Orange Biggie Buns

Marina recently posted a recipe for her “Orange Bitty Buns” and I could neither resist making them ASAP, nor the impulse to turn those “bitty” buns into giant-sized monster rolls so that I couldn’t even call them by their intended name when I was finished with them.  Sorry, Marina, but I’m all about BIG when it comes to fat and sugar. :)

I’m going to post the recipe as Marina originally intended since I’m sure they will turn out better for you that way.  Doing it my way (rolling out a large rectangle of the dough, layering on the filling and rolling the whole thing up to slice with floss/thread, like cinnamon rolls), was messy and difficult and didn’t make the rolls very pretty.  Course, they tasted divine and the glaze covered up the ugliness so who cares?  Either way, they’ll be great!!!!  I think I actually like them BETTER than cinnamon rolls, even Aunt Becky’s (which are the best cinnamon rolls in the world).  I hope you like them too.

MARINA’S ORANGE BITTY BUNS

Biscuits:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup shortening
1 cup buttermilk

Filling:
1/4 cup butter, softened (1 teaspoon per biscuit)
1 cup and 2 tablespoons orange marmalade (1 1/2 tablespoons per biscuit)
1/4 cup brown sugar (1 teaspoon brown sugar per biscuit)

Icing:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon butter, softened
2 tablespoons cream cheese
Dash salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons orange zest

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Biscuits: Combine dry ingredients for biscuit. Cut shortening into dry mixture. Add buttermilk and blend. Roll out biscuit dough on floured waxed paper until about 3/4 of an inch thick. Cut with a round biscuit cutter as if you were making biscuits. You’ll get approximately 10 to 12 biscuits. Roll out each individual biscuit until it is 5 inches in diameter and 1/4-inch thick.

On each biscuit, layer butter, marmalade and brown sugar. Roll up each biscuit and slice into 3 pinwheels of equal size. Place rolls in 2 (7 by 7-inch) baking pans. (You can also use other dimensions of pans. The key is to keep the rolls close together). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before icing.

For Icing: Mix powdered sugar, orange juice, butter,
cream cheese, salt, vanilla, and orange zest until smooth. Drizzle over rolls.

Makes 3 Dozen