Yummy Lemon Sweet Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Hellooooo fellow foodies! I hope all is well in your corner of the world. Things are especially great here because I have a terrific recipe to share. But, let me back up. Yesterday, I went to Central Market where they are having a Citrus Fest.

It was super inspirational and I have all sorts of new ideas for recipes. They had a huge variety of citrus fruits including lemons, oranges, limes, and grapefruit. Within these fruits, there were varieties like Mandarin oranges and yellow limes. One type that I had never seen before was Buddha’s Hand Citron. It was the wildest fruit I have ever seen. It really did look like some kind of hand, albeit from an alien. The sign said it contained little to no fruit, was best for zest or candying, and that it could perfume your house with its oils.

I passed on this fabulous fruit because I didn’t think I could do enough with it but I did leave with tangelos, blood oranges, pink lemons, Meyers lemons, and some limes.

For starters, I decided to reinvent a recipe from two months using the Meyers lemons that I purchased. You may remember the Delicious Homemade Cinnamon Rolls that I posted before Christmas. They are super delicious and I haven’t been able to get them off my mind. I have made them a couple of times since then because they are a family favorite.

I decided to remake the recipe with lemon zest and lemon juice instead of cinnamon and nutmeg. It turned out that the lemon flavoring was out of this world with the cream cheese icing. Oh my goodness! We made little piggies out of ourselves because these were so phenomenal. I can’t wait to have them again!

I have some great ideas for my other purchases but I feel like this citrus adventure is off to a great start with these sweet rolls.

Give them a try! (But make sure you have your stretchy pants on!)

Stay warm!

🥰 Jennifer

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees Fahrenheit)

2 teaspoons fast rise yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

3 cups all purpose flour

1 large egg

1/4 cup butter melted

1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1/2 cup butter melted

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Cream Cheese Icing:

4 ounces cream cheese room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

4 tablespoons lemon juice

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm milk, yeast and 2 tablespoons sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes so yeast can bloom.

2. Add flour, egg, butter, and salt to create a dough. Mix on low until ingredients are incorporated. Dough will be sticky.

3. Scrape dough out of mixing bowl with a spatula and put it into a slightly greased bowl. Cover with a towel and put it into a warm place for an hour or until size doubles.

4. Flour a flat surface and turn dough out. With a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 12 x 18 inches.

5. In a medium bowl, create filling by mixing melted butter, and food coloring. Spread with the back of a spoon or a spatula onto rolled out dough. Sprinkle lemon zest on top.

6. Roll dough longways so that your roll will be approximately 18 inches long.

7. Use dental floss to tie off sections of cinnamon roll that are approximately 1 1/2 inches in width each. You should have 12. Place rolls in greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish. Cover with towel and set aside for a second rise for an 30 minutes to an hour. Rolls should double in size.

8. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown around the edges. Start checking at about 20 minutes.

9. Meanwhile, blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, and lemon juice together to create icing.

10. Spread icing on warm rolls with a spatula when then come out of the oven. Serve and enjoy!