Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

No ratings yet

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

These Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls consist of soft, pillowy dough filled with a flavor-rich strawberry filling and topped with an irresistible strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time1

Cook Time35

Rising Time1 20

Total Time2 55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: rolls

Author: Precious

Equipment

Stand Mixer or Bread Machine For mixing dough

Ingredients

Strawberry Compote Filling

1 pound strawberries washed, hulled, and cut into quarters
1 cup granulated sugar
Juice and zest of one lemon
1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Cinnamon Roll Dough

1½ cups whole milk sub with 2% milk
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted Kerrygold brand is highly recommended
1 large egg room temperature
4¾ cups all-purpose/plain flour plus 1 Tablespoon more for dusting surface
1 Tablespoon softened butter
2 Tablespoons more softened butter to butter mixing bowl and grease the baking pan Or spray pan with cooking spray

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese block softened
4 Tablespoons butter softened
¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup strawberry compote reserved from filling

Instructions

Strawberry Compote

Combine the strawberries, granulated sugar, lemon zest and juice in a medium pot. Cook on medium heat with the pot uncovered for 10 minutes.
Mash the strawberries using a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon.
Combine the cornstarch and about 2 to 3 tablespoons of water to form a slurry. Mix until smooth. Add the cornstarch slurry to the strawberries. Continue cooking while stirring from time to time for about 5 minutes. The compote will thicken due to the addition of the cornstarch.
Cool the strawberry compote completely before using it. Reserve a quarter cup of the compote for the strawberry cream cheese frosting.

Cinnamon Roll Dough

Proof the yeast: Heat the milk in a small pot on medium heat or for about 1 minute in the microwave to be slightly warm. It should be about 110° F - 115℉. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl (if mixing by hand), the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bowl of a bread machine (I use the dough function of my bread machine or my stand mixer). Add the yeast to the milk and one tablespoon of granulated sugar. Stir to combine, and let it rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the yeast should form a creamy foam on the surface. This means the yeast is active.
Make and knead the dough: To the milk/yeast mixture, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar, melted butter, egg, salt, and flour. Mix everything using a stand mixer (with the dough hook attached and set on low speed), bread machine (set to dough setting), or with your hands to form a dough. Then set the stand mixer to medium speed and continue kneading the dough for 2 minutes. Keep kneading for 2 minutes with the bread machine if that's what you're using. If making the dough by hand, knead the dough on a clean and floured working surface until smooth and elastic while sprinkling on tiny bits of flour as needed. It's okay for the dough to be a little sticky as that will yield soft cinnamon rolls. Add 1 tablespoon of softened butter and keep kneading the dough on medium speed until the butter is incorporated.
Let the dough rise: Butter a large mixing bowl and place the dough inside. You could remove the dough from the bowl of your stand mixer and butter the stand mixer. Turn the dough around to ensure the butter coats all the sides. Keep in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. It takes about 1 hour. I love turning on my oven for about 2 minutes and then turning it off. Then, I'll place my dough in the oven to rise. It works perfectly every time! You could also leave the dough in the oven to rise with the oven lights on (the oven should be turned off).
Grease pan: While the dough rises, butter 2 9-inch pie dishes or a 9 by 13 baking dish.
Roll out the dough: Once the dough has risen, punch it in the middle to remove excess air. Flour a clean working surface. Place the dough on the floured working surface and shape it with your hands into a rectangle. Use a rolling pin to further roll out the rectangle to be about 10 by 18 inches.
Fill the dough, cut it into strips and form rolls: Spread the cooled strawberry compote on the rolled-out dough all the way to its edges. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough horizontally into 10 1-inch strips. Roll each strip away from you to form a strawberry roll.
Let the rolls rise: Place the 10 portions into the buttered baking dishes. Cover them with a clean kitchen cloth and let them rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until they are about double in size. You could use your oven again with the lights turned off to help the rolls rise faster.
Preheat oven. While the rolls rise, or after they have risen (remove the rolls from the oven if they were rising in the oven), preheat the oven to 350° F.
Bake. Place the risen rolls in the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown and the outside of the dough is firm to the touch and not doughy.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Make the strawberry cream cheese frosting. While the rolls bake, place all ingredients for the strawberry cream cheese frosting into a medium mixing bowl. Whip them together using an electric handheld mixer on medium speed until well combined and smooth.
Frost the strawberry cinnamon rolls. As soon as the strawberry cinnamon rolls are out of the oven, evenly spread the strawberry cream cheese frosting on them.
Serve. Enjoy strawberry cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting while still warm. That's one of the perks of baking at home!

Notes

Add Cinnamon: If you like, sprinkle on a pinch of cinnamon after spreading the strawberry compote on the dough.

Make It Ahead: To make the rolls ahead, follow all the steps up to placing them in the buttered baking pan. Omit the first rising time. Wrap the pan with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise in the refrigerator overnight. Bring to room temperature for an hour, then proceed to bake and frost as the recipe stipulates.

Important Tip: If the middle parts of some rolls rise above the other parts of the rolls while baking, gently push them back in once the rolls are out of the oven before frosting them.

Storing and Reheating Instructions: Store strawberry cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat each roll in the microwave for about 15 seconds or until soft before serving. When reheated in the microwave, the rolls get fluffy again, but be careful not to microwave them for too long, or they will get tough. To reheat in the oven, preheat the oven to 300℉ and let the rolls heat up in the oven for about 10 minutes or until warmed through.

Freezing Instructions: To store in the freezer, place the rolls in a freezer-safe bowl with a tight-fitting lid or wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Don't miss all the important tips in the post.

Nutrition