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.
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 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!
