Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls
These glorious overnight strawberry cream cheese sweet rolls are amazing because they can be made ahead of time and baked fresh when you want them!
Reason #153 I Love You Guys: these overnight strawberry cream cheese sweet rolls. Believe me when I say, this incredible version may not have come into existence if not for one of you.
Remember the cinnamon and sugar sweet rolls I posted a few months ago? I hope you’ve made them. They are divine. So light and flaky and amazing.
They are perfect for holiday mornings or when company is in town or just for a delicious Saturday morning breakfast.
The huge advantage of these rolls is that the dough is made the day before, so come morning, all you have to do is shape them and bake them (and I’ve even included notes in the recipe how to adapt the process so baking is all that stands between you and warm sweet rolls in the morning).
I make the cinnamon and sugar version all the time.
And even though I feel like I’m kind of creative in the kitchen sometimes, it never really crossed my mind to change the rolls up at all until Jessica, who obviously believes sharing is caring, emailed me to tell me about her cream cheese version that she made and served for company – apparently they were ridiculously amazing, and I believe it.
I kind of sat there after reading her email, jaw hanging open, thinking (you know what’s coming): how on earth did I not think of this?
Thanks to Jessica’s inspiration, the very next day I started experimenting with a strawberry cream cheese version (like the cream cheese danishes you can get at Costco, or similar places, but a million times better), and wow, I tell you what, these strawberry cream cheese sweet rolls are out of this world.
That flaky, tender, lightly sweet dough stuffed with a creamy filling and tart, sweet strawberry jam might be my favorite sweet roll combination ever.
And now, I feel like a whole world has been opened to me. Was I truly alive before now? I’m not sure. What variation shall I try next? That is the burning question.
Magnificent, these sweet rolls are truly magnificent (not to mention gloriously pretty). They will make the perfect Easter morning breakfast.
One Year Ago: Homemade Flatbread {Greek Pocketless Pitas with a Simple Tutorial}
Two Years Ago: Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Three Years Ago: Strawberries and Cream Scones
Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 4 ½ cups (639 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons instant yeast
- ⅓ cup (71 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup hot water
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) salted butter, melted
Filling:
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup (86 g) powdered sugar
- Zest of a lemon, about a teaspoon
- 1 to 2 cups strawberry jam, depending on how jammy you want them
Glaze:
- 1 cup (114 g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 tablespoons milk, plus more if needed
- Splash of vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl (to allow for about 7-8 cups of dough to double in bulk), whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together the eggs and pour them into the well. Use the same measuring cup for the hot water. Pour it around the edges of the well (not directly on the eggs) and then add the melted butter to the bowl. Use a large spoon to mix the ingredients together until a soft, rather wet dough is formed. It won’t look like traditional cinnamon roll dough; it will be much softer and it’s ok if it looks a bit lumpy. Magic happens overnight, I promise.
- Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for 8-10 hours.
- When ready to roll out the rolls, prepare the filling: in a blender or with an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese, powdered sugar and lemon zest together until smooth and creamy.
- Using about 1/4 – 1/3 cup flour (more or less), dust a clean countertop. Lightly punch down the chilled dough and roll it out on the floured counter to a long, skinny rectangle (about 24-inches long and 7 or 8-inches wide).
- Spread the cream cheese mixture on the rectangle, spreading evenly with an offset spatula or knife. Dollop spoonfuls of jam across the top and spread into a somewhat even layer – the exact amount of jam you use will depend on how luscious and jammy you want the filling. The more jam you use, the messier the rolls will be to twist but it can be done.
- Fold one long edge of the rectangle up to meet the other long edge so the dough is folded in half – it may want to slip and slide around because of the jam, just do your best. Use a pizza cutter or knife and cut the dough into 1-inch strips. With each strip, hold an end in each hand and twist it up several times and roll it around the center into a circle (see pictures and video in this post for a visual). Place the rolls on a large, rimmed baking sheet (11X17-inch) lined with parchment paper (about 12 per tray). The filling might be a little messy and want to squeeze out as you twist – don’t stress about it; if it oozes out, just pat it back in or on top of the rolls after they are shaped.
- Cover the trays with greased, plastic wrap and let the rolls rise until puffy and doubled, an hour or so.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes until just barely golden on top (don’t overbake or they’ll be dry).
- For the glaze, whisk together the powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla. Add more milk as needed until the glaze is thick but pourable. Let the rolls cool for 5 or so minutes before drizzling with glaze.
Notes
Recipe Source: Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (variation on this favorite Overnight Cinnamon and Sugar Sweet Roll recipe after Jessica B., a reader, emailed and told me about her cream cheese version)
I loved how light and airy these were. After some considerable thought, I couldn’t help but use Mel’s filling recipe from: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/the-best-cinnamon-rolls/ to create the most awesome rolls!
Can this be made same day instead of overnight? Does it change the taste if made same day? Do I simply just let the dough proof outside the fridge?
This recipe definitely benefits from being made overnight – the dough won’t have the same light texture if made the same day, but you could still try (and yes, just let it rise at room temperature instead of in the fridge overnight).
I made them with raspberry jam, so yummy! Thanks for sharing.
Is 2 tbsp of yeast the correct amount? I make overnight rolls often and never use that much. Thinking maybe since the recipe adds it in directly instead of proofing first may be the reason. Your comment would be much appreciated. I plan to make sweet rolls for Easter and like the combination of cream cheese and strawberries.
Hi Carolyn, yes the 2 tablespoons yeast is correct.
Do you think possible to use the Gluten Free Hawaiian “Sweet Roll” dough for this Strawberry Cheese Cake “Sweet Roll” recipe? I might just try and see…
Worth a try!
Each month we host a breakfast for Sunday school teachers at our church. I pre-tested these little beauties last night and oh my stars! Delicious!!!
They will be perfect! Thank you for having my back!
These were a big hit. Thanks
My grown son and his wife are always telling me how much they love your website and your recipes. He made us the lemon cheesecake bars and it was a big hit with the family. Today I made these rolls for a ladies’ luncheon and they turned out so amazing! The flavors went really well together. I’m thinking about playing around with raspberry jam and Nutella, or subbing peanut butter for the cream cheese just for fun. So many wonderful recipes to try. If you ever compile them into a recipe book PLEASE let me know – I would order several! It would be so handy to have them all together. Just a thought… Thanks again!
Thanks, Christy! I’m so happy you and your son and his wife are enjoying the recipes. I don’t have plans for a cookbook yet but maybe someday!
I LOVE this recipe! So easy and SO impressive looking!! Not to mention, crazy delicious… first time I used cream cheese and strawberry jam. This time I made apple pie filling with some apples that were past their prime and made little apple pie sweet rolls- SO GOOD. Can’t wait to see what other delicious fillings I can use! Thanks, Mel!!
Had the same experience as Sofia, made the dough exactly as written in the instructions and noticed that it was not “rather wet” as described. Left it in the fridge to rise and no magic happened overnight. The dough was a hard rock and did not rise whatsoever. I should have tested this recipe prior to making it for Easter morning breakfast…a lot of disappointed and hungry people!
Tried making these but the dough was full of holes and quite sticky- any ideas on what went wrong?
Adding a little extra flour so the dough isn’t so sticky might help.
Hello I want to know how do you store them and how long are they good for
I store them in the refrigerator, covered, and they are good for 4-5 days
Hi Mel!
Could I use real strawberries instead pureed?
Thanks
I think you would need to cook them down or else the filling would be too watery.
Oh my gosh! These are amazing. More than one taster had sweet memories evoked by them — memories of France, even. My sister, who usually just shrugs when she likes a food, has had 3 and is openly expressing delight about their creation. In my mother’s words upon hearing the source of the recipe, “Go Mel!”. Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s been great for our Christmas morale. They’re not even gone and I’m already thinking about making them again.
As for other variants, I made half of the batch with leftover babka filling in lieu of cream cheese and jam, and it was delicious.
Reading this was the best, Amelia! Thank you!
Would a strawberry freezer jam be okay here, or does it need to be a bottled jam?
Definitely worth a try – sometimes freezer jam can be a bit soupier than shelf stable jarred jam – if so, it may be better to use a thicker jam.
Made these for Valentine’s breakfast, and added some pink food coloring to the frosting to add a little more festivity. They are SO yummy! Thanks
Holy cow, Mel these were amazing!!!! You are a food genius. I made these for dinner tonight (We started a breakfast for dinner on Sundays tradition) and we couldn’t wait and had to have one as an afternoon snack! Drew loves all things fruit (I blame Tiffany and Randy for that) and he LOVED them. They were so moist and flavorful and the lemon zest really brings out the fruit flavor so well!
Oh yay! I’m so happy you loved these (and so fun to see a comment pop up from someone I actually know in real life – haha!)
when i saw this recipe i was extremely excited to make it and it looked so delicious but i was extremely disappointed. i got as far as making tje dough and letting it sit overnight. DO NOT put it in the fridge because it does nothing but harden it like a rock. i took it out today and let it sit to try to reverse it and let it rise. it ended up rising a little bit but not much and i ended up having to throw it out. if you’re going to make this recipe ignore the fridge part if you dont want to end up frustrated and disappointed. i am definitely not retrying this recipe and, im finding a better one.
These were HEAVENLY!!! My eyes rolled back into my head as I ate them 😉
The other day I was telling my mom that I tried a recipe that didn’t turn out well. She asked where I got it from, and I said Mel’s, and my sister stormed out, chiding, “THEN YOU MADE IT WRONG!!!!” ;’D (Which is, by the way, entirely possible. Entirely probable, I should say). I told her, “I’ve tried like 30 recipes from her, and they were all amazing! That’s still a success rate of 99%!” And she was honestly annoyed with me for like 3 days. She is like your biggest fan, and feels that if Mel says it, it is GOSPEL. Other times when I try a new recipe from youtube or something and it turns out less-than-stellar, she’ll say, “Well, did you try looking up a version of this on Mel’s? Cause it would have worked.” (Which is definitely true, but kind of annoying. 😉 ).
Anyway, I found out the other day that she’s never commented on your website???!?!?! She says she feels guilty wasting your time (???). So I thought I would tell you that you have a huge fan in Texas. I feel like, with all the work you put into these recipes, you should know when you have a devoted follower. Thanks for everything! <3
Haha, Jenn, I laughed out loud at this!! Seriously, so, so funny. First of all, I appreciate your sister’s ultimate loyalty. She’s clearly very smart. Haha. (Just kidding) It actually makes me feel a lot of pressure, though! I mean, I DO make mistakes and not everything I say should be taken as gospel, but you better believe I’m showing my kids this comment and letting them know they definitely need to listen to what I say more intently SINCE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN TEXAS THAT ACTUALLY DO. 🙂 Tell your sister, it is NEVER wasting my time to comment. I read each and everyone and honestly, the comments keep me blogging. Without them, I would have given up years ago!
So I’ve made this recipe 3x and they are always a hit! I make snacks for my church every Sunday and I keep coming back to your site whenever I need something new. Thank you so much for sharing this!
Thank you so much, Kate! So happy you are finding recipes to love!
i made this recipe just as written and it is perfect the texture is just right and i had to let them sit for 11-12 hours because i was busy but if you watch the video and read through it slowly you will be able to make these
Easter morning success! Thank you!
could you leave them in the fridge longer?
Yes
Because I’m a recipe rebel apparently, I can’t ever seem to make one exactly as written. So what I’m wondering is, after reading your orange roll recipe this week, if I could make this overnight one into a type of orange roll? Add zest to the dough and filling maybe? And then use your orange glaze recipe for the top? I love orange rolls, but would love the convenience of this recipe:)
Oh yes, I’m loving this idea, Mary! I say go for it!
Can you please please pretty pretty please… make an adjustment from your side so that when I hit PRINT of one of your lovely recipes…that it prints WITH the photo? It makes me so sad that none of your recipes print with a photo.
Hi Cindy – it has to be either/or right now and whenever I make the change to print with photo, I get a lot of complaints so I’m trying to figure out a way to make it where a reader can select if the photo prints or not. Sorry about the wait!
Hi, I made these last night. I cut the recipe in half just to have a lower yield. However my. dough didn’t rise overnight. I used fast rising yeast which I thought was the same as instant.
“Fast-rising” or “fast-acting” yeast is just that, yeast that makes it dough rise quickly. The actual yeast organism in “fast-acting” yeast is slightly different from the organism in other types of yeast.
“Instant” yeast, including “bread machine” yeast, is specially formulated to dissolve quickly in liquid. Otherwise, its activity is the same as regular active dry yeast.
Fast-acting yeast is used when you want to finish a bread (or whatever type of baked goods you’re baking) in as short a time as possible. It can’t be used successfully in a yeast dough that chills overnight.
Mel,
I’m looking to make these.
My question is how hot should the water be?
Most of the yeast recipes i make call for water to be between 80-90 degrees. Please advise. Thank you.
Probably right around 90-100 degrees.
OK made them before you replied. I used hot water temp 123 degrees as per directions on the packets. I must have killed the yeast because it only Rose slightly and was still a wet dough after 11 hours. Worked it anyway! Extremely messy dough, it was heavy to work with, wouldn’t fold with out ripping. Waiting to bake now. I’m not a yeast dough person. I make pizza dough in my bread maker. This sounded easy enough to do over a weekend obviously my inexperience with yeast breads shined through. I think I’m going to stick to my bread machine to create my doughs.
This may be a dumb question but I’m just learning to use yeast and making breads and rolls. In the ingredients, you call for 4 1/2 cups flour. But in the instructions you say to use a bowl large enough for 7-8 cups to double in size. Should I start with 4 1/2 cups flour and add however much I need to get a dough, up to 8 cups? That’s what is says in other recipes. I don’t see in the instructions to add the additional flour.
Once all the other ingredients are added with the flour, it’s about 7-8 cups of dough. Does that help?
Yes, that makes sense. Just finished putting on the glaze and they are great. Actually, I couldn’t wait, and as soon as one was cool enough, I tasted it. These are good even without the glaze.
Thanks!
How do modify this recipe for elevation over 3000 feet?
Have you ever used this dough and your orange roll filling?? I love the overnight dough, I just haven’t dared to mix the two recipes yet.
I haven’t but it sounds like a great idea!
You don’t need to worry about recipe adjustments for yeasted dough at altitude.
I made a batch of these for the first time along with a batch of the parent cinnamon sweet rolls for a staff potluck. With your recommendation I used a high quality jam. They were gobbled up so I’ll take that as an excellent review. Note: I made them 24 hours ahead– the dough rose for more like 14 hours rather than 8-10 due to my schedule and so the dough rose A LOT and they baked up huge, and I cut them in half. Won’t do that again!
I think I packed my flour too lightly. Even after putting in the fridge for 10 hours, the dough was super sticky…and there was no way I was twisting anything…think I’ll make sure to weigh it next time.
Can you cook these on a nonstick baking sheet or do you have to bake them on the parchment paper? Also could you use wax paper? I am making these tomorrow. I’m pregnant and the pictures you have of these have been teasing me for a week now lol. Can’t wait to eat them.
I wouldn’t recommend wax paper because it has a coating on it that can burn in the oven…but you could bake them on a greased baking sheet.
I read the recipe wrong and I thought I could make them the day before they would rise overnight and then I can make them in the morning and bake them before work. And then I saw that asked for the additional hour of rest time… I won’t be back home to do anything with the dough still rising from overnight until probably 20 hours of rise. Is there any way to save my dough so it’s not ruined with that long rise? My boyfriend is home, and he can do something simpler Then doing the entire recipe.
Can you shape them and then refrigerate until you need to bake?
Can I use rasberry jam or blackberry jam for these rolls? I’m allergic to strawberries
We made these last night and used red raspberry jam. I doubled the batch because my daughter wanted some. They came out great. I added a few drops of raspberry flavoring to the glaze. Sooo good!
do you think I could add frozen fruit I have put thru a food processor on top of the jam to add more fruit flavor? how do you think it would turn out? afraid of it making the rolls too mushy with the extra moisture.
I think if the fruit hasn’t been thickened to be jam-like, it might make the rolls soggy.
I tried this receipt using active dry yeast and they turned out light and fluffy. An absolutely dreamy treat! Next time I might try rolling and slicing like cinnamon rolls rather than cutting and twisting…I lost a lot of cream cheese and jam. Thank you for sharing this recipe and video!
I’m not good with homemade dough of any kind! That said, would these work with store bought sugar cookie dough or croissant dough?
I honestly don’t know, Shannon – sorry!
Shannon– definitely try making Mel’s French bread rolls for an intro to dough. It’s an easy first yeast bread step. Before I found Mel’s site, I basically NEVER used yeast (the most daring I got was making banana bread). But I tried those rolls and the great step-by-step instructions and now, a years later, I regularly make rolls, sandwich bread, pizza crust, homemade tortillas, crusty artisan bread and French bread. Give those rolls a try, along with the artisan bread and sandwich bread, then come back and try cinnamon rolls. You can do it 🙂
Can these not be rolled like regular cinnamon rolls instead of cut and twisted?
You could definitely try that!
Not sure what I did wrong, but the dough was doughy and heavy, not light and fluffy like it should be once cooked.
Any suggestions? Also, there seemed to be little cream cheese and jam by the time they came out 🙁
My first thought is that the dough may have been overfloured (use a light hand when measuring out the flour vs packing it into the measuring cup and that might help!)
What brand of strawberry jam do you use, Mel?
I like the Smuckers “just fruit” (I think that’s what it’s called) jam if I don’t have homemade on hand.
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant? It’s what I have on hand.
Yes, just proof it in 1/4 cup water with a pinch of sugar until it is foamy and bubbling before using in the recipe.
I tried this receipt using active dry yeast and they turned out light and fluffy. An absolutely dreamy treat! Next time I might try rolling and slicing like cinnamon rolls rather than cutting and twisting…I lost a lot of cream cheese and jam. Thank you for sharing this recipe and video!
Would love to make these, just don’t know if I will ever get time. Maybe a weekend in a couple months I will get time. They sound delicious.
These are great! I’m wondering if you have the nutritional facts for them?☺
I don’t; sorry!
Could these be frozen for a couple days?
Yes, they would probably do fine being frozen.
Great recipe, I will try it soon but I would like to ask if the dough can be frozen to bake a few days later, would that be possible?
Thanks 🙂
I haven’t tried it (I’ve only ever refrigerated it), but you could definitely experiment!
You can buy frozen bread dough.
I made these for a church gathering using strawberry jam in half, and black raspberry jam in the rest. They were sooooo good! Excellent recipe!
Making these for Father’s day tomorrow!
My dough didn’t rise 🙁 I used a gluten free baking flour due to my husband’s wheat allergy but that’s shouldn’t have kept it from rising, right?
That can definitely affect the rising for yeast doughs, I’m afraid.
Can you freeze them once they are baked?
Yes.
Thank you