Ahhh... sweet rolls. The ultimate Sunday breakfast. Nothing better than a sweet cinnamon roll or sticky caramel pecan bun before church.

However, I saw these Lemon Sticky Rolls on Pinterest, and was immediately intrigued. Lemon?! Sounds a bit different, but definitely delicious!


They sort of reminded me of these sweet rolls of my childhood - did anybody else eat these? Orange Sweet Rolls were the best! Since I was an only child, I always got the best roll in the pan... the middle, ooey gooey one with all the extra frosting. What can I say, I might have been a bit spoiled.

What's so great about these Lemon Sticky Rolls is that they're the perfect amount of sweet. You know how sometimes you eat a cinnamon roll, and you feel like you just ate a 3 lb. chocolate bar? Yea... these are not quite like that. They're a bit sweet, a bit tangy, a bit perfect.

The filling is just a simple mix of sugar, ginger, and lemon zest. Kinda resembles sand, but makes your fingers smell so good.

And, if you're into lazy Sunday breakfasts, they're the perfect thing to prep the night before, let rest in the fridge overnight, and pop in the oven in the morning. My Business Man has gotten really good at putting rolls in the oven while I'm out with my running group on Sunday mornings. Nothing better than coming home from a long run to the sweet aroma of a fresh-baked breakfast. Now if only I could get him to do the prep-work the day before, too. ;-)

These will definitely be in the Sunday rotation from now on! I might even try them with oranges instead... see if they surpass Pillsbury. (I'm sure they would... at least I would hope so...)


Happy baking!

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Lemon Sticky Rolls

Servings/Yield

12 rolls

• For the dough
• 1 package active dry yeast
• ¾ cup warm milk, 105-115*F
• ½ cup butter, very soft
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4-4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest, (about half of what you would get from one lemon, use the other half below)
• For the filling
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest, (what's left from the lemon used in the dough)
• ½ teaspoon ginger
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• For the cream cheese glaze
• 4-oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon almond extract

Method

For the dough, sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and let it sit a few minutes until foamy. Add the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and one cup flour to the milk/yeast mixture; and combine using the mixer paddle. Add the salt, nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about half of the zest from one lemon.) Add the eggs, and beat until combined.

Switch to the dough hook, and add enough remaining flour to make a soft, yet sticky dough. Knead with the dough hook about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. (You can also knead by hand 6 to 8 minutes.)

Place the dough in a greased bowl; turning once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled, about one hour.

For the filling, mix 1 cup sugar with the ginger. Work in the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon zest with the tips of your fingers until the sugar resembles soft sand. Slow pour in 3 tablespoons lemon juice, stirring. It should resemble wet sand.

To assemble, lightly grease a 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Once the dough has risen, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 10x15 inches in size. Spread the 2 tablespoons softened butter over dough; Spread lemon filling evenly over butter.

Roll the dough up tightly, starting from the long end. Cut the dough into 12 even rolls, and place into prepared pan.

Cover and let rise for an hour. (Or, at this point, you can cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Just make sure to pull them out to room temperature for an hour before baking.)

Heat oven to 350*F. Bake rolls in the prepared oven for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned.

For the glaze, combined softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract until a spreadable consistency. Spread over warm rolls.

Source: Slightly adapted from theKitchn