers that caught me cooking my Club Sandwich Meatballs on the Rachael Ray Show. What a way to end a year and what a way to use up leftover ham and turkey, too.
I know many of you are probably baking up a storm today. I’m no baker, but I am a fan of these quick and easy Orange Almond Rolls, that make me look like a baker on page 150 from the A Little Something Sweet chapter in my cookbook, “Lagniappe Leftovers.”
Quick for they take less than 15 minutes (which if you are not a morning person like me is a great way to serve a homemade breakfast roll for company and go back to bed!) and easy for there are no eggs and milk required, but you will need a whole orange and a few rolls.
FYI: If you have stale rolls, no problem, this recipe is a perfect way to use them up and no one will ever know if you don’t tell them! It’s also a recipe to get the kids involved, if you don’t mind a few sticky fingers in the kitchen.
I’ve had the fun opportunity to cook four segments on WWL’s Great Day Louisiana with the most amazingly energetic and delightful host Malik Mingo. I wish I could capture his morning spirit for just a second! He shared with me that he just threw away stale rolls a few days prior so I shared this recipe for Orange Almond Rolls with him. I’m sure he regretted the tossed stale rolls after taking a bite of the hot glazed rolls. WATCH the segment and let me know what you think.
Unfortunately, he is not alone, did you know, according to Newsweek, that 14 million pounds of dinner rolls are wasted after Thanksgiving? Crazy. Let’s not let the leftover Christmas dinner rolls go to waste.
These breakfast rolls get so much flavor from the whole orange and all the zest, you almost don’t need the sweet orange glaze. But who can resist sweet, sugary glaze drizzled onto hot rolls? I know I can’t.
Ingredients
- 1 orange, seeded
- 1 tbsp. butter, melted
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, crushed
- 1/2 cup sugar, or less depending on taste
- 4 leftover dinner rolls
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400*
- Juice and zest orange. Set aside separately. Slice orange and place in a food processor. Pulse until pureed.
- Using a pastry brush, brush butter into 4 wells of a muffin tin. Add 1 tbsp almonds into each well.
- In a bowl, combine orange puree, sugar, and half of orange zest. Slowly stir in enough orange juice to make a slurry. Reserve remaining juice.
- Completely coat all sides of rolls in orange mixture. Place rolls top side down over almonds, pressing down gently.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until browned.
- In a bowl, add powdered sugar. Slowly stir in remaining orange juice until the desired consistency is reached for the orange glaze.
- Gently remove each roll. Drizzle with glaze and top with remaining zest.
- Refrigerate any leftovers. Gently warm to enjoy again.
Put on Your To Cook is To Create Thinking Cap: For those new to my blog, this is where I offer substitutions for ingredients you may not have on hand and suggestions for the recipe to make it uniquely your own.
No leftover rolls? Use stale bread. Simply cut into sticks, dip, roll in almonds, and bake on a parchment-lined sheet until lightly browned. No almonds? Use pecans or walnuts. If you want to up the flavor, add some spices to the orange juice mixture. Try cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, or even some vanilla. Want to up the ante on the glaze? Raid the liquor cabinet and use your favorite cordial to make a boozy glaze. I love Frangelico with rolls. No orange? What other citrus could you use?
FOOD FUN: Here’s a reason to SQUEEZE THE DAY! Hungry? You will have to eat 7 cups of cornflakes to get the same amount of fiber you would get from one medium orange, according to Oranjoos of Toronto. Think I’d rather just share these orange almond rolls.
Orange almond rolls are so easy to make and OH SO DELICIOUS 😋. Loved seeing you on Rachael Ray…hope you return with more leftover makeovers. Great “Lagniappe Leftovers” book also. So many amazing recipes and stories. Congratulations you offer such clever ideas… no more food waste here. 👍👏👏👏👏💖
So glad you caught the Rachael Ray show! Thanks for grabbing a copy of my cookbook, too. I’m so glad you enjoyed these rolls and the book is making a difference in your home!