To a stand mixer bowl, add the warmed whole milk, granulated sugar, and active dry yeast. Stir together and allow it to sit until a thick layer of froth is on the top, about 15 minutes.
Once frothy, add the flour and butter to the bowl. With the dough hook attachment in place, run the mixer on medium-low speed for a couple of minutes.
Add in the eggs, lemon zest, salt, and 1 additional cup of flour. Run the mixer again on medium-low. As needed, add ¼ cup of flour to the dough until the sides of the dough pull away from the bowl. (The dough will stick to the bottom of the bowl still.)
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased large mixing bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Allow the dough to rise in a warm area for about 1 hour until almost doubled in size.
Once the dough is ready, generously grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish. Set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and lemon zest for the filling. Set aside.
Lightly flour a work surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle that is 20 inches x 12 inches - going no thinner than 1/4-inch thickness. (You can trim off any excess outside of these measurements to have nice lines, if desired).
Spread the softened butter for the filling all over the dough, and then sprinkle the lemon sugar evenly over the butter.
Starting from the longest edge of the dough rectangle, tightly roll up the dough. Cut the dough log into twelve 1 ½ inch rolls and place them into the prepared baking dish with the cut side facing up.
Loosely cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or a dish towel and allow to rise in a warm area for about 45 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F when the rolls are almost done rising. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops a slightly golden brown. (see note)
Once the rolls are done baking, transfer the dish to a wire rack to cool.
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
In a medium mixing bowl, beat the butter and softened cream cheese together until combined. Then add ½ cup of powdered sugar, the lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix again until smooth (Add more powdered sugar as needed, up to 1/4 cup, until your desired thickness is reached).
Spread the frosting all over the tops of the cooled lemon rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with extra lemon zest for garnish if desired.
Notes
You can rotate the baking dish halfway through the cooking time for a more even bake. If the rolls begin to brown too quickly, cover the pan loosely with foil.