These strawberry cinnamon rolls are made with fluffy yeast dough and a lemon & strawberry filling that's briefly cooked on the stove so it doesn't make the rolls soggy. Then a crumbly streusel with freeze dried strawberries and a strawberry glaze are added on top to really elevate them. Bake these overnight or same-day!
Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls with Strawberry Streusel and Strawberry Glaze
My friends, these aren't your average cinnamon rolls with a strawberry twist! My initial inspiration came from strawberry crunch ice cream bars that are basically synonymous with summer for me (ditto my strawberry crunch cookies). Each strawberry sweet roll is loaded with a jammy filling, crumbly streusel, and sweet glaze, making them perfect for a fun weekend bake or special Mother's Day brunch.
I've made the filling with both fresh & frozen strawberries, since they get cooked on the stove first to release their moisture. Then a little cornstarch is added to thicken them, resulting in a consistency that actually stays inside the rolls. And fresh lemon juice & zest enhance the flavor without stealing the show.
Then the way the filling gets layered inside the dough matters just as much as the filling itself. Softened butter goes down first, then the brown sugar & cinnamon sprinkle, ending with the strawberry lemon filling on top. The butter and sugar act as a buffer between the dough and wet fruit, which makes a huge difference in keeping the cinnamon roll's final texture soft & fluffy, instead of underbaked or dense.
For the toppings, crunchy pink streusel made with pulverized freeze-dried strawberries adds that nod to strawberry crunch ice cream bars that I was chasing from the very beginning. And the glaze gets fresh lemon zest and a couple spoonful's of the reserved strawberry filling added to turn it a gorgeous natural pink color. And while the glaze is totally optional, it adds that glossy, bakery-style finish that elevates everything.
Let's Bake Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls!
For the full step-by-step directions, scroll down to the recipe card.
Carissa's Kitchen Tip
In testing, I found that rolling this dough larger than my other cinnamon rolls means each roll bakes up a little taller, so the filling has less room to escape. And any filling that does sneak out during rolling gets scooped up and dropped on the rolls, right where it belongs. Zero flavor wasted!
Overnight Bake
I love making this dough the night prior and letting the shaped rolls proof in the fridge. All I have to do in the morning is let them warm up for an hour and bake them.
My Tips for Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls
- To get perfectly uniform cinnamon rolls, I use a ruler to lightly score the dough at 2-inch intervals. Then I use a pizza cutter to cut strips and roll each one individually, which helps the filling from getting squished out.
- Making the cornstarch slurry is essential. I tried adding the cornstarch straight to the saucepan and ended up with big chunks of gummy cornstarch.
Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls with Crunchy Streusel
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH
- 1 cup milk
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (one packet)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4¾ cups all purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
BROWN SUGAR FILLING
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
STRAWBERRY FILLING
- 3 cups fresh strawberries, diced
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- zest from one large lemon
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice (from about half a lemon)
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
STRAWBERRY STREUSEL
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ⅔ cup freeze dried strawberries, ground into a powder (measured before grinding)
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
LEMON STRAWBERRY GLAZE (optional)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- zest from one large lemon
- 1½ teaspoons milk
- 2 Tablespoons reserved strawberry filling
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Filling
- In a small saucepan, add the diced strawberries, sugar, and lemon zest & juice. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the strawberries soften and release a lot of their juice.
- In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch with one tablespoon of cold water until it's smooth.
- Bring the saucepan to a boil, add the cornstarch slurry, and boil for 1 minute. Stir constantly, until it's thickened. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.
Mix the Dough & Let it Rise
- Warm the milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, until it's between 105°F to 115°F (40°C to 46°C).
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the warm milk, active dry yeast, and granulated sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes until it's frothy on top, to activate the yeast.
- Add the eggs, salt, and vanilla extract and mix.
- Add the flour and mix with a large spoon just until there are no clumps of dry flour, after one minute.
- Cut the softened butter into small squares & add it to the dough. Mix either in the mixing bowl with a large spoon or with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer until it starts to form a sticky dough, after 1-2 minutes.
- Knead by hand on a work surface dusted with flour for 8 full minutes, or knead in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment for 5-6 minutes, until the dough springs back to its original shape when you indent it with your finger.
- Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball back in a clean mixing bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel or dinner plate. Let it rest in a warm spot (like in the oven with the light off) for 2 hours, until it doubles in size.
Prepare the Filling & Shape the Rolls
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix brown sugar filling by combining the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 24-inch by 15-inch (61cm by 38cm) rectangle. (Make sure you sprinkle flour on your counter before rolling out the dough, otherwise it'll stick and be really difficult to roll up.)
- Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Then sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly on top, gently pressing it down into the dough with your hands.
- Set aside two tablespoons of the cooled strawberry filling in a small bowl for the glaze later, then spread the rest of the strawberry filling on top of the dough.
- Cut the dough into twelve 2-inch (5cm) long strips. (Cut along a long edge, not a short edge. I find a pizza cutter is much easier than a knife for this.)
- Roll each strip of dough in a spiral. Aim for rolling it pretty tight so it doesn't have any gaps, but not so tight that the center pops up when it expands & bakes.
- Arrange the rolls in your prepared baking dish. Rolling the dough can get a little messy, so scoop up any strawberry filling from the counter onto the tops of the rolls.
- Cover with plastic wrap (which retains moisture better than a towel) and let them rise at room temperature for 30 minutes, until they puff up.
Prepare the Streusel
- In a bowl, mix the melted butter, ground freeze dried strawberries, flour, and sugar with a spoon or fork until it forms a thick, crumbly mixture.
Bake the Rolls
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the rolls just before they go in the oven. Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes, until they're puffed up and golden. A wooden skewer inserted into the bread part of the rolls should come out clean (since the filling will still be wet even after it's done baking). Let the rolls cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Optional: Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, lemon zest, salt, milk, and reserved strawberry filling in a bowl until it's smooth. Drizzle onto the cinnamon rolls & enjoy!!
Notes
- Strawberries: Both fresh and frozen strawberries work, but make sure they're diced before cooking them, so there aren't any huge chunks that make it harder to roll in the dough. You can make the strawberry filling ahead of time and store it in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days.
- Dough: If your dough has become really warm & sticky (mine does that if I'm baking in the heat of summer) stick the whole mixing bowl in the fridge for 10-15 minutes before rolling out the dough.
- Assembling: Rolling the dough with the berry filling gets a little messy, since it's more slippery than butter and sugar alone. Just try to work quickly to roll up each dough strip, then scoop up any strawberry filling from your counter over the top of the rolls in the baking dish.
Nutrition
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