Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Strawberry Cream Glaze

Since I had about a cup of leftover crushed strawberries from my jam making, I really wanted to use them in some kind of dessert. Pastries first came to mind and I knew that some sweet rolls would be amazing with fresh strawberries.

So I began searching for a good recipe and while I found a few, there were none that used fresh strawberries in the filling. I could easily have used some of my freshly made jam, which you can easily do in this recipe, but I didn't want to "waste" that quite yet. 

I had seen enough recipes lately with fresh strawberries that I decided to combine one for the dough, one for the filling and one for the glaze and let's just say the rolls turned out incredible! The filling is thicker than jam due to some added cornstarch and it is simply perfect.

The total rise time is about two hours in 2 different steps and look how pretty the rolls become! ^^

Freshly baked...

and freshly glazed. :)

Now I'm just going to leave this picture right here...you cannot tell me that doesn't look amazing. Because it is.

Strawberry Sweet Rolls with Strawberry Glaze

Makes 10-11 Rolls

Rise Time: 2 hours

Adapted from Averie Cooks

For the Dough:

1 large egg

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (plus up to 1/4 cup additional, to be added only if necessary)

3 Tbsp. sugar

3 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

2 1/4 tsp. instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet)

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup milk

Filling:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

For the Strawberry Filling:

Adapted from Chef in Training

3/4 cup fresh, crushed strawberries (I used a potato masher)

2 Tbsp. water

1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1. In a medium sauce pan, combine crushed strawberries, water, cornstarch and sugar. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Set aside and let cool in the fridge.

*You could also use 3/4 cup strawberry jam or preserves if you already have them on hand instead of making your own strawberry filling.

For the Strawberry Glaze:

Slightly Adapted from Garnish and Glaze

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

3-4 Tbsp. cream

1 Tbsp. strawberry jam or crushed strawberries

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1. For the Dough: To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all ingredients other than milk; set aside.

2. Add milk to a microwavable bowl and warm to 115 to 130 degrees F, depending on the brand of your yeast, about 45 seconds on high power in the microwave. Use a digital thermometer to test and be sure to err on the cooler side. Pour the milk over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl and knead on low speed for about 7 minutes or 10 minutes by hand.

3. If dough is very sticky, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl. Be care not to over-flour it. (I didn’t need to add any flour so the dough can vary.)

4. After kneading, turn the dough out into a large, greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free space for 1 hour or until doubled in size. You can create a warm environment by preheating your oven to 200 degrees F, then shutting it off.

(*Make strawberry filling while dough is rising. See recipe above.)

5. After the dough has doubled, punch it down, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it by hand for about 3 minutes.

6. Spray a 9-inch (deep dish) pie or round pan with cooking spray; set aside.

7. With a rolling pin, roll dough into a 14x8-inch rectangle. Spread 2 Tbsp. butter evenly over the surface. Spread the strawberry filling evenly, leaving a small margin near edges.

8. Starting with a long side, roll up the dough tightly with the seam side down. Cut into 11 even pieces and place in a lightly greased 9-inch round pan. (Dental floss works great for cutting cinnamon rolls. Simply place a piece of floss under the rolled dough where you need to make your cut and bring the floss up around the dough, crossing it over the top and cutting through the dough and filling.

9. Cover the rolls with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in size.

10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly golden on top and cooked through. *If you notice your rolls are becoming darker before centers are cooking through, cover with foil for the last 10 minutes.

11. While rolls bake, make the Strawberry Glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, cream, strawberry jam and vanilla together until smooth.

12. Remove rolls from oven and generously drizzle glaze over the warm rolls. Serve immediately.

*Rolls are best eaten fresh, but will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.