Strawberry and Cream Sweet Rolls

So, mornings… I wish I could say they were my thing… I wish I could say I was a morning person. But, truth be told, I’m more of a morning zombie. I rise from bed with little grace and shamble my way into the kitchen where I poke at things until something (usually my husband) provides me with coffee. Mmmmm… coooooooffeeeeee.

So as much as I love to bake, baking some extravagant breakfast first thing in the morning isn’t really my thing. Something about poking at hot things hoping they’ll provide me with food never seems to work out well. Although I’m definitely down for eating an extravagant breakfast if you’re offering. No, you weren’t? Siiiiiiiiiiiigh. Guess I’ll just have to eat these delicious strawberry sweet rolls all by myself then…

The real beauty of this recipe is that it not only works well as a weekend breakfast when you have a little more time for waking up before baking (oh, hello delicious brunch dishes) but you can even make this on the weekdays! Oh yes folks, THIS IS REAL LIFE.

Sweet rolls for weekdays!

SWEET ROLLS FOR ALL!

No special wizarding skills necessary, just a little prep work the night before. Simply take your sweet rolls through their final rising, cover them, and refrigerate them overnight. Pop them in the oven and voila! Breakfast like it’s the weekend, no matter the day of the week (yes, I just used breakfast as a verb… I am, in fact, that grammatically awesome). You can even freeze them and keep them on hands for when you have guests.

“Oh, these? Just a little something I whipped up!” Psh, Martha Stewart ain’t got nothing on you!

Strawberries and Cream Sweet Rolls

Print Recipe

Whether you’re making these ahead or to be served immediately, these summery sweet rolls are sure to brighten your day!

• Author: The Simple, Sweet Life
• Category: Breakfast

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the sweet rolls:

• 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tbsp.
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 4 tbsp. (57 grams) butter, melted
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the strawberry filling:

• 8–10 strawberries

For the vanilla bean icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp. milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a cup, stir together your active dry yeast, warm water, and +1 tbsp. granulated sugar. Let the yeast active for 5-10 minutes, or until frothy.
2. In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, combine all of your sweet roll ingredients, including the yeast mixture. Mix using the hook attachment util the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky. If the dough is still sticky, add a 1/4 cup of flour at a time until no longer sticky. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, covered with a damp towel, and allow to rise for about an hour, or until it’s roughly doubled in size.
3. Roll the dough out into a rectangle that is about 1/3″ thick. In a bowl, coarsely mash your strawberries using a fork until chunky but spreadable. Drain off the juice and spread the chunks of berry over you dough. Roll into a log along the long side of the rectangle, and slice into 12 rolls. Arrange in a lightly greased baking dish and allow to rise for about an hour, or until the rolls have roughly doubled in size. If you’re making these ahead, now would be the time to pop them in the refrigerator (to be used the next day) or in the freezer (to be used in the future).
4. Preheat your oven to 350F/175C and bake for 30-35 minutes (a little longer if not completely thawed), or until golden brown.
5. In a small saucepan, combine all the vanilla bean icing ingredients and stir over medium-low heat until warm and a crust begins to form. Drizzle the icing over the warm rolls and serve immediately.