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)
You apparently need to divide the dough in half before rolling. You left that out of the instructions. My rolls are humungous.
I actually don’t divide the dough in half (If I did, I’d definitely make mention of it in the ingredients!)…but you certainly can if the rolls are too big.
In your video it looks likes you divide the dough in half before rolling. Is that not correct?
For the purposes of the video, the dough was cut in half (otherwise it would have been too much dough for the frame of the camera). You can divide in half or roll the whole thing out, whatever works best for you.
Let me start by saying that I’m a cook more than a baker. These looked so good that I decided to give them a go. They turned out wonderfully! I had no problems with the dough the next morning. I did half the dough, as shown in the video. On the second half, I twisted the strips right on the floured countertop instead of trying to hold them in my hands. It was much easier for me, and they were definitely prettier than the first 12, lol. I used raspberry jam because I love a sweet and tart combination. The whole family loved them and are already asking for their favorite jam variations. But in my opinion, the baker gets to decide, and I’m sticking with raspberry
Love the raspberry variation!
I made these rolls for the first time and they are absolutely DIVINE!!!! My entire family loved them. I am, as I type, making another batch. The only thing I did differently was use my own homemade pineapple jam., however, I’m sure it’s just as delicious with the strawberry jam. Great recipe!!!!
Hi Mel, thank you so much for posting the video showing steps to make this recipe and most importantly, how to twist the rolls. I made these rolls as per your recipe except I have left the dough to refrigerate for 2 hours only (dough has risen double) and started making them. The dough was wet and sticky. Nevertheless I continue making them and it turns out great when it was out from the oven. “Delicious” was the comment passed by my family. I’ll make sure to refrigerate the dough overnight or 8-10 hours the next time I make this.
OMG, these are fabulous! Because some have noted lumpiness in the dough and I didn’t want to chance it, I opted to mix the dough in a more traditional way: the wet/yeast/egg ingredients together then added the flour to the wet. There were no lumps. The “dough” was sticky and shaggy, but after the rest in the fridge, it wasn’t as sticky and could be patted out into the 24 x 8 inch rectangle. Followed your instructions….love the taste and the texture. Thank you! I put a few in the freezer to see how they thaw and reheat….cuz I’m always feeding my freezer.
I made them but the bottoms got burnt 🙁 they they were delicious and very messy. I was also wondering what other options do I have for the dough in regards to salty pastries.
Do you think these could be made up to the point where they are formed and laid out on the baking sheet, and then cover and refrigerate them overnight so I could simply pop them in the oven the next morning?
Sure, I think that could work – you might take them out a little bit beforehand so they have time to come to room temperature and puff a bit (unless they’ve risen adequately in the fridge overnight).
Deb made her first batch of these this morning, and I ate two. She can make these anytime — they’re delicious. Although I’ve had 2, and I’m on my way back to snag two more. Thanks!
John and Deb – loved your comments! Glad the rolls were a hit – bet they are SO yummy with that homemade strawberry jam. Yum!
These looked so good, and this weekend is Easter, and I wanted a special treat. I just made my best batch of strawberry jam EVER, and figured that this would be a good project. I made the dough in my mixer at about 3 in the afternoon, and refrigerated it until 7:30 this morning. The dough was smooth and nice to work with — it was an easy process! I used about 1 1/2 cups jam, and after the first few, they weren’t actually too sloppy, either. I did forget to twist them before putting them into circles, but that didn’t seem to matter. They turned out just as beautiful as pictured, and I don’t fancy myself great with presentation. Thanks!
I have wanted to make these rolls since you posted them last year, and I FINALLY got around to it yesterday. They were every bit as yummy as I hoped they would be! I think they may be the best sweet roll I have ever tasted! Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that, JaNae!
I’ve made these rolls before – both the cream cheese/jam version, and the cinnamon version. They are dangerous to any weight loss attempts! BUT I recently fell in love with almond croissants, and I’m going to try this dough recipe with an almond cream filling! I can’t wait!
Mel. I made these last night/this morning. They turned out great. A couple of things: I’m an experience baker and was shocked when I saw the dough this morning in the fridge. It looked horrible, very lumpy and not consistent looking, completely not what I expected. The rolls turned out fine, but some may be surprised by the look of the dough. I think maybe I should have stirred it a just little more before refrigerating. Those who find the dough too wet, might not be adjusting the liquid if they’re using regular yeast and blooming it in water. I think 2 cups of strawberry would be impossible to manage. A cup was about right. BTW – I put some lemon juice in the glaze and that was good. Thanks for the good recipes, I cook a lot from your blog.
Thanks for the comment, Kirk! I think your reviews are super helpful. Keep them coming!
Would I be able to use strawberry pie filling instead of jam? I have made strawberry cream cheese braids before and used pie filling but not sure how different they are…..I was just curious….I cannot wait to try this recipe though, looks amazing!
Yes, I think that should work great!
Hi, Mel – I made these for conference weekend – again. My favorite conference tradition! They turn out wonderful every time [except the time I forgot the yeast 🙁 Thank you for one of my very favorite recipes.
annabel
I just made these delicious rolls and they smelled amazing even during the prep process. My grandson asked all night and this morning were they ready yet. Yellow jacket swarmed my open windows because it smelled sooo good! It was the messiest thing I ever made but it was so worth it. I was afraid the center ones weren’t done so my bottoms and edges were a bit dark so I’ll adjust my cook time next time but these will become a staple for the family. I’ve never baked anything with yeast and the recipe was so perfect I felt like a pro. Everything turned out better than expected for a firs time. Thanks for sharing
Hi Mel,
I am in the process of making these and had some trouble with the dough. I followed the instructions, even bought a scale and weighed the ingredients, and yet after 10 hours in the fridge the dough was kinda soft and gloppy. I proceeded to roll it out on a floured surface, but when it came to folding it and cutting it, it didn’t work very well. Then trying to twist the strips was impossible. It was so gloppy in my hands. I somewhat rolled the strips and plopped them on a tray. Not giving up. Maybe a miracle will happen when they bake. Who cares how they look if they taste good? 🙂 But what do you think went wrong?
I also made your homemade pesto and froze it in an ice cube tray (genius!) and made Garlic Chicken Penne Pasta and both turned out great!!
I think you’re awesome and you’ve made me such a better cook. Thanks!
How did these turn out, Lori? It is a rather messy process getting them rolled up but usually they bake up light and tender!
I hope you try them with HUCKLEBERRIES! I’ll be watching for that post!
Am I the only one brave enough to post that this really did not work for me. I have used yeast before and I am an experienced orange/cinnamon roll veteran but this was a fail. The dough was extremely lumpy and from there everything went down hill fast. This was worse than the cinnamon roll sugar cookies (another fail for another day)
My inent is not to place blame – I just am not sure what I did wrong
Lumpy dough; unappealing oozing goo; and a lot of odd looking shaped structures (not really sure what to call them)
Any feedback from others who may not have had success would be great. Thanks!
Sorry these didn’t work out for you, Emilee. You may have needed to stir the dough a little more. A a few slight lumps are ok but it shouldn’t be extremely lumpy like you described.
I too had trouble working with this dough. But it was my own fault for skimping on the flour when I rolled them out. (Using a silpat to roll them out, I thought I didn’t need 1/4 flour under the dough, it seemed like way to much!) It turned into a sticky sloppy mess, more like blobs that I plopped on my tray, not a twist! BUT, the second half of my dough, I added more flour to my work surface, and that was the key! I think using enogh flour when rolling out is too important to miss! I took a picture of my two trays because it was so laughable what a night and day difference using enough flour made!
If you try again, definitely keep in mind that the dough will be lumpy and soft, but the extra flour when rolling (or patting in my case) the dough into the 8 by 24 inch rectangle is probably needed for structure. That’s my feedback, hopefully it helps!
Hi Mel! I’m dying to make these rolls but the dough would have to be in the fridge longer than 8-10 hours. Do you think it would be okay if I left them in the fridge for more like 20-22 hours? Thanks so much! They look delicious 🙂
I haven’t tried it that way but usually yeast doughs do quite well in the fridge for a while – if doing so, I’d probably cut the yeast in half (or at least down a little bit).
We had these for Easter breakfast and they were delectable! I used homemade raspberry freezer jam because that’s what I had. It was so messy to twist them, but it was worth it. We had some left over the next day and I don’t think they were quite as good. Maybe that’s just me. I love cinnamon rolls, but these were a fun and winning change up.
If I only wanted to bake a half batch, do you think it would work to freeze some if the rolls once they are formed to use on a later date? Thanks in advance!
Sounds delicious!! I would also like to know if they can be frozen before or after baking? Have you tried that?
Hi Erica – I haven’t tried freezing these but other similar sweet rolls (like cinnamon rolls) usually freeze fine. I freeze them after baking.
Hey Mel! Do these have to rise overnight? Or would 5-6 hours be sufficient? In other words I really want to make these today…and don’t want to wait until tomorrow to scarf them down.
I do think the longer time period is best but you could definitely give it a try! 🙂
Made these for our Easter breakfast — SO incredibly good! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Hi Mel,
Thanks for the great recipe. I made these for our Easter breakfast at church this year. They were a huge hit. I did half as strawberry and half with Apricot jam. I had the dough rise for 2 days and they were still great.
Gaaah! These were almost too good to deal with! I had to pawn of the few leftovers lest I ate them for a midnight snack. I did half the batch strawberry, the other half blueberry/lemon. Couldn’t decide on a favorite, so I had to sample many, many, many times.
Darn, that should have read thank you so much for sharing!
Wow! Those are unbelievable! My husband said its like eating a cloud! Thank you some have for sharing the recipe!!!!
So I goes I am dumb but when you say fold in half are you talking about folding like a hotdog or hamburger? Little confused!
Like a hotdog. The pictures at the bottom of this post will help!
I just want to double check… It’s 2 tablespoons of yeast, not 2 teaspoons? Two tablesoons seems like an awful lot
The yeast amount is correct as written in the recipe. 🙂
These are so yummy! I mixed the dough up last night and then made them this morning for our early Easter breakfast since we have 9am church this year. I used the juice from half of my zested lemon to the glaze and that was a delicious idea!
Thanks for the yummy treat! 🙂
Hello Mel! A friend of mine posted a picture of one of your creations on Instagram recently and I have been hooked on all of your great recipes! Thank you!
I am wanting to make this recipe for tomorrow and wonder do I really just mix the dough around 9 or 10 pm and then shape them around 6 or 7 am?
Thanks again for sharing your wonderful talent! You are a rock star!
Yep, as long as it is refrigerated for 8-10 hours, it should work out great. Hope they turn out!
They turned out Mel!!! Thank yo so much!! I posted a photo on Instagram and tagged you in the comment. I will double the lime filling next time, but all in all they were delicious and many friends and family are anxious to try and learn more from you.
I also read your post this morning on your skin cancer experience. Thank you for sharing. I am a native of AZ and have been meaning to go and get an exam to check things out. I will do it. You are healing beautifully!
These look amazing. I don’t think they’ll be appropriate in my home on easter morning (we have fast Sunday and plus all the easter basket candy is sugar over load, but on any other day, wonderful.
These looks so tasty! I made these for Christmas morning and added orange zest to the cinnamon and sugar and then used fresh orange juice instead of water for the glaze. They were divine!
Thanks for all the fun and delicious recipes Mel!!
The only thing I keep thinking is, these would make GREAT orange rolls! Can’t wait to make these…going to the top of the list.
Amen! I bet these as orange rolls would be divine!
I knew you would be able to do something amazing with my idea! Glad I could provide some inspiration! Thanks for sharing all the great recipes!
Can you use freezer jam?
As long as the consistency isn’t too runny (once thawed), it should work fine.
Those look amazing! I need more time so I can make all of your rolls!
Is the dough suppose to be rising in the fridge? Because mine has not
Yes, it should get puffy and rise – but sometimes when I’ve made it, it’s risen and already kind of popped and deflated when I check on it.
I always use your recipes but never leave a comment so it’s about time I say THANK YOU! Love so many of your recipes. You are fabulous!
Thank you!
Do you think I could mix up the dough two days in advance? (Please say yes, please say yes)
Usually yeast doughs do pretty well in the refrigerator for a couple days so I’m saying yes, although I’d probably decrease the yeast a bit so it doesn’t develop a strong yeasty taste that long in the fridge.
These look amazing! Do you think I could half the recipe? I always hate to mess with amounts on recipes using yeast. Thanks for sharing this!
I think that should work fine!
These rolls look amazing! I usually make cinnamon rolls for holidays, but I think I’m totally going to go for these this weekend!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I had just put the dough for the overnight cinnamon and sugar rolls in the fridge to rise, and then I saw this post. Now I have a hard decision about which version to try first. They both look absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for all the great recipes and inspiration in the kitchen… Have a blessed Easter!
Make half of each
Smart thinking!
That is what I did!! Both were amazing, and actually really easy to make. The strawberry ones were really messy to twist and form, but they baked up fine. Just had one of each, fresh from the oven!
These look amazing!! You are amazing… 3 posts in 3 days, I seriously don’t know how you do it?! But I’m really glad you do 🙂
These look sooo good !
Those are just beautiful and sound so yummy. My baby is nursing and allergic to dairy or I’d whip up a batch right now. Just curious what brand of jam you used. It’s so bright and beautiful.
I used some home canned strawberry jam from last year but I’ve also used Smucker’s low-sugar jam with good results for other recipes like this.
I am sure that none store-bought jam want taste as good as home made one. I also thought of using soaked and blended dry fruit (figs / dates / apricots). There is no need to add sugar as they are sweet enough and this filling should be OK without dairy. It would be thick and sticky enough. What do you think Mel?
Sounds like a great experiment!
Hi Mel!
We moved to Colorado recently and I have trouble with baking due to the altitude. Do you or anyone else have any tips for a recipe like this? Thanks so much!
Have you tried to make these rolls and had specific issues, Jamie?
I would add about 2 more cups of flour. They were so sticker I couldn’t get them off the counter even though I floured the counter really well. I ended up getting about 6 of them on the baking tray and threw the rest of the dough away. The ones I did get to bake were heavenly
Hello Peggy. Mel doesn’t have access to internet right now so I’m helping her out with comments for the next few days. Thanks for the suggestion. I will pass it on to Mel. Flour can definitely be tricky, especially because everyone measures differently. I hope they work out better if you try them again!
When we moved to Colorado, I thought we had an altitude issue, but nobody had any advice. Then my oven died, and I bought a nice oven. Turns out it was the oven – it was cheap and heated unevenly, quickly, and frequently. A heavy pizza stone in the bottom of the oven helps, but not as much as a quality oven.
I have lived in Colorado for a long time, and I never change my baking recipes due to altitude. I know on a cold day, these probably won’t rise, so I just put them in my oven on the Proof setting to rise, not on the counter. Hope that helps! 🙂
You can never ever go wrong with strawberry and cream cheese. I had something similar on my radar to make and now I am even hungrier.
Have a wonderful Easter, Mel!
Hi Mel, these look amazing, I have made many rolls from your site but these, I am most positive, will be my favourite! I can’t wait until I make these over the weekend, drooling already 🙂 I might whip up some fresh strawberry jam for them too.
Apple filling sounds heavenly to me.
These look divine! I don’t have strawberry jam on hand but have some homemade raspberry jam so I think that may be our version! Thanks so much! We have loved the cinnamon sugar variety and I’m excited to try this new version.
I like the raspberry better