Strawberry Rolls

To Make the Dough:

1. To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (alternatively, you can do this in a large bowl by hand), mix together the mil and active dry yeast. Allow to activate and get all foamy, about 8 minutes.
2. Crack in the eggs and mix using a dough hook. If the egg yolks don’t break up, feel free to grab a fork and mix it all up until combined. Pour in the flour and salt. Mix together until mostly combined and then add in the cubed butter, one cube at a time until it comes together. Knead for about 5 minutes by hand or in the machine. The dough will be slightly sticky—that’s ok! Grease a bowl with oil or cooking spray and transfer the dough to the bowl, spraying or coating the top.
3. Cover with a lid or clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for 30 minutes. It should be soft and supple; it’ll have risen by 50%.

To Make the Strawberry Sugar:

1. You’ll need a high-powered blender for this. Think a BlendTec, Ninja or Vitamix. Add the freeze-dried strawberries and sugar to the blender. Blend on high for about 1 minute. It should end up looking like pink-colored powdered sugar.Let it settle before removing the top of the blender bc it will create a “smoke”. We’ll be using this for the filling and the frosting. Remove 3/4 cup of strawberry sugar and set aside. We'll be using this amount of 3/4 of a cup for the frosting.

To Make the Filling:

1. To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (with the paddle attachment) or using a medium bowl and a fork, add the butter, cocoa powder, vanilla extract and salt. Mix until it forms a paste that’s completely combined.

To Assemble the Rolls:

1. Lightly flour your work surface and remove the dough from the bowl and place the dough into the center. Lightly flour your rolling pin and roll the dough into a 1/8-inch thick rectangle that measures 15“x 18“ If it’s not a perfect rectangle, that’s totally ok.
2. Add the filling to the rectangle of dough, spreading it out into an even very thin layer, stopping from about 1/2-inch from the edges. Sprinkle the remaining/reserved strawberry sugar on top of the smoothed out chocolate.
3. Roll the dough farthest from you, going toward you.
4. Using a serrated knife OR a piece of unflavored floss, trim off the ends. And then cut the log of dough into 12 equal pieces. Mine measured about to be 1 1/2-inches long. Transfer to a greased 9x13-inch baking pan or baking sheet. You can also use multiple baking dishes. Whichever works best for you.
5. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow to rise for an additional 45 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until puffy and lightly golden brown.

To Make the Cream Cheese Icing:

1. To the bowl of a stand-up mixer (or a large bowl) with the paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese and the butter until smooth. Next, add the reserved 3/4 cup strawberry sugar, vanilla, pinch of kosher salt and heavy cream. Beat for a full 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

To Serve:

1. When the rolls come out of the oven, pour the half or ALL of the icing over the rolls and smother the with the icing.