Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 67 votes

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls are a real treat, but fill them with strawberries and top with a cream cheese frosting, and now we’re really talking. These Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls are a fun, from-scratch baking project that you’ll be licking your fingers over.

Prep Time2 30

Cook Time30

Total Time3

Course: Breakfast, brunch, Dessert, pastries, treats

Cuisine: bakery

Servings:

Calories: 384kcal

Author: Courtney Paige

Equipment

2 large mixing bowls
1 Small mixing bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
electric hand mixer
Cutting Board
Chef's Knife
Serrated knife
9x13 baking pan
8x8 baking pan
Whisk
Rolling Pin
Saran wrap
strainer
Meat Thermometer
pastry brush

Ingredients

For the rolls:

1 package dry yeast
1 cup warm unsweetened vanilla almond milk 110°F-115°F
½ cup cane sugar
5 tbsp butter
2 eggs room temperature
1 tsp salt
4-5 cups all purpose flour divided
cooking spray

For the filling:

1 tbsp butter softened
½ cup cane sugar
2 cups strawberry jam / preserve
1 tbsp cinnamon optional

For the frosting:

½ cup butter softened
4 oz cream cheese softened
2-3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp nut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the dough

Whisk dry active yeast into warm almond milk. The milk needs to be between 110°F and 115°F. Use a meat thermometer to determine the temperature. Let the yeast dissolve and set aside.
Add the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Beat together until the butter is creamed. Pour the yeast and milk mixture in with eggs and salt. Beat together again.
Gradually add flour into the bowl and fold together until a dough forms. You’ll need to use all 4 cups of the flour. If the dough is still sticky, add additional flour into the dough in 1 tablespoon increments.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a floured work surface. Knead for 6-8 minutes. I suggest continually folding the dough in half toward your body, then pushing down and away with the heel of your hand.
Next, take a clean mixing bowl and spray it with cooking spray. Place the kneaded dough ball in the greased mixing bowl, cover it with a saran wrap or a linen towel, and let it rise for 2 hours in a warm place.
After the dough has risen (about 3-4x in size), it’s time to punch it down and roll it out. Flour your surface once more. Using a rolling pin, glass jar, or wine bottle, flatten the dough until it’s about ¼” thick. It shouldn’t be so thin that you can see through it, but thin enough to hold the filling and roll it.

Make filling and assemble

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Next, make the filling. Melt the butter in a small mixing bowl. Use a pastry brush to brush the butter all over the flattened dough. Sprinkle an even coat of cane sugar on the dough after the butter.
Use a spoon or rubber spatula to spread the strawberry jam on the dough. Dice the strawberries into ¼ inch pieces and sprinkle onto the dough as well. If you're using the cinnamon, sprinkle across the roll on top of the strawberries.
Roll your rolls: Starting at the end of one side of the dough, begin to carefully roll it into a log shape. Be sure to do this slowly to ensure the strawberries/jam don’t get ‘pushed’ out of the roll, but tight enough to keep their shape. If that happens, place the strawberry pieces on the dough you haven’t rolled yet to sneak them back in.
Once you’ve formed the Strawberry Cinnamon Roll Log using a serrated knife, slice the log into 18 cinnamon rolls. Approximately 1” cuts.

Bake

Time to bake! Generously coat a 9x13 pyrex dish AND 8x8 pan (we’re making 18 rolls here).
Place the Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls into the pans (12 rolls in the 9x13 and 6 rolls in the 8x8) and bake for 25-28 minutes until the outside of the dough starts to turn golden brown. If needed, broil the Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls for 2 minutes at the end of the bake for that extra golden brown coloring.
While the rolls bake, make the frosting. Gather all of the frosting ingredients and combine them together in a mixing bowl. Beat (an electric hand mixer works best) until smooth and luxurious frosting forms.
Once the rolls are finished baking, top them with icing! I like to frost when the rolls are still warm so it melts a bit creating a glazed consistency. If you’d prefer true, thick frosting, let the Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls cool before adding the cream cheese frosting.

Notes

Rising tip: when making the dough, turn your oven on at 100°F. When it hits that temperature, turn it off. Place the covered dough bowl in the warm but turned OFF oven

The rolled out cinnamon roll dough is going to be about 3’x2’ in size once flattened. If needed, use a pastry knife to slice the dough in half prior to rolling it out so you’ll end up with two smaller logs instead.

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