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Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing…the perfect brunch rolls for the spring and summer months ahead. Soft buttery dough swirled with sweet lemon sugar then generously topped with creamy vanilla cream cheese icing. There’s nothing not to love about these lemony rolls, every bite is melt in your mouth delicious. These lemon sweet rolls are a great make-ahead breakfast or a special brunch item for any upcoming occasions. Eat these warm…with plenty of that icing smeared on top – trust me.
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Happy Good Friday guys! Whether you celebrate Easter or not, the holiday always gives me the feeling that spring has really arrived. After spending the last week in California, I am so ready for warmer days and sunshine. Of course, it’s not exactly eighty degrees (but it is sunny) back home in Colorado, but the quick trip has definitely inspired some fresh spring recipes.
And possibly a vacation to Florida. I’m really dreaming of that right now, which you all might have guessed from my recent stories about my Nonnie. She just always makes me think of Easter and vacations spent in Florida. I miss them so much!
Anyway, as I write this I am in the airport headed home (Wednesday night). But come Friday (when you see this) I’ll be home. I’m sure it will feel nice…even if it is cold. And we still have spring and Easter to think about this weekend, so that’s nice. And that kind of brings me to these sweet rolls with delicious lemon flavor.
Ingredients
- Active dry yeast
- Warm whole milk
- Honey
- All-purpose flour
- Cardamom
- Kosher salt
- Large eggs
- Salted butter
- Lemon zest and lemon juice
- Granulated sugar
- Salted butter
Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
More times than not, when it comes to breakfast recipes, I sway towards something with cinnamon-sugar. Usually something like cinnamon rolls or a Dutch baby, which we all know I love. But I’ve never created a sweet roll that didn’t have cinnamon…or chocolate.
However, I love using lemon as a key flavor in sweet recipes. So I thought these sweet lemon rolls with a yummy frosting glaze would be perfect for this weekend!!
And while my Nonnie didn’t bake many sweet rolls, she loved brunch just as much as my mom and I. She would order a stack of waffles with maple on top or pancakes. Guess we know where I got my love of sweets from!!
Here are the details.
While these rolls seem a little fancy, I promise you they are the easiest to make. You can even make them the night before, so they’re great for entertaining!
To make the dough, simply mix flour with a bit of yeast, warm milk, and honey. You’ll want to let this mix proof until it’s foamy on top and smells like bread. And then the remaining ingredients go into the mixing bowl. I love to use a pinch of cardamom in the dough, which helps to highlight the lemony, vanilla flavors throughout the rolls.
While the rolls rise, mix up the filling. It’s simply granulated sugar and lemon…yes, lemon sugar! If you have any vanilla beans lying around, the vanilla beans mixed with the sugar will make these rolls just that much more delicious!
Once the dough has doubled in size, roll the dough out, spread with butter, then top with the lemon sugar. Roll the dough up into a log, cut it into rolls, and place them onto a baking dish. Now you can either let the rolls rest, get puffy, and then bake. Or you can keep the rolls in the fridge overnight to rise and bake in the morning. Either option works, it just depends when you’d like to enjoy your rolls.
While the rolls bake…
Mix up the cream cheese icing, which is reason enough to make these rolls. If you grew up eating classic cinnamon rolls, this icing is going to be your favorite. You’ll want to beat the cream cheese together with the powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla.
As the rolls bake, the kitchen will fill with the sweet lemony smells, it’s like spring, but in a very sweet way.
When you pull the rolls out of the oven, slather on that icing while they are still warm. The icing melts over the rolls and everything becomes the gooiest mess, which is exactly what you want!
The rolls kind of just melt in your mouth. The bread is soft and buttery, but the swirl of lemon sugar is the real special touch. And of course, the icing is just the finishing touch these rolls need to make them over the top delicious. Even little Asher, who is a hard-core cinnamon roll purist loves these! She said, “please make them on Sunday”!!
Looking for other spring brunch recipes? Here are some of my favorites:
Buttery Raspberry Crumble Bars
Berry and Cream Cheese Croissant French Toast Bake
Blackberry Lavender White Chocolate Scones
Baked Blackberry Ricotta French Toast
Lastly, if you make these Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup warm whole milk
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon zest
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing
Cream Cheese Icing
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 4 tablespoons softened butter, at room temperature
- 1/2-1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. To make the dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the milk, yeast, and honey. Let sit 5-10 minutes, until bubbly on top. Add 3 ½ cups flour, the cardamom, salt, eggs, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If the dough seems sticky, add the remaining ½ cup of flour.2. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.3. To make the filling. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and the remaining 1-2 tablespoons lemon zest. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment. 4. Lightly dust your work surface with flour. Turn out the dough, punch it down, and roll it into a rectangle about 10 x 16 inches. Spread 6 tablespoons softened butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the butter and lightly push into the butter. Starting with the long edge closest to you, carefully roll the dough into a log, keeping it fairly tight as you go. When you reach the edge, pinch along the edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12-16 rolls. Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes or transfer to the fridge to rise overnight (see notes).5. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown.6. Meanwhile, make the icing. Beat together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla until light and creamy.7. Spread the icing over the warm rolls. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
OMG, I don’t love cinnamon so I LOVE these! The cardamom really makes a difference, and these are so easy to make. Never did the overnight rise, so nice to have breakfast ready to just pop in the oven. I’ve already had 3 warm and microwaved the 4th one. Thank you!
Hey Thy,
Awesome!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for making it! xTieghan
Hey! I’m not sure the conversions worked out exactly – as in 3.5cups of flour is not 900g flour.
I used some judgement nevertheless and this turned out AMAZING! As in I can’t believe I made them. Thank you!
Hey Anna,
Happy Sunday!! Love hearing that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it!! xxT
Sorry I found the filling instructions for this recipe! Completely missed that part! Can’t wait to try these!
Thanks for sharing!
I hope you love the recipe!!
Seems to be missing the lemon sugar recipe? How much sugar and or lemon zest?
Hey Saundra,
That is in step 3:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! These were to die for! ?
I replaced some ingredients with plant based ones and it still worked out. I made these for my birthday brunch last weekend and they were devoured! I love that your website has a US custom/metric converter as well. Greetings from Belgium! 🙂
Hey Laura,
Thank you so very much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays!??
It says to place the rolls in “the prepared baking dish,” but never describes how to prepare the baking dish? Does it need to be buttered before placing the rolls in the dish? Would it be helpful to line the dish with parchment paper in order to lift them out when ready to serve?
Hey Rhoda,
In step 3 I instruct how to prepare the baking dish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try. xTieghan
These rolls are absolutely amazing, have made them so many times and they are a hit every time.
Can these rolls be frozen and then thawed morning of baked?
Thanks so much! I haven’t tried that before but it should work just fine 🙂 xxTieghan
These were INSANELY good. Like. Eat the entire pan in a day delicious. Followed the recipe exactly, let them rise over night, and baked in the morning for breakfast. These are my go to when we have company. Seriously amazing. Thanks for a great recipe!
Hey Jessica! I really appreciate you taking the time to give this recipe a try! I hope you loved it 🙂 xTieghan
I made these yesterday ! They were a huge success !!!
I’m a little confused about the method at the end. The recipe says to roll starting with the long edge closest to you, meaning to me that I should roll from the long side because you roll away from yourself, but in your video on Instagram you roll from the short side like left to right which makes more sense cause it makes much more layered rolls. Can you please clarify this for me?
Also I think there is a mistake in the metric conversion – it says more than 900g for 4 cups flour but 4 cups is only 500g
Hi Stef! You can do it either way, it’s what feels most comfortable to you! If you want more layers, roll from the short side. Either way they’ll be great!!
I will look into the conversions. Thank you! Hope you love the rolls! XxTieghan
Could these work with your Everyday Bread Dough recipe? I only have instant yeast in the house right now and would love to try them!!
Can you use a milk alternative for the dough and is their one that works best?
Hey Miley,
Any milk that you enjoy will work well here. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made these once and they were amazing! Is it possible to freeze the rolls after they are put together and take them out at a later time to thaw and rize?
Hey Kristin,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, love to hear that it was enjoyed! Yes, you can freeze after step 4. Have the best week:) xTieghan
Easy and delicious! I’m in LOVE with the icing on top!
Hey Jayli,
Happy Wednesday! I am thrilled that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a go! xTieghan
Can this be done without a dough hook attachment? I don’t have one at the moment!
Hey Jay,
You bet! Just mix with a wooden spoon and knead by hand. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan