A summery twist on cinnamon rolls, these glazed strawberry rolls can be made ahead to save time in the morning.
Make-ahead strawberry rolls are on the menu this week and there’s no breakfast more tempting. The rolls are soft and fluffy with a homemade strawberry filling, topped off with a sweet and tangy lemon glaze that seeps into every crevice.
Everyone’s had cinnamon rolls before but how many of you can say you’ve had strawberry lemon rolls?! Consider these summer’s version of a cinnamon roll!
You may have already spotted this recipe on People a couple months ago. I first made them when the weather began warming up and have made them almost a half dozen times since. (We do not take weekend breakfast lightly in this house. Go BIG or go back to bed.) Oh, the best part! You can easily freeze the rolls and wake up to warm, gooey, soft, and sweet strawberry rolls in the morning. For freezing directions, see the recipe below.
I want everyone to make these rolls successfully because no one should be denied their sweeeeeet strawberry satisfaction! This recipe starts off as a regular yeasted roll. The importance of some dough ingredients:
Use whole milk for the best taste. Whole milk, with its creamy and thick texture, will produce the softest, fluffiest dough. Shocking, I know. 2% works, yes, but whole milk is best! I don’t recommend anything else.
Butter = flavor. You simply cannot create a buttery, tender dough like this without butter! Make sure it is softened. Not melted or cold. Softened to room temperature.
Eggs are everything in dough. Bread dough that is rich with eggs will rise very high because eggs aid in leavening. Not only this, the fat in the yolks help tenderize and lighten up the dough.
The strawberry filling is homemade. It’s the same filling I use for my strawberry shortcake cupcakes, only slightly scaled down. Nothing artificial or fake, just pure strawberry goodness. Shortcut tip: you can use your favorite strawberry jam or preserves if that’s more convenient. And if you’re short on time, try this filling with my no yeast cinnamon rolls dough.
The glaze is all lemon, baby! These rolls are kind of like a big ol’ glass of strawberry lemonade. Only 1,000x better because it’s a doughy sweet roll. If lemon isn’t your fave, try the cream cheese icing from these overnight cinnamon rolls instead. If lemon IS your favorite, you must try my lemon sweet rolls—double the lemon flavor with lemon in the filling AND frosting. And don’t sleep on blueberry sweet rolls either! (–> Different dough recipe. Today’s dough, with two rises, is a little more tender!)
If you’re new to yeasted doughs, my Baking with Yeast Guide and How to Knead Dough tutorial may be helpful to review before beginning.
A summery twist on cinnamon rolls, these glazed strawberry rolls can be made ahead to save time in the morning.