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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.
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
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.
Watch the How-To Reel
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
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.
This post was originally published on April 2, 2021
These lemon sugar rolls are so good! It took me three times to get the yeast to rise… apparently the packets of yeast I had on hand had expired and in a last minute attempt to make these they came out absolutely perfect. Super easy to make and perfect for Easter or Mother’s Day. I ate two and don’t regret it one bit!
Hey Nicole,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made these today! They tasted great! Took me a few bites to not be expecting traditional cinnamon. The icing made a lot more than I needed but I put it in a little bowl and offered it for those that wanted more. This was my first time making anything with yeast. Really proud of myself. Oh and I also made the rolls and had them rise overnight. Worked out great so I wasn’t scrambling in the morning. Wish I could add my picture.
Hey Sadie,
Happy Monday! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Hi! I’m making these for the first time. Is it best to store in the fridge or on the counter for a few days? Can I freeze the rolls and take out to bake in individual portions? Thanks!
Hey Leta,
After you bake these you can store on the counter, but if you are making ahead of time I would recommend following the bake ahead/freezer instructions below the recipe. I hope you love them! Please let me know if you give them a try! xTieghan
These rolls look delicious! Although in the recipe it states melted butter, but in the video on Instagram, you only use room temp butter for both parts.
Can you please clarify which way is preferred, so your recipe is most successful. Thanks so much
Thanks Jaime, please see my response above:)
These rolls look delicious! Although in the recipe it states melted butter, but in the video on Instagram, you only use room temp butter for both parts.
Can you please clarify which way is preferred, so your recipe is most successful. Thanks
Hey Jaime,
Either way will work just fine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
These rolls look good – However, my dough is more sticky and isn’t rising as it should after several hours. Does using room temperature eggs make a difference?
Hey Nina,
So sorry to hear you are having issues with the dough. A little more info would help me to better answer your question, what kind of yeast did you use? How about the flour? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Amazing! Everyone is raving! ❣️
Hey Dawn,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
First tike i have made rolls (my goal is to learn breadmaking) this was an amazingly forgiving recipe i made a couple of errors and they still came out wonderful! I gave ut a 4 in that i thought it could have been more lemony
Hey Roberta,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
There are a couple really (nicely) surprising things about this recipe. First, it comes together amazingly quickly. Other morning rolls that my wife and I have made take 24-48 hours with a really long prove. Even a slow 1st prove on a cold day with these babies takes a couple hours. Amazing. Second: the recipe is no invitingly versatile. Because I am genetically programmed to seek out all lemon-based desserts, of course we started with the recipe as given. But after devouring them all within 2 days we came up with new ideas. The next round was an orange-cardamom-vanilla roll with mascarpone frosting. It was all the same base ingredients with a little more cardamom, swapping the lemon for orange zest, and mascarpone on top because that’s what was in the fridge. And they were still gone within a couple days. Great recipe.
Hey Jeremy,
Awesome! I am so glad this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
Hiiiii, so we were going to make the recipe for the 3rd time in a month but we were using the metric version with a kitchen scale. I think there might be something off with the measure of flour. It calls for 937 g of AP flour = 3.5 cups. We made the dough, it was super dry in the mixer. I did a google and it converts 3.5c to about 500g. Maybe something weird in the converter on the site??
Hey Jeremy, I am so sorry I wish I could help, but I am just not sure how to convert the recipe to metrics. Have you tried using an online calculator?
OMG these are insane. I made them vegan using vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, oat milk, and flax eggs. They came out absolutely spectacular!! I reduced the sugar in the filling to 1/2 and did only about half of the frosting and it was just perfect. Not overly sweet, with the tartness and amazing lemon flavor. So bomb.
Hey Anya,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a fantastic week! xTieghan
Have you ever used self raising flour for this recipe
Hey Susana,
I’ve never tested self rising flour with this recipe, but I am sure it would just just fine. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made these because I wanted a change from the classic cinnamon rolls. They were good but lacked a bit of lemon taste for me (I used 3 tablespoons of lemon zest). I was expecting the flavor to be more powerful but somehow the sugar in the filling overpowered it for me. Maybe I will try to add some lemon juice in the filling next time.
Also, I would recommend to use only 1/4 cup of powered sugar in the icing in order to keep it a bit sour, which then balances out the sweeteness of the roll nicely.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Vivi,
Fantastic! I am thrilled this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy Friday:) xTieghan
How long can you make these in advance? I’d like to make them for some friends to drop off for the weekend. Could they be refrigerated a couple days before baking?
Hey Kallie,
I would keep these in the fridge for no more than 2 days before baking. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Great recipe. Had to add the extra 1/2 cup of flour because dough was sticky but they turned out amazing! I added some (2 tsp) lemon juice to the icing to give more lemon to it. They are perfection!
Hey Elizabeth,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Monday! xTieghan
We had these for brunch this morning and they were amazing. The dough was a dream to work with and they are perfect for spring with the lemon zest. My hubby was a little disappointed when he heard I wasn’t making regular cinnamon rolls, but he is singing a different tune now!
Hey Suzanne,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Monday! xTieghan