Bakery Style Strawberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls

We can’t get over these fluffy strawberry cheesecake sweet rolls.

It’s what happens when strawberry cheesecake meets the cinnamon roll.

Lori Vaughn shares her recipe for heavenly strawberry cheesecake sweet rolls. Fresh and chunky strawberry puree paired with graham crackers – all hugged in a pillow-y soft brioche dough.

Find more recipes from Lori on her website, www.loskitchenco.com, or on Instagram, @loskitchenco.

A few tips from Lori:

• Chill your dough before you roll it out. Lori says that when you’re working with softer fillings, it’s good to chill your dough to help it keep its beautiful shape.
• Lori says that if you want to make things mini, all you have to do is roll the rectangle out a little wider. The width of your rectangle determines the size of the roll.
• If you’re wanting to cut time, Lori recommends using your favorite store-bought jam as a filling instead of using a homemade compote.
• Lori says that it’s important to use a metal pan for this recipe, as opposed to glass. Glass pans conduct heat differently and are good for casserole dishes that need to cool down slower. She says that metal pans are good for sweets like this, and cookies!

Find the full recipe from Lori here.

Strawberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls

Lori Vaughn

PREP TIME: 40 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
RISE TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 30 minutes
SERVINGS: 24 sweet rolls

INGREDIENTS

Dough

• 2 cups warm whole milk* any milk will do; fattier the better
• 1 ½ tbsp dry instant yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp salt
• About 6-7 cups all-purpose flour

Strawberry Filling

• 3 cups hulled and diced strawberries (~1 lb) fresh or frozen; thaw if using frozen
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp E-Z gel thickener can sub with corn starch

Cream Cheese Filling

• 12 oz cream cheese softened
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar

Graham Filling

• 9 sheet (1 sleeve) graham crackers, divided
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/4 cup butter, room temp
• 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt (1/4 tsp if using salted butter)
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice optional for extra tang

METHOD

Prepare Dough

1. In a large bowl stand mixer, place together the warm milk (about 110 degrees, comfortably warm to the touch), yeast, and sugar. You will see the yeast begin to activate by it beginning to get foamy.
2. Add 1 cup of flour, salt, butter, and eggs. Turn mixer on low and let it begin to incorporate. Then slowly add remaining flour while the mixer is running. The amount of flour depends on several factors, including the brand of flour, elevation, and moisture levels in the air that day. You will know when you’ve added enough flour when the dough is soft and slightly sticky, but doesn’t stick TO you. When it reaches that point, let the mixer knead the dough for 8-10 minutes.
3. Cover the mixing bowl with a sack cloth towel and let it rise in a draft free place until doubled in size, about 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare fillings. (You can also put the dough in the fridge overnight at this point to break up the steps.)
4. *This first rising step is optional. You can omit it and achieve great results. But if you have the time, it doesn’t require extra work and helps yield a fluffier roll.

Strawberry Filling

5. Tip: This can be made up to a week a head of time!
6. Wash, hull, and chop strawberries. Place in a medium pot on the stove at about medium high heat. Stir occasionally as the strawberries soften and break down.
7. Add sugar, and lemon juice, and EZ-gel (or equal sub of corn starch and water mixed together).
8. Stir occasionally, for about 6-10 minutes to allow the juices to release, and for the mixture to turn into a semi-chunky jam. Place in a separate bowl or container and place in the fridge (or freeze if you want to expedite) to continue to set.

Cream Cheese + Graham Filling

9. Tip: This can be made up to a week a head of time!
10. Using a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter together. Add the powdered sugar and mix together until combined and smooth.
11. Break apart the graham crackers into small pieces and set aside. Keep a small portion aside separately to top the finished rolls with if desired.

Forming & Baking

12. After it’s risen, punch down the dough to release the developed gas bubbles, and then you can begin to form.
13. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a half sheet pan (or most any other baking pan will work). Roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 15″x18″.
14. Add an even layer of the cream cheese filling over the entire rectangle, leaving about 1/2 inch border around the edges.
15. Next, spread the strawberry jam filling on top of the cream cheese filling. Lastly, sprinkle the graham cracker pieces and ground cinnamon on top of the jam.
16. Roll up into a nice thick log and using a sharp serrated knife or floss, slice into 1” rolls. Place on half sheet about 1-2 inches apart so they have room to grow and rise. (In the pictures presented here, it is a half batch, which fits in a 9×13″ pan perfectly.)
17. Cover and set aside to rise for about 20-30 minutes until puffy.
18. Once risen, bake for about 20 minutes, until tops are just barely lightly golden. Remove from oven and top with cream cheese frosting. Add additional graham cracker crumbs if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

MAKE AHEAD TIPS

These are easy to prep in advance! You can either place the dough in the fridge during the first rise and form the following day for freshly filled rolls, or you can place the formed rolls in the fridge during the second rise and simply bake the next day. For pre-formed overnight rolls, let them sit out for about 45 minutes while your oven preheats before baking.

The fillings can all be prepared a week in advance as well to break up the steps!

TIP FOR ROLLING UP DOUGH

I’ve found when using soft fillings, like jams, it rolls up a LOT cleaner when not only the filling is well chilled, but if the dough is chilled too. Not mandatory, but for a cleaner roll, chill the dough overnight (or at least an hour) before rolling out to help get a “cleaner” cut and prevent less filling from spilling out.