Lemon Poppyseed Buns
I consider myself to be a pretty good houseguest.
I keep my room nice and tidy, offer to do the dishes, and often get in the kitchen to cook a couple meals for the family I’m staying with.
My favorite thing to do when I’m visiting friends, however, is wake up early and get a batch of 90 Minute Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls baking for a late brunch treat. Everyone loves them, the house smells amazing, and well, it’s kinda become my signature thing.
They aren’t quite as fast to throw together as my cinnamon rolls, so if you want to bake them early Sunday morning, I’d suggest making the dough and assembling the buns the night before. Then the next morning just let the dough proof for an hour in a warm place and you’re good to go!
Earlier this summer, I was visiting friends over a warm weather weekend, and cinnamon rolls just wouldn’t do. They just felt a little too rich for 90 degrees and I needed to come up with another idea for a summer day.
Luckily I had just bookmarked a recipe in a new cookbook I have been loving called Sister Pie, recipes from the famous bakery in Detroit.
I’ve already made several recipes from the cookbook, including a Raspberry Rhubarb Pie that is my new favorite flavor combo, and Paprika Peanut Butter Cookies which are unique and amazing. I’d been waiting for a chance to make the famous Sister Pie Lemon Poppy seed Rolls though, and this was my chance!
The rolls are puffy and amazing, with a soft, tender dough that is full of lemon flavor, and a rich and gooey cream cheese filling. Arguably the best part is the tart lemon glaze, full of bright fresh lemon zest and poppy seeds, adding the perfect sweet/tart balance. They are delicious warm or room temperature, and I even have enjoyed them cold from the fridge! This is the second time I’ve made these in a month and they are definitely a new favorite.
Ingredients needed for Lemon Poppyseed Buns:
- Lemon Juice
- Poppy Seeds
- Melted Butter
- Cream Cheese
- Melted Butter
- Buttermilk (you could also use greek yogurt or sour cream)
- Flour
- Sugar
- Lemon Zest
- Coconut Oil
Supplies Needed for this recipe:
- Large Bowl
- 9×13 baking pan or muffin tin
- Small Bowl for glaze
- Wooden Spoon (My favorite for mixing yeasted doughs)
- Serrated Knife (My preferred way to slice the dough into rolls though you can also use plain dental floss)
The process:
Melt some unsalted butter in a small saucepan and mix with the other wet ingredients (eggs and buttermilk.) Mix in some the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment on low speed (or knead by hand if you prefer,) and gradually keep adding dry ingredients until dough comes together and releases from the bottom of the bowl.
Cover the dough with a tea towel or a piece of plastic wrap and proof in a warm area until it has doubled in volume. Meanwhile mix up the filling and set aside. When it’s done proofing, use a rolling pin to roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a 9×12 inch rectangle, and spread the filling inside. Start rolling from the long side and use a serrated knife to slice into equal pieces. Proof again (pop it into the fridge at this point if you want to bake the next day.) Bake until golden brown, let cool for 5-10 minutes, drizzle with the icing and enjoy! Leftover buns can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.
Other Favorite Citrus Recipes:
- Raspberry Lemon Scones
- Clementine Olive Oil Cake
- Chewy Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Curd Cookies
- Lemon Poppyseed Cookies
Lemon Poppy Buns
Ingredients
Dough
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (42.5 grams)
- 1 cup buttermilk (240 grams)
- 1 large egg and 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (437.5 grams)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon packed grated lemon zest
Filling:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature (113.5 grams)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (227 grams)
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar (37.5 grams)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature (120 grams)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 cups powdered sugar (375 grams)
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Add the buttermilk and warm until lukewarm.
- Meanwhile, place the egg and the yolk in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and whisk by hand until combined. Stream in the warmed buttermilk mixture slowly, whisking as you go.
- Add 1/2 cup of the flour, the poppy seeds, yeast, salt, and lemon zest and whisk together, using the whisk to scrape down the sides if needed. Place the bowl onto the mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment and begin to mix on low speed.
- Add the remaining 3 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until it is completely absorbed. At this point, the dough will still feel sticky. Continue to knead on medium-low speed with the dough hook (or by hand on a lightly floured surface) until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5 to 7 minutes. (I had to add an additional 1/2 cup flour so the dough didn't stick to the bowl.)
- Scrape the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Lightly oil the mixing bowl. Place the dough inside and roll it around to coat it all over. Cover with a kitchen towel. Set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume.
For the filling:
- While the dough is rising, make the filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar and salt. Fit mixer with paddle attachment and cream the mixture on medium speed until smooth. Set aside.
To assemble:
- Butter and lightly flour a 9x13 baking pan, tilting the pan to evenly coat with flour.
- Turn the risen dough out onto a generously floured surface. Deflate it with your hands and shape it into a rectangle.
- Using a rolling pin, gently roll the dough to a 10x14 inch rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick.
- Scrape all the filling into the center of the dough and use an offset spatula to evenly spread it to the edges.
- Starting at the short end, position your hands on the left and right sides, then roll the dough up as tightly and evenly as possible, ending with the seam side down. (Dough log should be about 10 inches long.)
- Using a sharp knife (I like a serrated bread knife,) mark the dough into 6 equal pieces and then slice.
- Transfer the buns to the baking pan and cover with the kitchen cloth. Let proof for about 45 minutes, or until buns are about 1 1/2 times larger. If you press a finger onto the side of a bun and it slowly but easily bounces back when you remove your finer, it's time to bake.
- Bake at 375F for 30-35 minutes, or until the buns are golden in color. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before glazing.
For the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, combine the cream, coconut oil, lemon juice, powdered sugar, poppy seeds and salt, and whisk until very smooth. It should be pourable and not too thick.
- Carefully remove the buns from the baking dish, one at a time, and set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour a heaping 1/4 cup of the glaze evenly over the top of each bun- it should easily drip down the sides.
- Allow the glaze to set before eating warm or room temp. Buns can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Notes
Recipe from: Sister Pie by Lisa Ludwinski
I love all things lemon so I NEED to try these! They are on my list of things to bake from Sister Pie…which is basically everything in the book lol.
Gosh all looks wonderful, with Thanksgiving coming soon I will be in my kitchen. Thank you, yummy
I think I wanna have the same houseguest :D These lemon poppyseed buns look so yummy. No doubt they taste the same! By the way, I like lemon in pastry – everything with lemon has a zesty taste then.
Thank you for sharing the recipe, Audra! Can’t wait to surprise my boys with these buns. They will sure like them because they have the sweetest tooth on the planet! :)
Made these and they were delicious! Only change was my dough made 10 large buns- I cant imagine 6! These would be a winner at any special occasion!
Could I make these ahead of time and freeze??
You know I haven’t tried and I’m unsure how the cream cheese filling would hold up in the freezer.
I made this dough 4 times and i couldn’t get it to rise! Help!
Hey Brooke. Are you sure your yeast was fresh/not expired?
I found a similar problem, where I had to let mine rise for significantly longer than two hours to get the right amount of rise. I actually ended up letting it rise in the fridge for a day, worked great. Very yummy rolls.
People are likely experiencing issues with the dough rising because the recipe does not include that about 10 minutes should be set aside for proofing once they stir in the yeast.
I never do that with any yeasted doughs I make! I actually was at a workshop at King Arthur Flour years ago and they told me all yeast really acts the same and you don’t have to activate it.
I have 2 complaints. 1 this recipe cost a pretty penny and the dough did not raise at all. I followed the instructions exactly as directed so was super upset when the recipe did not turn out. 2 is that there were no photos of the process of creating the recipe.
sorry for the late reply. I didn’t see this comment until now. If your dough didn’t rise my first guess would be that your yeast wasn’t active. Did you test it before hand?
I try to do process photos when I can. but not always easy to do the prep part during daylight hours when I can photograph. I will try to add some!
Dough may not be raising because salt can kill the yeast when added at the same time
Great recipe and really a nice one. Will surely try this
I loved this recipe so much . It’s really awesome
Thanks so much!
What can be substituted for coconut oil in the glaze? Thank you
Melted butter!
Thank you
This recipe was delicious. I tried this, and my mom just loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Amazing! I made these for my husband who loves all things lemon.
These were good, if a bit of work. Similar to another commenter I got 10-12 rolls from this. If I’d cut into 6 they would have overflowed the pan! The rolls themselves didn’t have much lemon flavor but the glaze fixed that. I used a tiny fraction of the glaze suggested per roll (made with 1/2 as much sugar as suggested) and it was plenty sweet. The filling absorbed into the rolls on baking, too, which was odd, but overall he liked them. (Made for my BF). I’ll probably stick to making lemon poppy seed muffins or quick bread in the future – richer flavor & less work – but this was a fun experiment for a rainy Sunday.
These buns are amazing!!! I added a little cinnamon to the butter and lemon zest part. They’re so soft and so flavorful.
Delicious sweet rolls. Lemon poppy seed muffins are my favorite and these turned out great.
These were the absolute best lemon buns! I love a good sweet roll, but this was next level!
I made this for the first time on Father’s Day, and it did not disappoint! Only things I did differently: I cut the rolls into 12, I put plastic wrap over the bowl for the first rise, and I used butter instead of coconut oil in the glaze. I wanted the rolls for breakfast so I did everything up to the second rise and then let the pan of rolls rise in the fridge over night. I baked them in the morning. It was perfection! Thanks for sharing.