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.

Six, baked strawberry cream cheese rolls on a piece of parchment paper drizzled with a white glaze.

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?

A strawberry cream cheese roll on a plate with one bite cut out on a fork ready to eat.

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.

A strawberry cream cheese roll on a white plate, with a fork laying next to it.

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Overnight Strawberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls

4.59 stars (131 ratings)

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 4 ½ cups (639 g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons instant yeast
  • 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

Make Ahead: if you want to have these ready even faster on a given morning, simply start a day ahead of time. Make the dough the morning before, refrigerate it for 8-10 hours, take out and follow the directions to shape and place on the baking sheet. Cover the shaped rolls with greased plastic wrap and refrigerate until the next morning. Take out in time to come to room temp and rise and then bake as directed.
For the Jam: I really recommend using jam that has strawberries as the first ingredient (instead of sugar or corn syrup) so that delicious fruit taste will really shine through.
Step-by-Step: if you are new to these overnight sweet rolls (even the cinnamon and sugar version) there are step-by-step pictures and a quick video on this post detailing how to cut and twist the rolls.
Serving: 1 Roll, Calories: 273kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 53mg, Sodium: 234mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 22g
Follow @MelsKitchenCafe on Instagram and show me the recipes you are making from my blog using the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I love seeing all the goodness you are whipping up in your kitchens!

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)