Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls

I'll start off by stating the obvious- these are NOT low-calorie rolls. However, they ARE the kind of treat to make on a lazy weekend morning with a couple of friends or, perhaps your kids. Additionally, they are so amazingly scrumptious that you will take one bite and no longer trouble yourself with trifling matters such as: Will I need to spend an extra hour working out? Do I care if I gain weight just looking at these? No, none of this matters anymore when the warm, gooey, tart, and sweet morsel hits your mouth- everything is now right in the world.

These rolls, while time-intensive, are quite simple to make. Whenever I'm baking with yeast, I always am afraid that I am going to do something wrong and the bread won't rise or something of the sort, but I have yet to fail with yeast and am rapidly coming to the realization that maybe my stigma surrounding it is completely unfounded. Now that I know how easy these rolls are to make, and more importantly, how hard they are to get wrong, I can't wait to experiment with various different filling combos as well as the traditional cinnamon roll!

If you have the time, I highly suggest that you try out these rolls. You will not be disappointed by the crisp exterior, the ooey-gooey center, or the creamy, tart glaze. In fact, these rolls are well worth waking up early to make :)!

Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls

recipe from slightly adapted from here

makes about 2 dozen rolls (depending on how you roll/cut them)

ingredients:

rolls:

• 2 cups warm water
• 2 tbsp dry yeast
• 2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk powder
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 large egg
• about 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

filling:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• zest of 6 Meyer lemons

glaze:

• 8 oz. block cream cheese
• juice of 6 Meyer lemons
• pinch of kosher salt
• 6 cups powdered sugar

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, stir together the warm water and yeast and allow to proof for around 10 minutes. It will get kind of foamy on top when it's done.
2. To the yeast/water mixture, add in the milk powder, sugar, and salt. With the paddle attachment, stir together on low speed. Add in the softened butter and egg and combine.
3. Slowly add in the flour, 1 cup at a time until the dough is soft but not sticky (you may need a little more or less flour that I used). Increase the mixer speed to high and mix the dough for about 5 minutes until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and begins to climb the paddle.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead a few times on a floured work surface. Set the dough into a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in a warm place to rise for an hour.
5. Cut the risen dough into thirds. Using a rolling pin, roll 1/3 of the dough into a rectangle 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Spread the dough with 1/3 cup of the butter, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, and the zest of 2 lemons. Carefully roll the dough up tightly and cut into 1 1/2 inch rolls. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
6. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Place the rolls on a large baking sheet or individual baking cups. Set on top of the preheating oven to rise for about half an hour. Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden brown.
7. While rolls are baking combine glaze ingredients in a large bowl and beat until combined. Pour or drizzle over warm rolls.

These sweet rolls are featured in a linky party at Sweet Rolls that Rock! Click the button below to check out some more tasty and unique sweet rolls!