Let’s eat flavors that are a TOTAL throwback. Deal?

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All throughout my pregnancy, I told you how I was into crazy nostalgic dishes and flavors that I ate as a kid.

And now… nothing has changed. At least not yet.

sweet orange cinnamon pull apart bread I howsweeteats.com

Like I want to hit the quaker instant oatmeal in strawberries and cream hard this morning. I want to make chocolate milk and eat some E.L.Fudge cookies while I’m at it. And I want chips on alllll my sandwiches. Give me all the chips, maybe some BBQ, definitely kettle cooked and obviously salt and vinegar ones for the ten sandwiches I’m gonna pound this week.

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So.

Remember those Pillsbury orange rolls that come in a can, complete with a delicious glaze and all? You just pop them out and bake them? I easily do…

Mostly because on black Friday I ended up housing three of them when I saw a pan at my parents house, but also because they were total staples in our house growing up. I’ve written about it with cinnamon rolls, I’ve written about it in my book, and quite frankly, I don’t care if they are canned… because they just can’t be beat. They taste like CHILDHOOD.

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Until now… because I kind of have it beat. This killer pull apart bread that has gone around for years (remember my cheese puff version?) was the perfect vehicle for my favorite (sometimes holiday, but also all-the-time) kiddo flavors and is the perfect reason to take a walk down memory lane.

Yes yes. I realize I talk about this all the time. But it’s huuuuuuuge for me. Nostalgia is basically the reason behind why I make most of the food I do. And now it will approximately get 29 times worse.

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The day I made this bread, I inhaled so much of it on my own that I sent the photo to my brother, someone who I knew would appreciate the OMG-taste from so many years ago. He was so excited that I had to send him the recipe before even sharing, which made me feel better because that’s more than one of us who has almost finished off an entire loaf in one evening.

I mean, duh. It’s probably like attempting to keep a loaf of banana bread for longer than one evening.

Bottom line: not happening.

sweet orange cinnamon pull apart bread I howsweeteats.com

Not only is the bread infused with cinnamon and orange and, well, tons of butter – but then it’s covered in a glaze that completes my life in a way that only those rolls can. It tastes like Christmas morning.

Or, um, this morning. Like today.

sweet orange cinnamon pull apart bread I howsweeteats.com

PLUS – it’s totally the holidays! You have the best ever excuse to make it for a crowd or to make it for yourself for dinner (my brother might have done that… ) or to make it tonight and bake it tomorrow morning because you need it rightthisverysecond.

You know?

sweet orange cinnamon pull apart bread I howsweeteats.com

Sweet Orange Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

5 from 25 votes
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Ingredients

  • filling 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon 3 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
  • orange icing 2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 cup fresh orange juice 1 tablespoons orange zest 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

bread

filling

orange icing

Instructions 

  • In the bowl of your electric mixer, stir together 2 cups of the flour, sugar and yeast.
  • Place the milk and butter in a small saucepan and heat over low heat just until the butter melts. Remove from the stovetop and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then stir in the water and vanilla extract. With the dough hook attached to your mixer, stir in the milk and butter mixture until combined. Add the salt and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the orange zest. The dough will be very sticky! Add the remaining 3/4 cup flour gradually, beating for another 2 to 3 minutes until the dough comes together again. It should still be stick. Place it in a well oil bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
  • After one hour, punch the dough down and turn it out on a floured surface. Roll it into a large rectangle, about 12×20 inches if possible. Add the filling: brush the dough with the melted butter, cover with the sugar, cinnamon and orange zest. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 5 strips from top to bottom – lengthwise. Stack the 5 strips together, then cut them into 6 sets of squares.
  • Brush a 9×5 loaf pan liberally with melted butter. Place the dough, cut side down, into the loaf pan, pressing it together. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place again for 45 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the pan in the oven and bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown and set. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes, then gently turn the bread out onto a flat surface. Cover with the orange icing and serve immediately!

orange icing

  • Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and a glaze forms. If it’s too thick, add more orange juice 1 teaspoon at a time. If it’s too thin, whisk in more sugar a few tablespoons at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Notes

[this bread is adapted from hungry girl por vida]
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I’m ready to do laps in there.