Lemon Rolls
These lemon rolls are lemon poppy seed cinnamon rolls! The dough is super soft and full of lemon and poppy seeds. It is filled with a butter/sugar/lemon filling with a lemon icing. The fresh lemon flavor and homemade rolls are the most refreshing way to start your day.
These lemon rolls are packed with lemon flavor because of the lemon juice and lemon zest in the dough and icing. These fluffy lemon rolls are even better than a regular cinnamon roll with the lemon and poppy seed flavor. I promise this is an amazing recipe and you will want these lemony rolls every day.
I have tips and tricks and process photos to easily help you make this recipe! If you love lemon roll desserts, you have to try my lemon raspberry rolls.
Tips for making the rolls
Here are my tips, so yours turns out like this recipe!
- Tip 1: For shorter, fatter cinnamon rolls make sure to roll your dough out into a more square shape. If you roll it into a more elongated rectangle your rolls will end up taller and skinnier.
- Tip 2: Make sure the flour is scooped and then leveled. If you put your whole measuring cup into the flour, it will compact the flour. The result is a drier dough.
- Tip 3: For the best results in flavor, use fresh lemon juice.
- Tip 4: Use the heavy cream! The heavy cream getting poured around the rolls is what helps make the whole roll extra gooey! The heavy cream get absorbed while it bakes.
Assembling the Rolls
FAQ’s
Yes you can! After rolling and cutting the rolls. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for a max of 18 hours. This replaces the second rise. Follow the rest of the instructions after this.
The rolls rise best in a warm place. If your oven is busy, you can let the dough rise at room temperature as long as you don’t have a cold house.
If you are eating just one, then reheat the rolls on a plate in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until warm. If you are reheating a whole tray, then preheat the oven to 350, and let it sit in the oven for 5 minutes or until hot.
This has to do with 2 different issues. First, when you activate the yeast the milk needs to be around 110°F. If it is too hot the yeast will be damaged. If it is too cold then it will slow the yeast growth.
Another tip for the yeast is to sprinkle a little sugar in with the yeast and milk mixture to help activate it.
The other issue can be if the rolls did not receive the full rise time or were too cold during the rise. That’s why I recommend rising the rolls in a warm oven.
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Storing and Freezing
Store these lemon rolls in an airtight container in the fridge. Store up to 5 days. They are best when heated in the microwave until warm
Freeze the rolls in an airtight container. Freeze up to 30 days.
For more lemon recipes, check out my
Lemon Rolls
Ingredients
Lemon Dough
- 1 cup Milk, warmed to 110℉
- 2 1/4 tsp Active dry yeast, 1 packet
- 2 Large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
- 3 Large lemons zested
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- 5 cups All-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup White granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 TBSP Poppy Seeds
- 10 TBSP Unsalted butter, room temperature and cubed
Lemon Filling
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup White granulated sugar
- 2 Lemon zest
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- 1/2 TBSP Poppy seeds
Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 TBSP Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 oz Cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 1 Lemon zest
- 2 TBSP Milk
- 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- Lemon zest and poppy seeds, for decoration
Instructions
Lemon Dough
- This recipe uses a stand mixer with a dough hook, for making by hand instructions, see recipe notes. Heat the milk in the microwave until warmed to 110℉. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm milk. Let it sit for 10 minutes.1 cup Milk, 2 1/4 tsp Active dry yeast
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, and poppy seeds. Add the cubed butter to the flour. Use a pastry kneader or your hands to knead the butter into the flour. The butter should be the size of a pea.5 cups All-purpose flour, 1/4 cup White granulated sugar, 1 tsp Salt, 1 1/2 TBSP Poppy Seeds, 10 TBSP Unsalted butter
- Add the milk/yeast, lightly beaten eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Switch to medium speed and knead for 5 minutes.2 Large eggs, 1 TBSP Lemon juice, 3 Large lemons zested
- Preheat the oven to 200℉. Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough into the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in the oven. Turn off the oven and crack open the door and let it rise for 1 hour. For overnight instructions and see notes.
Lemon Filling
- In a small bowl using a hand mixer. Beat the butter until smooth. Add in the sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds and beat until combined.1/2 cup Unsalted butter, 3/4 cup White granulated sugar, 2 Lemon zest, 1 TBSP Lemon juice, 1/2 TBSP Poppy seeds
- Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle. It should be 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread the filling over the dough using an offset spatula. Roll the dough into a log starting on the short side.
- Use a serrated knife to cut off the uneven ends. Then, use lightly sawing motions to cut into even 12 rolls.
- Spray a 9X13 inch pan with baking nonstick spray. Place the 12 rolls into the pan. Cover with a towel and let rise for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Bake for 23-28 minutes until the rolls are lightly golden.
Lemon Cream Cheese Icing
- Start the icing before the rolls are done baking. In a small bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on high speed until smooth.4 TBSP Unsalted butter, 4 oz Cream cheese
- Add in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add in the lemon zest, milk, and lemon juice. Mix until smooth.1 cup Powdered sugar, 1 Lemon zest, 2 TBSP Milk, 1 TBSP Lemon juice
- Use a spoon and immediately spread the icing over the hot rolls. It will melt into the rolls. Top with lemon zest and more poppy seeds.Lemon zest and poppy seeds
How much cream do you pour over the second rise?
1/3 cup
Can you use rapid rise yeast?
Could I make the rolls to the point there are rolled out and in the pan and wrap them tightly and refrigerate them overnight? Then do the second rise in the morning?
Yes you can! After making them into rolls and covering. They can be in the fridge up to 18 hours. This will be their second rise. So the next morning, pull them out of the fridge and preheat the oven. Then you can bake.
Delicious! The rolls came out so pillowy and tender. The flavor profile is great, not too tart or sweet, the perfect balance. I followed the overnight directions. I noticed that the recipe doesn’t have a lot of directions for rolling out the dough—I rolled it out into a 10×20” rectangle in order to get about 1/2” thick. I also rolled up from the long side, since that’s what I’ve always seen. The rolls came out plenty thick that way and filled the 9×13” pan just fine, so I’m not sure why that was the direction here.
Hi Stephanie! I was planning on making these tomorrow but I have a question. I’ve made your homemade cinnamon rolls recently, and that recipe called for 2 packets of active rise yeast, where this one only calls for 1 with nearly the same proportions of other ingredients for the rolls. Is this right? Just want to check!
Because of the acid from the lemon, I only used one packet of yeast.