Honey Lavender Sweet Rolls
I decided to make these honey lavender sweet rolls when I was going through old posts and saw this beautiful memory with a lovely tangelo sweet roll recipe attached. We announced our first baby on the blog with that post, and I realized we never really did the same for baby #2!
Ava is our first-born and our only daughter. She is tenacious and stubborn and extremely perceptive. Her enthusiasm for life is incredibly refreshing, while her hilarious (sometimes harsh) take on reality is a wake-up call for everyone who meets her! We were lucky that the sweet rolls we introduced her with turned out to fit her personality so very well.
In waiting with our baby boy, I was able to get some sense of who he is as an individual at this stage in his life. He is so very different from his sister in the best sense. Otto is a very mellow, relaxed kid (most of the time), which made me think of lavender. My second baby is also the sweetest snuggler, much more so than his older sister. Honey is a great, sweet flavor to balance out lavender, so I have used some in the glaze.
These honey lavender sweet rolls are obviously super special to me because of their connection to Otto, but it was also a great opportunity to bake with lavender. I have been wanting to do this for a long time now, but I’ve been very nervous as lavender is a tricky ingredient to work with. It is very easy to overdo it with such a floral herb, but these rolls have the perfect balance of salty/sweet with the added bonus of an elevated flavor, which I often find missing from a traditional cinnamon sweet roll.
Honey Lavender Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
For the yeast
- 1 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant active yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
For the dough
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried, culinary lavender
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/4 cups AP flour
For the filling
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried, culinary lavender
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
For the icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
Prepare the yeast
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In a liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, yeast, and sugar.
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Mix gently and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy.
Make the dough
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While the yeast is bubbling, combine 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of dried lavender in a coffee grinder. Grind until it reaches a fine powder.
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Soften the butter and whisk it into the measuring cup with the yeast, followed by the eggs.
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In a mixer with a dough hook attached (or in a bowl with a wooden spoon), combine all wet ingredients with salt and begin to slowly incorporate flour.
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Dough is ready to rest when it has all come together, is smooth, and only slightly sticky to the touch.
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Let rest 1 hour.
Prepare filling and baking tins
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While the dough is resting, pulse an additional 3/4 cup sugar with an additional 1 teaspoon dried lavender in the coffee grinder until fine.
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Mix this with 4 tablespoons melted butter and set aside, along with 1/4 cup turbinado sugar.
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Grease two 9" round tins with butter.
Roll and fill
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When the dough has rested, roll it out on a very lightly floured surface into a 12" x 18" rectangle.
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Spread gently with the butter/sugar filling and sprinkle the turbinado evenly on top.
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Roll up tightly on the long side to create a log.
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Cut in to 1" rounds and arrange carefully in the baking tins.
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Let rest for 30 minutes.
Bake and ice
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Preheat the oven to 350F.
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Tent each pan with tin foil and bake for 25 minutes.
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Remove the tent and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the rolls are evenly browned and the center dough is fully baked.
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While the rolls are baking, combine all the icing ingredients in a bowl and whisk well.
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When the rolls are done, let them cool for about 5 minutes prior to icing.
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Ice and serve immediately!
