Mini Orange Rolls Crescent (Printable Version)

Soft, pillowy mini rolls infused with orange zest and finished with a citrus glaze.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dough

01 - 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough

→ Filling

02 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
03 - 1/4 cup granulated sugar
04 - 1 tablespoon orange zest, freshly grated
05 - 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Glaze

06 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar
07 - 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
08 - 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, optional

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a standard baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease a 12-cup mini muffin tin.
02 - Unroll crescent dough on a clean work surface and pinch all perforations together to seal, forming one continuous rectangle.
03 - In a small mixing bowl, combine softened butter, granulated sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined and spreadable.
04 - Spread orange filling evenly across the entire surface of the sealed dough rectangle.
05 - Starting from the longer edge, tightly roll the dough into a log shape. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12 equal pieces.
06 - Place rolls cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet or in the mini muffin tin, spacing them evenly.
07 - Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown on top.
08 - While rolls bake, whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice, adding juice gradually until reaching a pourable consistency. Stir in optional orange zest.
09 - Allow baked rolls to cool for 5 minutes. Drizzle orange glaze over warm rolls and serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They taste like you spent an hour in the kitchen when really you just needed a crescent can and some orange zest.
  • The smell while baking is absolutely worth it, and everyone assumes you're far more ambitious than you actually are.
02 -
  • Don't skip pinching those crescent perforations together or you'll end up with rolls that split apart in the oven and look confused.
  • Cold glaze on a cold roll is disappointing; giving them even five minutes to cool slightly means the glaze sets properly and tastes intentional.
03 -
  • Use a microplane zester instead of a box grater—it catches the flavorful oils in the skin and keeps the bitter white pith out of your rolls.
  • Fresh-squeezed orange juice in the glaze tastes noticeably better than bottled, and you're already using the orange anyway so the zester is dirty either way.
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