Mini Orange Rolls Crescent Dough (Printer-Friendly)

Tender mini rolls with sweet orange filling and a citrus glaze, made quickly using crescent dough.

# What You 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 from 1 large orange
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 baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease a mini muffin tin.
02 - Unroll the crescent dough on a clean work surface and pinch all perforations together to seal, forming one large rectangle.
03 - Combine softened butter, granulated sugar, orange zest, and vanilla extract in a small bowl, stirring until well blended.
04 - Spread the orange filling mixture evenly across the entire surface of the dough rectangle.
05 - Starting from the longer side, tightly roll the dough into a log. Using a sharp knife, slice into 12 equal pieces.
06 - Place the roll pieces cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet or distribute evenly in the mini muffin tin.
07 - Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden brown on top.
08 - While rolls bake, whisk together powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl, adding juice gradually until reaching a pourable consistency. Stir in optional orange zest.
09 - Cool rolls for 5 minutes, then drizzle with orange glaze. Serve warm.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They're ready in 25 minutes, which means you can surprise someone with fresh-baked pastries before they finish their coffee.
  • Crescent dough does all the heavy lifting so you get that bakery-soft texture without any real skill required.
  • The orange filling is bright and real-tasting, not that artificial citrus vibe you get from some shortcuts.
02 -
  • Pinching those dough perforations together is actually crucial — if you skip it, the filling seeps between the layers and you end up with a mess in your oven.
  • Fresh orange zest tastes like an entirely different ingredient from anything bottled, so it's worth taking 30 seconds to zest a real orange instead of reaching for extract.
03 -
  • Soften your butter by letting it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before mixing rather than microwaving it, so it stays at that perfect spreadable texture.
  • If you don't have a zester, use a microplane grater or the small holes on a box grater to get fine, fluffy zest that distributes evenly through the filling.
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