Mini Orange Rolls Crescent (Printable)

Pillowy orange rolls with zesty sugar filling and citrus glaze, ready in 30 minutes using crescent dough.

# 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 fresh orange zest
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

# Directions:

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

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They come together faster than you'd think possible, making weekday mornings feel a little more special without the stress.
  • The filling is bold enough to feel fancy but made from ingredients most of us already have sitting around.
  • That glaze turns them from nice to show-stopping, and people genuinely won't believe you didn't spend hours on them.
02 -
  • Don't skip pinching those crescent dough perforations; I learned this the hard way when filling oozed out during rolling and made a sugary mess on the pan.
  • Fresh orange zest is absolutely essential—bottled zest tastes flat and one-dimensional, while fresh zest has that bright, living quality that makes these taste like you actually know what you're doing.
  • The glaze-to-roll ratio matters; too much glaze and they get soggy, too little and they taste like they're missing something important.
03 -
  • Room temperature butter spreads without resistance and incorporates smoothly into sugar; cold butter will fight you and create lumps.
  • If your orange juice glaze seems too thin, let it sit for a minute or two—powdered sugar continues to thicken it slightly as it hydrates, and you don't want to over-correct with more sugar.
Return