Perhaps making cinnamon rolls so often made the process lose its charm, or more the more likely scenario was I just got distracted by a shiny, glossy photo of something else delicious-looking and moved onto making whatever that was. Fast forward two years to last week, and alas, another head-turning picture caught my attention, and once again, it was one of some mouth-wateringly gorgeous sweet rolls. This time, however, they were lemon sweet rolls, and I could not WAIT to start making them.
I changed the recipe just a bit by using a combination of white whole-wheat flour and white flour. White whole-wheat flour isn’t actually stark white, but much lighter in both color and texture than regular whole wheat flour. It’s really becoming a favorite to bake with since it imparts a nutty flavor that goes really well with chocolate and other sweet ingredients. I also decided to use softened butter instead of melted, and made lemon sugar by whizzing sugar and lemon zest in my food processor.
First I rolled out the dough, then spread softened butter all over the surface:
Then added a generous layer of lemon sugar:
Start rolling:
Rolled it up nice and tight:
Cut them into rolls with a serrated knife (es muy importante to use a serrated knife so you aren’t pushing down on the dough!)
Set the rolls in a pan to rest and rise for about 20 minutes before baking for 16-18 minutes:
Then pulled out the freshly baked, sweet and sticky lemon rolls from the oven:
And slathered the still-warm rolls with a simple icing made with lemon juice and powdered sugar:
Yuuuuummmmmm…………
I think I actually prefer these to the traditional cinnamon roll, but I do have a special love for lemons so maybe that’s why. Also, the combination of lemon, butter and sugar is simply magical. I’m now thinking of other things to incorporate into sweet rolls- blueberries? Cream cheese and sugar? Maple sugar? Maybe I’ll make savory ones with sauteed greens, cheese and bacon? The possibilities are endless!
Hope you get a chance to try these- they are really special! The recipe is here.