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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.

overhead photo of Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

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 
prep photo of Lemon Sugar

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!!

Lemon Sugar Rolls dough

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.

Lemon Sugar Rolls before rising

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.

Lemon Sugar Rolls before icing

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.

Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

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”!!

Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing

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

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rising time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 12 rolls
Calories Per Serving: 567 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Watch the How-To Reel

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Icing

US Customary – Metric

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

Overnight Rising: Cover the rolls and transfer to the fridge to rise overnight. In the morning, remove the rolls from the fridge and let come to room temp while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour. 
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Lemon Sugar Rolls with Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing | halfbakedharvest.com

This post was originally published on April 2, 2021
4.38 from 379 votes (304 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 4 stars
    i made these for easter brunch and everyone was impressed! just wondering if i could use this same recipe for cinnamon rolls by obviously replacing the lemon?

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    Fabulous recipe!! The preferred roll now in my books. We’re not big cream cheese icing folks – even though it’s great! I just made a vanilla glaze to put over top and it was delicious! I’ll make these over and over again.

    Reply

    1. Hey Carly,
      Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Megan,
      Yes, that will work just fine, you can simply mix it with the flour. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

  4. 5 stars
    These were amazing! I made them with oranges instead of lemons. I also added about a third cup of orange juice to the dough for extra orange flavor as well as more flour to make up for the juice. They were gone!! I’ll be making more asap. A note on the frosting… It makes lots. Enough to do at least two recipes of the rolls. Can’t wait to try them with lemons once I get some. 🙂 🙂 Thanks Teigen!!

    Reply

  5. These were a great way to lighten up flavors of Spring. – A great addition to our family Easter brunch. Thanks Tieghan!

    Reply

    1. Hey Kimberley,
      So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan

      Reply

  6. 5 stars
    This is the BEST sweet roll I have ever made! My family is raving over these. Thank you so much Tieghan 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hey Alison,
      So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan

      Reply

  7. 4 stars
    They smell so good, but they didnt rise and I’m super bummed. so what I have here is a pan of sort of flat spirals sitting in a butter sugar lemon broth lol -_-

    Reply

    1. Hey Ashley,
      Thanks for giving the recipe a try, so sorry these did not rise for you. What kind of yeast did you use? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 5 stars
    Absolutely love this recipe. I added a little more cardamom and lemon zest than the recipe suggested and used mascarpone instead of cream cheese – it was divine. Also tried the hot bun with vanilla ice cream – amazing! This is now a favourite in our house!

    Reply

    1. Hey Jill,
      So so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! Happy Sunday:) xTieghan

      Reply

  9. 5 stars
    These were so good! I added some “true lemon” to the lemon/sugar mix and to the icing (around 1/4 teaspoon each). It really gave it a zing without watering down the mixes! This is a knockout recipe! Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hey Becca,
      Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed!! Have a great weekend! xTieghan

      Reply

  11. 5 stars
    I made these for Easter and they made the day!!! Absolutely amazing and everyone thought the best ever. Perfect combination of lemon scented bread with cream cheese frosting that I added done additional lemon juice. I will treat my family to these often.

    Reply

    1. Hey Kathleen,
      I am so excited that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! ?Tieghan

      Reply

  12. Hi, these look delicious. I have a wonderful sourdough starter that I’d prefer to use instead of yeast. Do you think a cup of starter and adjust the liquid a bit less?

    Reply

    1. Hey Aimee,

      I am not familiar with using sourdough starter in place of yeast. From what I have read, I think it would work, but I am just not sure exactly how to advise. I am so sorry! Please let me know if you have any other questions and please let me know if you give the starter a try! I hope you love the rolls! Thank you! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Andrea,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great Wednesday! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Carol,
      Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed. Have a great Wednesday! xTieghan

      Reply

  15. These are DELICIOUS!! I made them for Easter morning and the family loved them! The dough rolled out beautifully, unlike any rolls I’ve ever made.

    Reply

    1. Hey Kari,
      I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan

      Reply