Mini Orange Monkey Rolls

I introduced Ellie to orange rolls this week when we had a mother daughter lunch day, and just like me she is hooked.  Orange rolls are like cinnamon rolls, but instead of the cinnamon there is the delicious sweet orange flavor.

When I came across this recipe I just knew it would be delicious and it was.  They were inhaled.

Recipe from The Recipe Critic.

Ingredients:

Mini Orange Monkey Rolls:

• 12 frozen yeast dinner rolls (not the bake and serve in 5-10 minutes kind)
• 1 c. sugar
• Zest of one orange
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1/2 tsp. (I actually used 1 tsp.) Karo syrup

Sweet Orange Glaze (can omit, if desired):

• 1 c. powdered sugar
• Zest of one orange
• 1 TBSP butter, melted
• 2 TBSP orange juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Take out 12 frozen dinner rolls and allow them to thaw but still be cold. Cut each roll with a pizza cutter into about 4-6 smaller pieces each.
2. Mix the 1 c. of sugar and orange zest into a small bowl and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Melt the 1/2 c. butter and mix with karo syrup.
5. Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.
6. Dip each small piece of the butter and roll in the sugar/orange zest mixture.  (There will be quite a bit of butter and some sugar/orange zest mixture left over.) Put about 4-6 pieces into the muffin tin and fill them about 1/2 way with the small frozen dinner roll pieces.  Let them double in size, about a couple of hours.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let the rolls cool slightly and then use a knife to loosen them up. Remove each roll and place them upside down on a cooling rack as the bottoms will be sticky.
9. When ready to serve, make the sweet orange glaze: mix the powdered sugar, orange zest, 1 TBSP butter, 2 TBSP orange juice, and 1 tsp. vanilla together.  Drizzle over the tops of each of the orange rolls. (If you don’t want the glaze you can omit).