I stole this recipe for Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls from melskitchencafe.com. These tasty sweet rolls start with yeast dough. The dough rises in the refrigerator overnight before being rolled out. A cream cheese, powdered sugar & lemon zest filling is spread onto the dough, and then spoonfuls of strawberry jam are dropped on top. Then the dough is folded in half and cut into strips. Each dough strip is twisted into rolls and placed on a baking sheet. The rolls rise before baking. A powdered sugar glaze is drizzled on top of the baked sweet rolls before serving. These sweet rolls are perfect for any holiday breakfast or brunch.
Did you know? Sweet roll refers to any number of sweet, baked, yeast-leavened breakfast or dessert foods. They may contain spices, nuts, candied fruits or any other sweet filling and are often glazed or topped with icing. A sweet roll is often round and small enough to comprise a single serving.³ (see more trivia in the Trivia tab)
In a large bowl (to allow for 7-8 cups of dough to double in bulk), whisk together 4 ½ cups flour, 2 tbsp yeast, ⅓ cup sugar and 1 ½ tsp salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
Then in a 2 cup liquid measuring cup whisk together 4 eggs and pour them into the well. Next, pour 1 ¼ cups hot water around the edges of the well (not directly on the eggs) and then add 8 tbsp melted butter to the bowl. Use a large spoon to mix the ingredients together until a soft rather wet dough is formed.
Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 8-10 hours. When ready to roll out the rolls, prepare the filling: in a blender or with an electric mixer, whip 8 oz cream cheese, ¾ cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp lemon zest until smooth and creamy.
Then lightly punch down the chilled dough and roll it out on the floured counter to a long, skinny rectangle (about 24 inches long and 7 to 8 inches wide). Spread the cream cheese mixture on the rectangle, spreading evenly with an offset spatula or knife. Dollop spoonfuls of strawberry jam across the top and spread into a somewhat even layer.
Next fold the one long edge of the rectangle up to the meet the other long edges, so it is folded in half. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1 inch strips. With each strip, hold an end in each hand and twist it up several times and roll it around the center into a circle. Place the rolls on a large rimmed baking sheet 11×17 inch lined with parchment paper.
Cover the trays with greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until puffy and doubled about 1 hour. Bake at 375 F for 12-14 minutes or until barely golden on top (don’t over bake or they will be dry).
Then let the rolls cool for 5 minutes. While cooling make the glaze: whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp melted butter, 2 tbsp milk and 1 tsp vanilla.
Drizzle the glaze over the sweet rolls and serve.
If you liked the recipe for Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls you can try other breakfast treats such as Caramel Apple Sweet Rolls, French Toast Muffins, Overnight Apple French Toast or Birthday Cake Cinnamon Rolls.
Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 4 ½ cups AP flour
- 2 tbsp instant yeast
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup hot water
- 8 tbsp butter melted
Filling
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup (3 oz) powdered sugar
- Zest of a lemon 1 tsp
- 1-2 cups strawberry jam
Glaze
- 1 cup (4 oz) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp milk
- Vanilla extract
Instructions
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In a large bowl (to allow for 7-8 cups of dough to double in bulk), whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
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In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup whisk together the eggs and pour them into the well. Use the same measuring cup for the hot water. Pour it around the edges of the well (not directly on the eggs) and then add the melted butter to the bowl. Use a large spoon to mix the ingredients together until a soft rather wet dough is formed. It won’t look like traditional cinnamon roll dough, it will be much softer and it’s ok if it looks a bit lumpy.
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Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 8-10 hours.
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When ready to roll out the rolls, prepare the filling: in a blender or with an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest until smooth and creamy.
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Using ¼ to ⅓ cup flour to dust a clean countertop. Lightly punch down the chilled dough and roll it out on the floured counter to a long, skinny rectangle (about 24 inches long and 7 to 8 inches wide).
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Spread the cream cheese mixture on the rectangle, spreading evenly with an offset spatula or knife. Dollop spoonfuls of jam across the top and spread into a somewhat even layer. The more jam you use the messier the rolls will be to twist, but it can be done.
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Fold the one long edge of the rectangle up to the meet the other long edges, so it is folded in half. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 1 inch strips. With each strip, hold an end in each hand and twist it up several times and roll it around the center into a circle. Place the rolls on a large rimmed baking sheet 11×17 inch lined with parchment paper (12 per tray). The filling might be a little messy and if it squeezes out with the twist, pat it back in or on top of the shaped roll.
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Cover the trays with greased plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until puffy and doubled about 1 hour.
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Bake at 375 F for 12-14 minutes or until barely golden on top (don’t over bake or they will be dry).
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For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Add more milk as needed until the glaze is thick but pourable. Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes before drizzling with glaze.