How To Make Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

Have you ever wondered how to make cinnamon rolls? Well, I have and it looks like a lot of work! I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to pull it off on my own — with two kids under the age of four I’ve got my hands so full, plus it’s not easy trying to juggle a full-time job, freelance writing gigs, blogging, social media and more. In fact, the only thing that’s easier than baking is opening a jar of Cinnamon Spice Pecans from C&H Sugar.

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

Add a pop of strawberry pink to the typical cinnamon roll… perfect for brunch or Valentine’s Day!

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Recipe Summary

Prep:

25 mins

Cook:

15 mins

Additional:

1 hr 35 mins

Total:

2 hrs 15 mins

Servings:

12

Yield:

12 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients

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Original recipe yields 12 servingsDough:

• ¾ cup warm water (105 degrees F (41 degrees C))
• ¼ cup white sugar
• 2 ½ teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• ½ stick butter, at room temperature
• ⅔ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Strawberry Glaze:

• 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
• ¼ cup pureed fresh strawberries
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

ADD ALL INGREDIENTS TO SHOPPING LIST 

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1Combine water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow yeast to bloom until foamy, about 10 minutes.
• Step 2Gradually add flour to the yeast mixture. Heat butter in a small microwave-safe bowl until melted; add to the flour mixture. Add egg and salt. Mix until a soft, sticky dough forms. Transfer dough to the counter and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Step 3Roll dough out to a 9×16-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Spread butter on top. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl; sprinkle over butter. Roll up dough tightly. Cut into 12 pieces.
• Step 4Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
• Step 5Place rolls in the baking dish. Gently cover with a piece of foil. Allow rolls to rise in a warm area, about 25 minutes.
• Step 6Uncover rolls and bake in the preheated oven until centers are lightly golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Step 7While rolls are cooling slightly, prepare the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, strawberry puree, vanilla extract, and salt; beat by hand or with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread over the tops of the rolls.

trawberry Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Cream Cheese Glaze

• PREP TIME40 min
• COOK TIME30 min
• SERVINGS12

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH:

• 3 1/4cups flour
• 2teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/4cup sugar
• 1/2teaspoon salt
• 1egg
• 1/4cup water
• 3/4cup milk
• 1/3cup butter, softened

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1can LUCKY LEAF® Premium Strawberry Fruit Filling & Topping
• 2teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2teaspoon sugar

FOR THE FROSTING:

• 4ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3Tablespoons butter, softened
• 1cup powdered sugar
• 1/4cup half and half
• 2teaspoons lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Make the dough:

1. Step 1
   In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add the milk and butter. Stir until butter has melted and remove from heat. Let stand until it is lukewarm temperature.
2. Step 2
   In large mixing bowl whisk together 2 1/4 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add to the stand mixer with dough hook attached. (You can also make this by hand, just knead until smooth once all the ingredients are added).
3. Step 3
   Add the egg and water and mix until just starting to combine. Slowly add in the milk mixture and 1 cup flour until dough starts to form and become smooth.
4. Step 4
   Let dough rest for 10 minutes.

Bake:

1. Step 1
   On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a large 9X15 square, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.
2. Step 2
   Spread strawberry fruit filling evenly on top of the dough.
3. Step 3
   In small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of the strawberry fruit topping.
4. Step 4
   Roll up the 15 inch side into a log and pinch the seams. Cut into 9-12 slices depending on how thick you want your cinnamon rolls.
5. Step 5
   Place in a greased 9X13 inch pan, cover with a damp cloth and let rise for 30 minutes.
6. Step 6
   Preheat oven to 375°.
7. Step 7
   Bake for 30 minutes or until just golden brown on the top.

Make the glaze:

1. Step 1
   Beat together the cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar until smooth. Add the half and half, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest until combined.
2. Step 2
   Frost warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

Strawberry Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Strawberry Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing – perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch. Delicious sweet rolls with scrumptious strawberry jam and rich cream cheese icing.

Strawberry Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing

Is there anything that rings in the weekend better than a sweet, scrumptious breakfast loaded with fresh berries? I think not! These dreamy rolls are perfectly paired with a nice hot cup of coffee and and generous dose of sunshine. They are also so easy to whip together, just a handful of diced strawberries, some sweet jam, and tender dough are all you need. Seriously. So let’s get rollin!

Rolls – The Most Important Meal Of The Day

I’ve been wanting to make these strawberry rolls for a while now and today was the perfect day for them. I, for one, love cinnamon rolls but felt like something a little more summery. I’ve made cherry rolls before and I loved them but I have to say these strawberry rolls are totally my favorite.

There’s just something about strawberries, they’re so sweet and amazing, one of my favorite berries. For the dough I used the cinnabons recipe which I cut in half here and used margarine instead of butter because so many people asked me before if it would be any different with margarine vs butter. To tell you the truth, it tastes the same to me, they’re just as flaky with margarine as with the butter. Some people might not want to use margarine for health reasons so feel free to use butter instead.

Ingredients In Strawberry Rolls With Cream Cheese Icing

For detailed measurements and instructions, scroll to my printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

DOUGH

• Wet ingredients – Milk, butter/margarine, and egg.
• Dry ingredients – Flour, salt, and sugar.
• Yeast – I used active dry yeast, which needs to be activated. Instant yeast works as well, just keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be activated, just add it to your dry ingredients.

FILLING

• Berries – Fresh diced strawberries, make sure they’re nice and ripe!
• Jam – I used strawberry to make sure the flavor carried through but feel free to use whatever you’d like.

ICING

• Cream cheese – Room temperature, feel free to use fat reduced if you’d like to watch your calories. My favorite brand is Philadelphia cream cheese.
• Butter – Unsalted as we want to control our salt content.
• Vanilla – All your baked goods need that flavor booster that is vanilla.
• Sugar – Powdered sugar, no ifs ands or buts! We need that smooth texture to this icing that only powdered will give us.

How To Make Strawberry Rolls With Cheese Icing

For detailed measurements and instructions, scroll to my printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

• Prepare the dough: Warm up the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. Add the yeast to it, stir and let sit for 5 minutes until yeast dissolves. In the bowl of your mixer, add the sugar, egg, margarine, flour and pinch of salt. Mix using the paddle attachment until the dough resembles peas. Switch to the hook attachment. add the milk mixture and mix. Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size
• Get rolling: Roll the dough into a rectangle that’s about 18 inches x 12 inches. Spread the strawberry jam over the dough evenly. Evenly arrange the strawberries over the jelly. Start rolling the dough, starting from the far side towards you. When you reach the end make sure to pinch the sides together. Cut the roll into 8 equal pieces. Place in a greased baking pan and cover with wrap, allow the rolls to double in size somewhere warm.
• Prepare the icing: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of your mixer and mix until smooth. If you find the icing is too thick add 1 tbsp of milk, keep adding milk until the desired consistency.
• Finish the strawberry rolls: Bake the rolls at 350 F degrees for about 30 minutes. Let the rolls cool a bit before drizzling with icing. Serve warm and enjoy!

Tips For Making The Best Strawberry Rolls

• Make sure your milk isn’t too hot or else it could kill your yeast.
• Need a warm place for your dough to rise? Heat your oven to 200 F degrees, then turn it off and place your rolls in to double in size.
• Always check the expiration date of your yeast!
• Don’t put too much jam onto your dough otherwise the jelly will leak out the sides!

What Else Can I Use In My Rolls?

There’s lots of delicious sweet fillings that we can incorporate into our breakfast treats! Just be sure to pair with the same flavor jam.

• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Cherries
• Huckleberries

Strawberry cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting

Strawberry cinnamon rolls actually don’t have any cinnamon in them at all. Instead of cinnamon sugar, the rolls are filled with thick strawberry reduction and fresh strawberries. Roll them up, cut them and let them rise overnight. Bake them fresh in the morning and glaze with lemon cream cheese frosting while still warm for the most amazing strawberry cinnamon rolls ever!

How to make a strawberry reduction for strawberry cinnamon rolls

Strawberry cinnamon rolls start off with strawberry reduction. I add a little bit more sugar to this recipe because the cinnamon rolls are not very sweet so you need that added sugar. 

Homemade Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

Unless strawberries are in season, I will use frozen strawberries which are always in season. 

Combine your sugar and strawberries (frozen or thawed, it doesn’t matter) in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. 

Once the strawberries are defrosted you can use an immersion blender to break down the berries a bit but they will break down on their own as the mixture cooks. 

Let the strawberry reduction reduce for 5-10 minutes then add in your ClearJel slurry (or you can use cornstarch). Put the strawberry reduction into the fridge to cool overnight. 

How to make the strawberry cinnamon roll dough

Make your sweet dough by combining the warmed milk (110ºF), one Tablespoon of sugar and yeast in a measuring cup or bowl and let it sit until it’s foamy. 

Combine the yeast mixture with the flour in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough attachment and mix until just combined. Then add in the rest of your ingredients. 

You can do this by hand as well, you’ll just have to use some elbow grease. 

Let the dough mix on low for a few minutes and then bump the speed up to medium. You want to let the dough mix until it all starts clinging to the dough hook and bounces back when you press it with your finger. 

If the dough is too wet and isn’t clinging to the dough hook you can add in 1/4 cup of flour to make it stiffer. If the dough is too dry, add 1 Tablespoon of water. 

You can also test the dough by doing the window test. Take a small piece of the dough and stretch it between your fingers. If you can make the dough super thin until you can almost see through it, enough gluten has developed and the dough is ready. 

Place the dough into a buttered bowl, cover it with a towel to keep it moist and place it in a warm area to rise for 90 minutes. I turn my oven on to 170ºF, open the door and place the bowl on the oven door because my kitchen is usually too cold. Dough likes to rise around 90ºF. 

How to assemble strawberry cinnamon rolls

Roll your dough out into a rectangle. You want the thickness of the dough to be about 1/4″. Spread a thin layer of strawberry reduction all over the top of the dough, avoid the back 1/2″ so you can seal the rolls. 

Sprinkle some freshly chopped strawberries over the top of the reduction (optional). 

Then roll up your dough into a nice tight spiral. I admit some of my strawberry filling oozed out a bit and it was kind of a messy process. I just spooned the leftovers back into the rolls. I had a little leftover reduction that I used to fill in some gaps after the rolls were done baking.

Cut the spiral into 8-10 equal-sized rolls. Arrange these onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap, make sure the edges are pulled tight against the metal to prevent air from getting in. 

Place the pan of rolls into the fridge overnight. 

Bring the rolls out of the fridge about two hours before you want to bake them and let them warm up and double in size. 

Brush the rolls with some egg wash and then bake the rolls in the oven at 350ºF for about 30 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 180º-200ºF. 

How to make cream cheese frosting for strawberry cinnamon rolls

Making the cream cheese frosting is super easy. Just cream your cream cheese until it’s nice and smooth so you don’t have any lumps. I find a hand mixer works best. Then add in your softened butter and sifted powdered sugar. 

Then add in your heavy cream, salt and lemon extract. You can add more or less cream depending on how thick or thin you want your frosting. I like mine pretty thin. 

Drizzle the frosting over the top of your warm rolls with a piping bag or a spoon and serve! 

These strawberry cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting make the most amazing weekend brunch. The rolls are HUGE, like the size of my hand. If you want smaller rolls then you can cut your spiral into 12 slices instead of 8. 

I made these strawberry cinnamon rolls as part of my son’s four-month photoshoot which you can see here. 

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting

Soft and fluffy strawberry cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven and frosted with lemon cream cheese frosting. The perfect brunch!

Prep Time:20 mins

Cook Time:25 mins

Proofing:2 hrs 30 mins

Calories: 655kcal

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

• ▢4 ounces (114 g) milk 110ºF
• ▢5 grams dried instant yeast
• ▢14 ounces (397 g) all-purpose flour or bread flour
• ▢4 ounces (114 g) butter softened
• ▢2 ounces (57 g) sugar
• ▢1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢2 large eggs room temperature

Strawberry Reduction

• ▢16 ounces (114 g) fresh or frozen strawberries
• ▢6 ounces (114 g) granulated sugar
• ▢2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ▢2 teaspoons lemon zest
• ▢4 Tablespoons ClearJel or 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢2 ounces (57 g) water
• ▢1 cup fresh strawberries chopped

Cream cheese frosting

• ▢4 ounces (114 g) cream cheese softened
• ▢4 ounces (114 g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢3 ounces (85 g) powdered sugar
• ▢1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢2 ounces (57 g) heavy whipping cream or less if you like a thicker consistency
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Equipment

• ▢Stand mixer with dough hook
• ▢One sheet pan (13″x18″) or similar sized pan
• ▢Parchment Paper

Instructions

• Warm milk to 110ºF. Add in 1 Tablespoon of your sugar and then the yeast and whisk to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy.
• Place flour in the mixing bowl with the yeast/milk mixture and stir until combined
• Add in your eggs one at a time, letting each combine before you add the next
• Add in sugar, butter and salt and mix on low until combined
• Let mix on low for 5-10 minutes until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and bounces back when you touch it. You can also do the window test (see blog post for example)
• Shape the dough into a smooth ball and then place it into a greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 90 minutes in a warm place***How to proof**(Pre-heat oven to 170ºF, leave the oven door OPEN and place a bowl of warm water in the back of the oven. Then place your covered bowl of dough onto the open oven door. Proof until double in size.)

For the strawberry filling

• Combine strawberries and sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer
• Crush berries with a spoon or immersion blender as the mixture cooks for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
• Combine ClearJel with lemon juice, zest, and water to make a slurry and add it to your simmering strawberries. Mix until thickened and then let cool.

To make the rolls

• Line a 13″x18″ sheet pan with parchment paper (or similar sized pan)
• Once your dough has proofed, roll out the dough 10″ wide, 1/4″ thick. It doesn’t matter how long. Spread the strawberry filling over the surface evenly, all the way to the edges, except keep one edge without filling so you can seal it.
• Sprinkle freshly chopped strawberries over the filling
• Roll up the dough length-wise. Make sure the first roll is very tight so you get a nice spiral, then continue pushing the dough until you reach the edge. Brush a little water or egg wash along the bare edge so it seals the loose edge of the dough.
• Cut the roll into 8-10 equal slices and arrange on your parchment covered pan
• Cover loosely with a tea towel and let proof to double (about 90 minutes) then bake (or cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the fridge if you want to bake them the next day. Let come to room temperature and proof to double before baking. This can take 1.5-2 hours depending on how warm your kitchen is)
• Bake at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown depending on the size of your rolls. (Internal temperature reaches 200ºF)

For the cream cheese frosting

• Cream the cream cheese with a hand mixer until smooth. Then add in the softened butter and cream until smooth.
• Add in the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla and cream until smooth and the desired consistency. Drizzle over warm rolls. Add more cream for thinner frosting.

STRAWBERRY ROLLS

Dreamy Strawberry Rolls are loaded with fresh berries and drizzled with cream cheese icing. Just like cinnamon rolls, but with strawberries! Perfect for a spring weekend breakfast and ready in an hour.

If you love cinnamon rolls, just wait until you try these strawberry rolls! They are big, fluffy and oh-so-tender with fresh strawberries in every bite. When drizzled with cream cheese icing, they are so heavenly!

Feel free to add a little lemon zest/lemon juice for strawberry lemon flavored rolls, or make all sorts of varieties with different berries or even peaches. Get creative depending on which fruit is in season!

WHY THESE ROLLS ARE THE BEST

• Fluffy and tender with just 20 minutes of rising
• They are ready in about an hour and can be prepped the night before!
• Incredible fresh strawberry flavor in every bite
• Drizzled with cream cheese icing for ‘strawberries and cream’ cinnamon rolls

HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY ROLLS

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Make the dough: Warm your milk to begin for about 1 minute in the microwave. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or you can mix by hand) add the milk, sugar and instant yeast. Stir, then add the melted vegan butter, salt and flour. Stir with the dough hook (or spoon) until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding additional flour as needed. It should still be a bit sticky and not too dry.

Rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Assemble: Sprinkle a clean counter with flour, and flour your hands and a rolling pin. Roll dough into a large rectangle. Spread strawberry jam all over the dough, then arrange the strawberries on top. Roll up and slice into 8 rolls.

Bake: Arrange the rolls in a pan and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

MAKE THE ICING

While the rolls bake, prepare the icing by adding all ingredients to a small bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.

Once the rolls are done, remove them from the oven and if possible, let them cool for 15 minutes before icing. If you can’t wait, that’s okay too!

SWEET ROLL VARIATIONS

• Strawberry Lemon – Add a tablespoon of lemon zest to the filling plus a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.
• Blueberry – Use blueberries and blueberry jam.
• Blackberry – Blackberries and blackberry jam.
• Raspberry – Try raspberries with raspberry jam.
• Peach – Use peeled and chopped peaches along with peach jam. Yum!
• Mixed berry/fruit – Use any combination of fruit you like.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL ROLLS

• The dough should be a bit sticky and not too dry, or your rolls will be dry. Make sure to flour your hands, counter and rolling pin so the dough doesn’t stick.
• Don’t heat the milk too much or it could kill the yeast. Warm bathwater temperature is what you want.
• To help the rolls rise quickly, I turn my oven on to 170 degrees F and then as soon as it warms to that temperature turn it off. Place the bowl with the dough inside, covered with the oven door cracked.
• Leave an inch around the dough bare so the jelly/strawberries don’t leak out too much.

STRAWBERRY ROLLS

servings: 8 ROLLS

prep time: 30 MINUTES

cook time: 30 MINUTES

total time: 1 HOUR

course: BREAKFAST

cuisine: AMERICAN

Dreamy Strawberry Rolls are loaded with fresh berries and drizzled with a cream cheese icing. Just like cinnamon rolls, but with strawberries! Perfect for a spring weekend breakfast and ready in an hour.

Ingredients 1x2x3x

FOR THE DOUGH

• ▢1 cup unsweetened soy milk
• ▢1/4 cup granulated sugar
• ▢1 packet (2.5 tsp) quick rise yeast (instant yeast)
• ▢4 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
• ▢1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more as needed

FOR THE FILLING

• ▢1 cup chopped small strawberries
• ▢3/4 cup strawberry jam

FOR THE ICING

• ▢1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
• ▢3 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
• ▢1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

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Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH

• Warm the soy milk in the microwave for 1 minute. Make sure it is warm, like bathwater, not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl), add the warm soy milk, sugar and yeast. Stir.
• To the yeast mixture, add the melted vegan butter, salt and 2 cups of flour. Stir with the dough hook or a large spoon until the mixture comes together. Add additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time, as needed until the mixtures pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It should still be soft and slightly sticky. If using a stand mixer, this should take about 4-5 minutes.
• If not using a stand mixer, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes, until you have a fairly smooth ball of dough. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a towel and let it rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Here’s what I do: Turn the oven to 170 degrees F. Once heated, turn it off, place the covered bowl inside the oven, and leave the oven door cracked.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 inch pie dish.

ASSEMBLE THE ROLLS

• Sprinkle a clean counter or pastry mat with flour. Punch the dough down, and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle more flour on top while rolling to prevent sticking.
• Spread the strawberry jam all over the dough, leaving an inch around the edges. Arrange the strawberries on top of the jam.
• Starting with the long end closest to you, roll the dough into a tight log. Place seam side down. Using a serrated knife, cut off the two ends. Then slice into 8 rolls and place in the prepared pie plate.
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, until lightly golden brown and cooked through. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes before drizzling with icing.

MAKE THE ICING AND SERVE

• In a medium bowl, add the vegan cream cheese, vegan butter, powdered sugar and vanilla. Using a hand mixer (or stand mixer), beat until smooth and creamy.
• Drizzle the rolls with icing, serve and enjoy!

Notes

1. May substitute any non-dairy milk for the soy milk.