Strawberry Sweet Rolls

TGIF! I mean that in the most sincere way today: I am very glad it's Friday! This week was mentally really challenging for me, but I was REALLY productive, so it balances out. On the wedding front, we made HUGE leaps forward. My dress came (!!), my bridesmaids dresses came (!!!), I picked out/reserved chairs, china, flatware, put down the deposit for our caterer, and found my Mom a killer MOB dress. OH YEAH.

In other news (which I just spelled "knews" — clearly I need a weekend), I started working ON MY COOKBOOK in earnest! Yes, you read that right! In case you don't get enough of me here, you'll be able to purchase my ramblings and recipes to keep near you at all times! Don't pretend you're not excited! I'm not giving details for now, but once we're closer to publishing I'll fill you in! At this point I can only tell you it's going to be a lot of work. Fun work!

Besides other mundane tasks (um, filing my taxes and cleaning the house(ish)), I made these strawberry sweet rolls! I've been wanting to make some sort of fruity cinnamon roll for a long time (raspberry really comes to mind!), and last week found strawberries on sale. Hence the multiple strawberry posts! These rolls are really an exercise in tricking your brain: you think "oh, cinnamon roll: unhealthy!" but at the same time "Oh, strawberries: healthy!" Yeah, pay attention to the second one (that way you can eat more).

These babies are adapted from my classic cinnamon roll recipe, which is my go-to for making cinnamon rolls. They haven't failed me yet!

Strawberry Sweet Rolls

• Author: by Mary
• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 12 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 ½ cups (or more) flour, divided
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 ¼ tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• butter for pans
• 2 cups chopped strawberries
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

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Instructions

1. Heat the milk and 3 tablespoon butter together in the microwave (or stovetop) until the butter is melted. Let cool to 115F before adding the yeast, and letting proof for 5 minutes.
2. When foamy, add to a stand mixer bowl with 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, and salt. Mix for 3 minutes, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add an extra 2 cups of flour — and more as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the sides of the bowl.
3. When the dough has come together, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 minutes — until the dough is very smooth and not sticky (add flour as necessary, but try to add as little as possible).
4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled in size: about 2 hours.
5. Butter a 9×12 baking dish, or two 8×8 square pans.
6. Toss the chopped strawberries with the 2 tablespoon sugar, and let sit in a colander set over a bowl (to preserve liquid) for 15-30 minutes.
7. When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out into a 11″x18″ rectangle. If it is pulling back too much, let it rest for five minutes before trying again.
8. Pour the melted 5 tablespoon butter over the rectangle of dough, and spread it over the surface — leaving 1 cm around the edges without butter. Spread the brown sugar evenly over the buttered area, and gently press into the dough. Sprinkle the sugared strawberries evenly over the brown sugar.
9. Roll the dough tightly, from the longer side, into a log. Pinch the seam closed.
10. Mark the log at 1 ½″ intervals, and then cut the rolls. Place the rolls into your dish, evenly spaced with about 2 cm between each other. Cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes.
11. Preheat the oven to 400F, and when the rolls are ready, bake for 20 minutes. The tops should be turning brown, but just barely so.
12. While the rolls are cooling, make the icing. Combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar with 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 - 4 tablespoon of the strawberry juice from earlier. Mix until smooth.
13. When the rolls have cooled significantly, liberally drizzle the icing over the tops.

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