Lemon Cheesecake Crescent Rolls are bursting with delicious lemon flavor! These flaky crescent rolls are stuffed with creamy lemon cheesecake filling and topped with a sweet citrus glaze. The perfect addition to any spring brunch!
It should come as no surprise, based on the name Lemon Tree Dwelling, that I’m a huge fan of all things lemon. From Lemon Raspberry Coffee Cake to Lemon Zucchini Bread to Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes, if you give me lemon, I’m a happy gal.
There’s something about the tart, sweet flavor that I can’t get enough of… and these Lemon Cheesecake Crescent Rolls are a fast favorite. Made with a handful of simple ingredients, including Pillsbury Crescent Rolls, cream cheese, sugar, and fresh lemon, they come together in minutes and make the perfect little breakfast treat.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Easy: These crescent rolls come together quickly in just a few simple steps! A delicious breakfast treat that anyone can make!
Lemony: The combination of fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and lemon extract gives them SO much delicious lemon flavor!
Perfect for spring: They’re the perfect way to celebrate (or look forward to) spring!
what you’ll need for this recipe
Crescent rolls – I used 1 package (8 count) refrigerated crescent rolls, which can be found in the refrigerated food section near biscuit dough and cookie dough.
Cream cheese – For the filling, I used 4 ounces of regular plain cream cheese. Cold cream cheese works best in this recipe so the filling doesn’t melt out through the seams.
Granulated sugar – I added 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar to the cream cheese to sweeten it. You could also use honey as a sweetener if you prefer.
Lemon extract – 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract adds a delicious burst of lemon flavor to the filling. I used extract instead of juice to keep the filling nice and thick while still infusing it with lemon flavor.
Powdered sugar – I used 1 cup of powdered sugar as the base of the glaze. It may seem like a lot, but once you add the lemon juice it will seem like just the right amount!
Lemon juice + zest – To flavor the glaze, I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons of lemon juice + the zest of half a lemon. Be sure to zest the lemon first and then squeeze out the juice.
how to make lemon cheesecake crescent rolls
Make the filling. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, granulated sugar, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Beat on medium-high speed until the mixture comes together.
Fill & roll the dough. Unroll the crescent roll dough into triangles; spoon cream cheese filling onto the wider end of each triangle. Gently roll the dough, starting with the wider end and tucking the corners, into crescent shapes. Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake. Bake at 375°F for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown. Let rolls cool on a wire rack.
Glaze. Once cool, prepare the glaze by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and mixing until smooth. Drizzle glaze evenly over the rolls.
storage tips
Because of the cream cheese filling, leftover crescent rolls should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For best results, bring them to room temperature or pop them in the microwave for a few seconds before enjoying.
Recipe Variations
- Use homemade crescent roll dough instead of store bought
- Substitute any flavor of extract (e.g. orange, raspberry, coconut, strawberry)
- Use lemon curd in place of (or in addition to) lemon extract
- Add fresh berries for a lemon + berry combo
- Omit the lemon extract and just use lemon juice and zest
- Double the glaze for an extra sweet treat
More Recipes with Crescent Rolls
If you love crescent roll recipes as much as we do, here are some more delicious ones to try:
Lemon Cheesecake Crescent Rolls
Ingredients
Crescent Rolls
- 1 package 8 count refrigerated crescent rolls
- 4 ounces cream cheese cold
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
- zest of 1/2 lemon
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- zest of 1/2 lemon
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, granulated sugar, lemon extract, and lemon zest.
- Beat on medium-high speed until mixture comes together.
- Unroll crescent roll dough into triangles; spoon cream cheese filling onto wider end of each triangle.
- Gently roll the dough, starting with the wider end and tucking the corners, into crescent shapes.
- Place 2 inches apart on a lightly greased or parchment -lined baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
- Let rolls cool on a wire rack.
- Once cool, prepare glaze by combining all ingredients until smooth.
- Drizzle glaze evenly over rolls.
These look absolutely scrumptious. Lemon and cheesecake…you sold me!
And I live in leggings. With tall boots, I kind of feel dressed up. 🙂 But I hear what you’re saying. Half the time I don’t even get dressed till noon. I work in my pjs a good portion of the time.
How much of the mixture do you put in each one? A teaspoon ? A Tablespoon ?
Teasp. per roll
I made the recipe as is & for 8 normal crescent rolls I had WAY too much filling? No way I could of crammed it in there…trust me I tried! I will surely make again but I think I’ll cut filling quant in 1/2.
Or use 2 cans of crescent rolls…I’m going to cause my boys will love them lol
This is what I thought when I read it was too much filling for 8, yah I will buy two cans!
Use the large crescent rolls of 8. I used them and was able to use up almost all of the filling. little scraping left over.
These have Spring written all of them, my friend – WOW!
Holy moly lady! These are amazing!! And I totally feel ya on the not getting dressed for days. Leggings are the stay at home mom’s best friend.
How long can you key the glaze?
The glaze should keep for a week or so in the fridge.
Lemon cheesecake is one of my husband’s favorites! I’m going to love finding out if he likes these!
I don’t know if these are breakfast, dessert or what?! They look incredible!
Strongly suspect if you cook for breakfast, there will be none for dessert. Same problem if you cook them for dessert.
Mmmmmmm… so much zesty goodness happening here!
Wowee – these look delicious! Yum. I guess it’s not the best time of day to be looking at recipes as I am sure hungry for these right now. And so easy to make! Thank you!
Cathy, I’ve had many days like you – it’s a Moms life! I can totally relate and I think it’s especially hard in the long winter months (or whatever this up and down weather pattern has been all about!!) I do get excited though when I see these delicious treats that look fancy and gives me a reason to get back to the grocery store – heck, maybe ill even through on jeans! Thanks for yummy recipe!
I’m one of those weird people who has to shower, blow dry my hair and put on a little makeup to feel like I can tackle the day, even if I’m going no further than the grocery store. I mean, what if Oprah shows up on my doorstep with a TV camera?! 🙂 These crescent rolls are so pretty and would be perfect for Easter brunch.
I would eat these gorgeous rolls any time of day! And jeans AND the library? Now that would be #winning 🙂
Seriously you put anything in a crescent roll and I’m game. But you are KILLING ME WITH THE LEMON!!
These sound so good and easy to make. Will be trying them very soon. Thank you
Frustrating that recipes are not able to be printed!
Oops! Just found print icon. Sorry!
You can always copy most any text and transfer to a page like Word if no print option available. (I do this all the time and email myself the recipe so I have it with me when shopping and cooking).
Can you use the juice of the lemon instead of lemon extract? If so, how much?
Yes, you can substitute lemon juice….it just might not taste quite as lemony. I would try 1 tsp.
I used the lemon juice instead of the extract and they turned out delicious. I used about twice the amount of juice in place of the extract amount.
Looks wonderful. I love lemon recipes.
Can you pre make these
I mad these last night and They are amazing <3 this is a keeper at my house. Thanks!!
Delicious! Just made a double batch. Absolutely will be making them again. Thanks.
So glad you enjoyed them!!
Does the glaze get mixed together on the stove top? Or in a mixing bowl? It didn’t drizzle when I tried making it in a mixing bowl, but the non-glazed lon cheesecake crescent rolls were super yummy
How can I print this out? I need a hard copy!
I want the recipe, please
These are fantastic! I had people ask me for the recipe as they were eating them. Will definitely be making again. Just a note, I used low fat crescent rolls and low fat cream cheese and it tasted decadent so if someone needs to do low fat it doesn’t take away from the taste at all.
I’ve made these multiple times and they are always a hit!! I think they are absolutely scrumptious! Thanks for sharing.
OH MY WORD….these are FANTASTIC! I made them for card club and they fought over who was getting the last one. I’m making them again for cards tonight and fortunately there are only 4 of us, so we can each have 2.
How long will these keep for, can I make them a day in advance?
Following fr this answer.
how many calories would one of these have in them. thankyou
Haven’t tried these yet, but, it’s one I will definitely be making soon!!!
Really good. Made these for breakfast! Used lemon and orange zest. Going to try it again with other flavors too!
how can you add a little cherry pie filling in these.and how much.cant wait to try them.
Absolutely delicious! Some said that it made to much filling but I had just enough. Will definitely make again!
Making these for our Mother’s Day brunch tomorrow, can’t wait to eat them!
Thanks for sharing! httpwould be good for a spring gathering!
I wonder what other flavors you could use?
A few good options would be orange, chocolate, or almond.
Haven’t tried this but I’m thinking if you substitute lemon with lime, you’d have a key lime version of these. Going to try it next time.
Yes…and you can buy key lime juice for great flavor!
Very delicious cake. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
I made these this morning for Labor Day 2020 and oh my goodness, they are so delightfully delicious!! I saved this recipe and it will be a forever favorite. Side note, I was able to show our daughter how to zest a lemon (or other fruit). Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
So happy you enjoyed them!
How do you store leftovers? Do they need to be refrigerated? I know these questions sound silly. Like there would be ANY leftover!
Do these leftovers need to be refrigerated ?
Yes, they should be refrigerated.
Made them. Absolutely delish! Tasted like Easter! Thanks!!!
I made the lemon cheesecake crescents just now. They look delectable.
I’ve tasted the filling and the glaze. Yummy!!!
I did add a little more lemon juice to the glaze to thin it out some also zested a whole lemon for filling and whole lemon for glaze. I like it lemony!!!
Just love lemon. This sounds great. Quick and delightful.
I can’t wait to make these! They look delicious. I’m kind of known at church for my lemon cookies and lemon “ brownies “, but this looks over the top! I can’t wait to make them.
I made these and they are easy to make and are WONDERFUL! One thing when printing though, an add overlays in right hand leaving out; CORN”ERS,INTO” and 5. sh”EET.”
This looks delightful! I have a roll of flat Cresent sheet do I have to cut and make individual rolls or do you think k i can just make one long roll and slice it when cool?
I would think a long roll would work. You may just need to adjust the baking time for the larger size.
It was so yummy and delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
This is a fantastic blog. Thank you for sharing