Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

Closeup of Strawberry Cinnamon Roll topped with strawberry glaze on a white fluted plate with a strawberry, small white flower, and silver fork.

Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls

These Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls have soft, fluffy dough filled with strawberry jam and a touch of cinnamon. Baked until golden and topped with a beautiful strawberry glaze (and absolutely zero food coloring needed for that gorgeous color!), these rolls are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or anytime you're craving a treat during strawberry season.

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 25

Rise Time 1 30

Total Time 2 55

Servings cinnamon rolls

Calories 437kcal

Author Amee

Equipment

Ingredients

Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup buttermilk, warm (100°F-110°F; see note)
1 Tablespoon yeast
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 eggs, at room temperature
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (see note)

Cinnamon-Strawberry Filling

1 cup strawberry jam
2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon (optional)

Strawberry Glaze

4 ounces strawberries (see note; about 1 ½ cups)
1 Tablespoon water
2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For Dough

In a small heatproof bowl or measuring cup, warm the buttermilk (see note) for 30 seconds in the microwave, or until the buttermilk is warm, but not hot, about 100°F-110°F. (Warmer and you'll kill your yeast!)
1 cup buttermilk, warm
Pour the yeast into the buttermilk and stir to combine. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
1 Tablespoon yeast
In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Set aside.
4 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter (can be warm, but not hot), eggs, sugar, and vanilla bean paste (see note). Mix to combine.
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, 2 eggs, at room temperature, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Using the dough hook, gradually add the dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed until a soft dough forms. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl, but may still stick to the bottom. If the dough is too sticky, you can add a tablespoon or two of flour.
Cover the bowl and let rest for 30 minutes. The dough will not double, but should be puffed.

Shaping/Baking

After resting, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll into a 16-inch by 18-inch rectangle. Introduce as little additional flour as possible. Alternatively, you can roll the dough out on a nonstick pastry mat (see note).
Spread the strawberry jam over the dough evenly (an offset spatula works well for this), leaving a 1" border on the long sides with no jam. If desired, sprinkle cinnamon over the jam.
1 cup strawberry jam, 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
Using a pizza cutter (see note), cut the dough into 12 equal strips starting from the long edge. This means that each strip will be approximately 1 ½ inches wide. Roll the strips individually and place in a greased 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish (see note).
Alternatively, you can roll up the entire dough and then cut the dough log into pieces. For this particular recipe, I found this to be messy and difficult, as the jam makes the job slippery. Cutting strips, then rolling, worked much better for me.
Cover the baking dish and let the rolls rise until doubled, about 1-1½ hours.
If you prefer, the shaped cinnamon rolls can be placed in the refrigerator overnight for the second rise time. I allow the baking dish to warm on the counter to room temperature before baking, so as not to risk a cold dish breaking in the hot oven, and to ensure the rolls bake evenly.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake cinnamon rolls about 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden.

For Glaze

In a medium saucepan, combine the strawberries and water (the water is just so that the berries don't scorch before they release their juices). Cook over medium-low heat until the berries have broken down and released their juice. You can hasten this process a bit by smushing (it's a technical term) the berries with a spatula as they cook.
4 ounces strawberries, 1 Tablespoon water
Press the berries in a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl to collect the juice. Discard the seeds and pulp. I ended up with about ½ cup of strawberry juice. Return the juice to the saucepan.
Over medium-low heat, cook until the liquid is reduced to about ¼ cup (5-7 minutes). Make sure to check/stir frequently, as the more the liquid reduces, the more likely it will burn. Take the saucepan off the heat and allow the to cool slightly.
In a medium bowl, start by combining 2 cups of the sifted powdered sugar with the strawberry reduction. Stir until all the powdered sugar is incorporated. Add additional powdered sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. If the glaze is too thick, you can add a splash of water to thin it out.
2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Pour the glaze over the cinnamon rolls, and garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired.
The glaze can be made in advance, and keeps in the refrigerator up to three days, or in the freezer up to three months.
Once completely cooled, store baked and glazed cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. The glaze will absorb into the rolls a bit, so if you're planning to eat them over the course of a few days, you may want to glaze them as you eat them.
Enjoy!

Notes

Note on buttermilk: You want your buttermilk to be warm, not hot, or you could kill your yeast! If you don't have any buttermilk on-hand, you can make a quick substitution using white vinegar or lemon juice. Just add one teaspoon of white vinegar OR lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup, then add milk (I find 2% or more milkfat works best) to the one cup line. Let sit for 5 minutes, then it's ready for use!

Note on vanilla bean paste: For lovely vanilla flavor and black flecks of vanilla bean in your cinnamon rolls! If you don't have vanilla bean paste or prefer not to use it, you can use an equal measure of vanilla extract.

Note on pastry mat: Rolling the dough out on a pastry mat keeps the dough from sticking to your counter (and it won't stick to the pastry mat!) without introducing much additional flour to the dough.

Note on pizza cutter: When making cinnamon rolls, I usually roll up all the dough, then cut the rolls. For this particular recipe, I found this method to be messy and difficult with the slippery strawberry jam. Instead, I used a pizza cutter to cut the dough into equal strips, then rolled each cinnamon roll individually.

Note on baking dish: I used a 9-inch by 13-inch ceramic baking dish. You could use a cake pan of the same size, but the edges and bottoms of the rolls may be done baking before the center is.

Nutrition