Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

These Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze are absolutely moist and sticky, made with a homemade tender dough, a sweet strawberry filling with chunks of strawberries tucked away in between, and a sweet + tangy glaze that adds a punch of great flavor to this recipe.

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OK, ya’ll. I’ve found my newest sweet treat addiction! Seriously, I’ve been consuming these sweet rolls for 2 days now and they taste just as amazing when slightly warmed as they did when they were fresh out the oven. These are my absolute favorite!

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Aren’t these just Cinnamon Rolls with a strawberry filling? Pretty much! Sweet rolls in general are sweetly baked breakfast or dessert treats that contain yeast, and may include spices, nuts, candied fruit, and are often glazed or topped with icing. Therefore, a Cinnamon roll is simply a sweet roll that has a cinnamon-brown sugar filling instead of a fruit-based filling. Makes sense?

Speaking of Cinnamon Rolls, you should take a look at these Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls and Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls, which were perfect for the holidays last year. But I did make the best Vegan Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, which were my favorite of all time!

On the other hand, a sticky bun (their counterpart) consists of rolled pieces of leavened dough that sometimes contain cinnamon or brown sugar and are formed together to create a “flat loaf-like” look. In addition, sticky buns are placed inside a baking pan which is often lined with maple, honey, brown sugar, or nuts, so when flipped over onto it’s opposite side, it looks absolutely sticky and gooey on top.

Now that I’ve cleared up the slight confusion (or at least I hope I have), let’s get back to this recipe. These sweet rolls are the perfect breakfast dish, midday sweet snack, and even just as amazing for dessert. They are just that good.

I chose to use strawberries as my filling because they are now fresh in season, one of my favorite fruits, and I believe that they are perfect with anything cream cheese. Don’t you agree? Personally, I find that the best cheesecake is the one with the strawberry topping versus the cherries, BUT of course, that’s just my preference. Haha.

To begin, set the unsalted butter, cream cheese, and eggs out to warm at room temperature. Then, begin warming your milk in a small pot. Once it comes to boil, remove the heat and add to the bowl of your electric mixer along with the butter. Simply stir gently until your butter fully melts. **Be sure to check with your fingers whether the milk-butter mixture is WARM because by it being too hot, the yeast will die and not activate!**

Now, stir in the brown sugar and add your yeast. Whisk ingredients together until well incorporated, and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until it becomes “foam-like”. **This means that your yeast is activate and ALL IS WELL.**

At this point, do a light stir and add the eggs, sea salt, vanilla extract, and flour, mixing on low speed using the “dough hook”. Once all ingredients are incorporated and your dough has formed, increase your mixer’s speed to medium-high and knead for about 10 minutes, until dough becomes elastic-like. **Be sure to add more flour or milk (1 Tbsp at a time) if dough is too sticky or dry.**

Once dough is fully kneaded, remove dough from mixing bowl, form a dough ball, and place in a lightly greased large bowl, rolling it around once so that it is greased. Then cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit and rise for an hour to an hour and a half.

In the meantime, preheat oven during the last 15 minutes before dough is finished rising.

When dough has doubled in size, remove it gently from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out to a rectangle (approximately 9″x14), trimming the edges if needed. **Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!**

Then, add strawberry filling, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar to a medium bowl and mix together well. **I always like to add spices or seasonings to anything I use.** Generously spread strawberry filling over flattened dough using a spatula until fully coated.

Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a pastry cutter, cut dough into 1.5″ rolls, placing each roll into a large baking dish (lined with parchment paper!).

Then place plastic wrap over the baking dish with rolls and let them rise again (for another 20 minutes).

Once the rolls have doubled in size for a second time (or have gotten significantly larger), brush rolls with a little more melted butter and then bake them for approximately 20-25 minutes in the oven.

While all the baking magic is happening, make the lemon cream cheese glaze (See recipe) and set aside in the refrigerator to keep chilled. Remove the sweet rolls from oven and wait 5 minutes or so, and then spread the glaze atop everything using a icing tool and BAM! Bon Appetite!

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Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rising Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Creator Shanika | Orchids + Sweet Tea

Must-Haves:

For Dough:

• 4 1/4 cups organic all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 packett dry active yeast
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup coconut milk (Can use whole milk or other non-dairy version)

For Filling:

• 15 oz. can strawberry pie filling
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup brown sugar

For Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:

• 4 oz. organic cream cheese, softened
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon extract
• 1-2 Tbsps organic heavy cream

Instructions:

1. To begin, set the unsalted butter, cream cheese, and eggs out to warm at room temperature. Then, begin warming your milk in a small pot. Once it comes to boil, remove the heat and add to the bowl of your electric mixer along with the butter. Simply stir gently until your butter fully melts. **Be sure to check with your fingers whether the milk-butter mixture is WARM because by it being too hot, the yeast will die and not activate!**

2. Now, stir in the brown sugar and add your yeast. Whisk ingredients together until well incorporated, and let it sit for about 10 minutes, until it becomes "foam-like". **This means that your yeast is activate and ALL IS WELL.**

3. At this point, do a light stir and add the eggs, sea salt, vanilla extract, and flour, mixing on low speed using the "dough hook". Once all ingredients are incorporated and your dough has formed, increase your mixer's speed to medium-high and knead for about 10 minutes, until dough becomes elastic-like. **Be sure to add more flour or milk (1 Tbsp at a time) if dough is too sticky or dry.**

4. Once dough is fully kneaded, remove dough from mixing bowl, form a dough ball, and place in a lightly greased large bowl, rolling it around once so that it is greased. Then cover bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit and rise for an hour to an hour and a half. 

5. In the meantime, preheat oven during the last 15 minutes before dough is finished rising.

6. When dough has doubled in size, remove it gently from the bowl and place on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll it out to a rectangle (approximately 9"x14), trimming the edges if needed. **Try not to make the dough too thin or else rolling it up will be hard to do!**

7. Then, add strawberry filling, a pinch of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar to a medium bowl and mix together well. **I always like to add spices or seasonings to anything I use.** Generously spread strawberry filling over flattened dough using a spatula until fully coated. 

8. Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a pastry cutter, cut dough into 1.5" rolls, placing each roll into a large baking dish (lined with parchment paper!). ThHIS MIGHT GET A BIT MESSY! **If any strawberries fall out (inevitable), simply tuck them back inside each roll!**

9. Then place plastic wrap over the baking dish with rolls and let them rise again (for another 20 minutes).

10. Once the rolls have doubled in size for a second time (or have gotten significantly larger), brush rolls with a little more melted butter and then bake them for approximately 20-25 minutes in the oven.

11. While all the baking magic is happening, make the lemon cream cheese glaze (See recipe  below) and set aside in the refrigerator to keep chilled. 

For Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze:

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter together, until creamy. **Scrape down the sides, if needed.**

2. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and Tbsp of heavy cream. **For desired consistency, add additional powdered sugar and/heavy cream until it's the way you like it.**

3. Remove the sweet rolls from oven and wait 5 minutes or so, and then spread the glaze atop everything using a icing tool and BAM! Bon Appetite!

FYI:

**To store, place in a tightly sealed container and best stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Can be frozen for up to 2 months and warmed up to enjoy again later!

**If you aren't a fan of canned pie filling, you can make a homemade filling instead.

Directions: Add 2 cups of sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup of brown sugar to a medium pot on medium-high heat and mix. Once heated, add 1/4 cup of water, 1 Tbsp of lemon juice and 2 Tbsps cornstarch (first mixing it with a Tbsp of warm water in a small bowl, to avoid lumps). Once sauce has thickened nicely, spread the berries over the dough as stated in recipe and continue entire recipe.

For ingredients used in recipe, see below:

Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze.