Sticky Sweet Lemon Rolls

 

Sticky Sweet Lemon Rolls.  These are some of the tastiest and quickest sweet rolls that you could ever want to bake. With their sweet lemony sugar filling, and that beautifully tart lemon glaze, they don't let you down!

I hope you will not hold my bad photography against me today. Normally I get all of my cooking and photography done by noon and so I am taking my photos in natural light.  

Yesterday  things just snowballed and for some reason I never got my photos taken until late in the afternoon. I ended up having to take my pictures on the dining room table underneath the light in there.

 

I have been wanting to bake a lemon roll in a while, but I was waffling between using a yeast dough for them or more of a scone/biscuit dough.  I wanted them to be similar to a Cinnamon roll, but with a lemon filling and glaze.

I thought about my mother's cinnamon rolls.   These are the cinnamon rolls I grew up with and what I always baked for my children.  Quick, easy and delicious they relied upon a scone/biscuit dough.  I had no idea there was a yeast version until I was an adult.

 

True confession here. I have always preferred my mothers. There is something about the biscuit dough that just tastes better to me than the yeast dough.  Call me crazy, but I will choose one of hers over the traditional ones every time.

And so it wasn't much of a stretch for me to decided to use the same type of dough for these Sticky Sweet Lemon Rolls.

 

Having now decided why kind of dough I wanted to use I now had to decide on a filling. I could go with a filling of lemon curd, which I had seen on a few different pages, or I could go with a traditionally sugar/lemon filling.

I found a delicious sounding sugar filling on a blog called Life in the Loft House.  I decided to go with that one.  It used sugar, lemon zest, butter and lemon juice.  Decision made and I went for it. 

Was I ever pleased with how they turned out!  WOWZA! You are in for a real treat!

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE STICKY SWEET LEMON ROLLS

Simple every day baking cupboard ingredients. I use all butter in my rolls.  I have grown away from using shortening for anything, so this is a traditional biscuit dough, but made with all butter. (The printable recipe is at the bottom of my post.)

 For the dough:

• 2 cups (280ml) plain all purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 heaped TBS sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter, cut into bits
• 1 cup whole milk

For the filling:

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• the finely grated zest of two lemons
• the juice of one lemon
• 4 TBS butter, at room temperature

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• the juice of 1/2 lemon (or enough to give you the right consistency)
• finely grated lemon zest to sprinkle over top

 

In the UK I always used unwaxed lemons but I have not seen them here where I live. I am sure they are available in larger areas but not in the boondocks where I live. If you can get unwaxed lemons go for them!

I had bought a bag of lemons at the shops the other day for a decent price. This is citrus season.  They were packed with juice.  True fact, the thinner skinned lemons pack in a lot more juice than the thicker skinned ones.

Also true if you leave your lemons at room temperature they will release more juice. I keep mine in a bowl on the counter top. Also, if you roll them on the counter before you juice them, more juice will be released.

 

I have a special lemon juice squeezer that I love. It works a bit like a garlic press. Squeezes all the juice out like an expert without any of the pith.

Before I just them however, I make sure I remove the zest. I use a fine mesh micro-plane grater for this. You get all of the zest and none of the pith. The pith is very bitter so try to keep it out of the mix if you can!

 

I just use regular lightly salted butter.  I only keep that in the house and never use unsalted unless I am really worried that doing so will ruin the integrity of the recipe I am making. Usually if I just cut back on the salt in a recipe a bit there is no problem!

Also I am not overly fond of cream cheese frosting. By all means use your favorite version if you do like it. I have found that a simple lemon icing sugar glaze does the job perfectly and is just as delicious without things being overly rich. 

 

HOW TO MAKE STICKY SWEET LEMON ROLLS

Trust me when, once again, I tell you that making these is a very simple thing to do!  Quick. Easy. Delicious.  Almost instant gratification!

First make the filling. Add the sugar to a bowl and rub in the lemon zest until the mixture becomes quite fragrant. Drop in the butter and the lemon juice.

Beat with an electric hand whisk until you have a smooth mixture. It might look curdled at first, but persevere. It will come together all of a sudden like magic. Set aside.

To make the dough. Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder. Add the salt and sugar. Drop in the butter.

Rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture resembling coarse crumbs.

Stir in the milk with a fork to give you a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times to bring together.

Pat or roll out to a rectangle measuring 9 inches by 12 inches.

Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a 10 inch pie dish really well. Set aside.

Spread the lemon filling in an even layer over the rectangle of dough. Roll up tightly from one long end to the other, pinching the edge shut. Using a sharp knife cut into 9 even pieces. Place them cut sides down in the prepared pie dish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and golden brown, and cooked on the bottom.  Remove from the oven and let sit while you make the glaze.

Whisk together the icing sugar and enough lemon juice to give you a thick drizzle glaze. Flick this over the tops of the lemon buns. Scatter with the lemon zest.

Serve warm.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Do note, that hot sugar is very hot and so you will want to be extra careful when serving these.  Let them stand for about 8 to 10 minutes.  You don't want them to cool in the dish, however, because they may stick due to the sugar content of the filling.  Get them out as soon as you can safely do so.

They really are delicious. The lemon filling candies a bit on the bottom and they are filled with a beautiful lemon flavor throughout. If you are a fan of lemon, then you best prepare to fall in love with these quick and simple rolls!

 

If you love lemon as much as I do, you will fall in love with these other lemon recipes here in my English Kitchen:

BUTTERMILK LEMON PUDDINGS - One of my favorite lemon desserts has always been Buttermilk Lemon Puddings.  These are delicious lemon puddings which upon baking, just like magic, separate into two distinct layers  . . .  one a lush lemon custard and the other a fabulously tart lemon cake. This is a dessert I used to make fairly often when entertaining at the Manor down south.  I think lemon is a common love of ladies. 

LUSH LEMON POUND CAKE - This is a fabulously delicious old fashioned lemon pound cake. If you are a fan of lemon and of cake, prepare yourself to fall in love! This easy pound cake recipe uses simple ingredients that most of us always  have in our kitchens and packs a triple lemon wallop!  With plenty of lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract, it scores a hat-trick of lush lemon flavors every single time you bake it!

Yield: 9

Author: Marie Rayner

Sweet Lemon Rolls

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 24 MinTotal time: 44 Min

Almost instant gratification with these sweet lemon rolls which combine a scone/biscuit type of dough with a sweet lemon filling. A tart lemon glaze finishes them off.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 cups (280ml) plain all purpose flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 heaped TBS sugar
• 1/4 cup (60g) butter, cut into bits
• 1 cup whole milk

For the filling:

• 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
• the finely grated zest of two lemons
• the juice of one lemon
• 4 TBS butter, at room temperature

For the glaze:

• 1 cup (130g) icing sugar, sifted
• the juice of 1/2 lemon (or enough to give you the right consistency)
• finely grated lemon zest to sprinkle over top

Instructions

1. First make the filling. Add the sugar to a bowl and rub in the lemon zest until the mixture becomes quite fragrant. Drop in the butter and the lemon juice.
2. Beat with an electric hand whisk until you have a smooth mixture. It might look curdled at first, but persevere. It will come together all of a sudden like magic. Set aside.
3. To make the dough. Sift the flour into a bowl along with the baking powder. Add the salt and sugar. Drop in the butter.
4. Rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture resembling coarse crumbs.
5. Stir in the milk with a fork to give you a soft dough. Tip out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently a couple of times to bring together.
6. Pat or roll out to a rectangle measuring 9 inches by 12 inches.
7. Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Butter a 10 inch pie dish really well. Set aside.
8. Spread the lemon filling in an even layer over the rectangle of dough. Roll up tightly from one long end to the other, pinching the edge shut.
9. Using a sharp knife cut into 9 even pieces. Place them cut sides down in the prepared pie dish.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and golden brown, and cooked on the bottom.
11. Remove from the oven and let sit while you make the glaze.
12. Whisk together the icing sugar and enough lemon juice to give you a thick drizzle glaze. Flick this over the tops of the lemon buns. Scatter with the lemon zest.
13. Serve warm.
14. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Did you make this recipe?

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