Thanksgiving round-up: Orange Rolls

Orange rolls are my family's traditional Thanksgiving bread of choice. I feel good including them on a dessert blog because with their sugar, butter, eggs, and sweet glaze, they're not quite in the healthy carb category. (But rest assured, they are in the tasty carb category). I always make extra for leftover turkey sandwiches.

Orange Rolls (makes 2 dozen)
Ingredients for rolls:

• 1.5 cup milk, scalded
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup [1 square] butter
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp yeast
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 5 cups AP flour
• 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate

Ingredients for glaze:

• 2 tbsp butter, softened
• powdered sugar
• orange juice

Procedure:

Place butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl, pour hot milk on top and stir. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm (about 105 degrees). Add the yeast and let it dissolve and bubble, about 10 minutes. Gently stir in the remaining ingredients, adjusting flour as necessary. Turn out onto floured cutting board and knead into a ball. (At this point, my dough is always sticky, but I find that if I add enough flour to smooth it out, they're too dry at the end. So a slightly sticky dough is fine). Place in a large greased bowl and let rise until doubled, about 2 hrs with regular yeast.

To form rolls: Punch down risen dough. Flour hands well, pinch off a large walnut-sized piece of dough, roll into a "snake" about 6 inches long, and tie into a knot. (Rolls can also be made into regular balls, knots are just traditional in my family.) Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled, about 45 min-1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Mix all the glaze ingredients together with an electric mixer, adjusting the sugar and orange juice to preference: the glaze should be runny but not as thin as water. Drizzle completely over the rolls while they are still warm.