Want to impress your family over the weekend?
Ready in an hour!
These Strawberry Swirl Sweet Rolls scream springtime to me. What is it about pink? It floods me with thoughts of baby showers, wedding showers, picnics, birthday parties and warm weather. It is nearing the end of April, flowers are blooming, gardens are being prepped and I'm loving all things strawberry.
These sweet rolls only require your favorite jam {here my strawberry freezer jam is pictured}, but it is only about a matter of a month give or take a week or two and strawberries will be in full season around here!
I painstakingly transferred about a third of my strawberry plants to their CORRECT beds a couple of weeks ago. Those darn plants get a mind of their own and take off everywhere! I'm hoping I now have them controlled, they aren't mad at me and we have a stellar crop.
Strawberries are by far one of my favorite fruits. My mom used to cut them up and give me a side bowl of SUGAR to dip them in. I still cannot believe I used to eat them that way. They are so sweet already! Really mom, what were you thinking?
Teeth rot obviously.
Now that I'm grown up and completely mature {ahem} I skip the side bowl of sugar and eat them fresh. And when I pick way too many at the strawberry farm {every.single.year} I make tons of jam and shove it at all my friends and family.
I based these rolls off my One Hour Cinnamon Roll recipe, which for so many reasons you should already know.....I love. Cinnamon Rolls done in an hour? Yes, it can be done. They are perfect for any mom who likes to bake for their kids. You can show off these delicious rolls and pretend you've been slaving, punching down dough since 6 a.m.
Please.
Bless the mothers who do that.
And let's be honest. These Strawberry Swirl Sweet Rolls are nothing without the frosting. Nothing. Compare it to pizza without cheese. Or spaghetti without sauce. Prehaps chips without salsa. Or could you imagine tailgating without beer?
Some things just have to go together and cinnamon rolls, of any kind, need frosting, or they are just a bland, dry spiced roll.
This makes a nice batch, I ended up with three 8x8 pans. One for us and two to give away. They stay fresh for a couple days, just nuke them in the microwave for about 10 seconds the next day to soften up!
Strawberry Swirl Sweet Rolls
Dough:
1 c. warm water
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted unsalted butter
2 T. regular yeast
pinch of salt
2 eggs
5 1/2 c. flour
Filling:
4 T. melted unsalted butter
1 c. strawberry jam
Frosting:
3 c. powdered sugar
2 t. almond extract
1/4 c. milk, plus more to thin out if needed
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease three 8x8 baking pans.
2. In a stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand held mixer combine the warm water, milk, sugar, butter and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the eggs, salt and flour and mix for 10 minutes. Then let rest for another 10 minutes.
4. Roll the dough out over a floured large surface to 1/4 of an inch thickness into a large rectangle. Spread on the melted butter, then the jam.
5. Carefully roll up and using a serrated knife cut into 27 slices, placing the rolls in the greased dishes.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. In a bowl combine the powdered sugar, almond extract and milk. If the frosting is too thick {I prefer mine a bit thinner}, add more milk one tablespoon at a time.
8. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls. Serve warm or cover and heat up again later.
I've dabbled in a just a couple other cinnamon roll varieties. Give these a try!
