Lemon Sweet Roll Recipe

lemon sweet rolls recipe with lemon icing

4.50 from 2 votes

These Lemon Sweet Rolls are light, fluffy and slathered in lemon buttercream frosting. They make the perfect sunshiney alternative to cinnamon rolls that taste great all year long.

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time30

Total Time1 50

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 438kcal

Author: The Carefree Kitchen

Ingredients

Sweet Rolls Dough

2 cups Water lukewarm
2 Tablespoons Active Dry Yeast
¼ cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Butter melted, or cooking oil
2 large Eggs
2 teaspoons Salt
5.5-6 cups All-Purpose Flour

Lemon Filling

4 Tablespoons Butter melted
½ cup Sugar
3 Tablespoons Lemon Zest about 3 lemons

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

½ cup Butter room temperature
4 cups Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Zest
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice fresh
½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Instructions

How to Make Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water, sugar and yeast and stir well. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until it gets bubbly and activates the yeast.
Add the melted butter, eggs, salt and 3 cups of flour into the yeast mixture, then mix on low using the bread hook for 2 minutes, or until everything is well-mixed.
Add an additional 2.5 cups of flour, then stir on low to combine. Add up to 1 cup more flour slowly, only until the dough pulls away from the edges of the bowl. Once all of the flour has been added, continue to knead on low for 3 minutes more.
Turn off the mixer and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in size.

Rolling and Filling the Sweet Rolls

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface. Form the dough into a small rectangle with your hands. Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough into a rectangle that is ½" thick and approximately 24" x 18." (Note: depending on the size of your work surface, you may need to divide the dough into 2 portions. If so, you can roll each to about 12" x 18" and still ½" thick.)
Using an offset spatula, or knife, carefully spread the soft or melted butter evenly onto the rolled dough.
In a small bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest. Evenly sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top, then pat down gently.
Starting at either 24" side, roll the dough up evenly making sure to get a nice tight tube, then cut into 1" slices using a very sharp knife or floss. (Note: we recommend using a ruler and pre-marking before you actually make any cuts.)
Lay the slices ½"-1" apart in a greased 9 x 13" baking pan and cover loosely with a kitchen towel. Let the cinnamon rolls rise for another 30 minutes, or until doubled and touching in the pan.

Baking

While your dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once risen, bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and spread the Lemon Buttercream Frosting over the tops while they are still warm.
Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then serve warm. Enjoy!

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

In an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the room temperature butter until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer down very low and add powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix on low until all the ingredients are combined, then turn the mixer on high again and beat until fluffy.
Add more powdered sugar and/or a splash of lemon juice until you reach your desired consistency, then spread a thick layer of frosting over the warm cinnamon rolls, paying close attention to evenly coat the edges.

Notes

Lemon sweet rolls are a delicious treat that can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert. Here are a few recipe variations to try:

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls: Add fresh blueberries to the lemon filling mixture before rolling up the dough. Top with a lemon glaze and extra blueberries.
Lemon Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls: Mix cream cheese with the lemon filling mixture and spread it over the dough. Bake as directed and top with a lemon glaze.
Lemon Poppyseed Sweet Rolls: Add poppyseeds to the dough and the lemon filling mixture. Top with a lemon glaze and extra poppyseeds.
Lemon Raspberry Sweet Rolls: Add fresh raspberries to the lemon filling mixture before rolling up the dough. Top with a lemon glaze and extra raspberries.
Lemon Coconut Sweet Rolls: Add shredded coconut to the dough and the lemon filling mixture. Top with a coconut cream glaze and toasted coconut flakes.
Lemon Ginger Sweet Rolls: Add ground ginger to the dough and the lemon filling mixture. Top with a lemon glaze and crystallized ginger.
Lemon Honey Sweet Rolls: Add honey to the lemon filling mixture and brush the rolls with honey before baking. Top with a lemon glaze.

These variations are just a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to get creative and experiment with different flavor combinations to find your favorite.

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