Merry Christmas gals and pals! And pals who are gals! And anyone else knocking around the internet on this lovely Christmas day! I’m so happy to be popping in for a quick sec to share a real bop of a holiday recipe. I know, it’s already the holidays – they are upon us. But what’s more holiday than excessive treating of yourself and others? So with that I’ll keep this brief so you can get back to your own particular brand of holiday cheer (for us that means breakfast at Waffle House, presents, and then driving to see the in-laws for Christmas dinner).
These orange almond breakfast buns are next-level delicious. Sweet, citrusy, and a little bit different from your usual breakfast roll – ie: there is no cinnamon anywhere to be found. The dough itself isn’t too sweet, which for me is a plus, but feel free to go to town on the orangey sweet-sticky glaze if you need to up the sugar ante a few notches.
Oh, and like most rolls of the breakfast variety, you can totally make them ahead of time, too. So if you have visions of breakfast buns tomorrow morning but don’t plan on waking up with the sun, just make the dough tonight, roll and assemble the buns, cover with plastic wrap, and pop the pan in the fridge. The overnight rest will give the whole thing a chance to get even more flavorful, and tomorrow all you have to do is let them sit on the counter while the oven preheats (30-40 minutes), bake as directed, and then graciously accept many compliments on how you are a domestic god/goddess.
So there is my Christmas gift to you. Enjoy today and all the days to follow, and don’t worry, I’ll be back one more time before the new year with a donut recipe that you’ll want to make BEFORE any of those pesky new year’s resolutions kick in.
PrintOrange Almond Breakfast Buns
These citrusy breakfast buns make a perfect holiday treat. The dough is scented with orange and vanilla, studded with almonds, and of course drizzled in a sweet, sticky glaze.
- Prep Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 50 Minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 Buns
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
3 C all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp salt, divided
1 C milk
1 stick room temperature unsalted butter, divided
2 T sugar
2 tsp active dry or instant yeast
1 T orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg yolk
1/3 C dark brown sugar
½ C orange marmalade
2/3 C sliced almonds
¼ C fresh squeezed orange juice
1 C powdered sugar
Instructions
Heat milk and three tablespoons of the butter in the microwave until warm, but not hot.
Add the sugar and yeast and stir to combine. Set aside for five minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour and one teaspoon of salt.
Add the yeast and milk mixture to the flour and begin mixing on low speed. Add the orange zest, vanilla, and egg yolk and raise the speed to medium. Let the dough knead for 4-5 minutes, or until it looks smooth. It will be sticky, that’s ok.
Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a draft-free place for an hour, or until doubled in size.
While the dough is rising toast your almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until light, golden-brown. Do not take your eye off these, because they burn FAST. Set aside to cool.
In a small bowl combine the dark brown sugar, marmalade, and remaining butter into a smooth(ish) paste. Set aside.
When the dough has doubled in size, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 16×20 inch rectangle, dusting with more flour if absolutely necessary.
Spread your marmalade-butter paste evenly over the surface of the dough, leaving ½ inch bare at the top long edge. Sprinkle with ½ C of your reserved toasted almonds.
Starting at the bottom edge, begin rolling your dough into a log. I like to work from the left to right, using small motions until I reach one end of the dough, then I repeat moving from right to left. You want it to be even and relatively snug, but not so tight that it squishes all the filling out. When you get to the bare edge at the top, pull it up and over to meet the top of your roll and pinch it to that dough to seal everything shut. Trim the log at both ends and then divide into 12 equal portions. I divide the whole thing in half, then those halves in half, then those pieces into thirds. MATH.
Place the rolls, cut side up in a greased baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.
Preheat your oven to 350° F.
When rolls are puffed up, remove plastic wrap, sprinkle with remaining almonds and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before glazing and serving.
To make the glaze, whisk together the orange juice, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt until thoroughly combined. Drizzle evenly over rolls. This is a relatively thin glaze. If you’d like yours thicker, just keep adding powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
Keywords: brunch recipe, breakfast recipes for a crowd
These buns sound absolutely delicious and look gorgeous!
Thank you, Nicole! They’re great when you want something that’s not your typical cinnamon bun – although I love those too!