These soft and fluffy Raspberry Sweet Rolls are filled with a tart raspberry filling and drizzled with a sweet lemon glaze. Just like your favorite cinnamon rolls but with a delightful raspberry filling, these Raspberry Rolls are perfect for a holiday brunch of weekend treat!
Love starting your day off with a sweet treat? Give these ones a try: Homemade Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins or these yummy Strawberry Muffins!
Raspberry Rolls
Elevate your mornings with these Raspberry Rolls! Made with soft, fluffy dough wrapped around a swirl of tangy raspberries and sweet filling, these rolls offer the yummiest raspberry flavor in every bite. Topped with a creamy glaze, it gives them just that extra sweetness that pairs perfectly with the raspberries.
Whether you prefer to enjoy these sweet rolls right out of the oven or save them for a lazy weekend brunch with family or friends, everyone will love them!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Irresistible Flavor. This recipe combines the tartness of fresh raspberries with the sweetness of soft, pillowy dough, and a luscious lemon glaze.
- Delightful Texture. The soft and fluffy dough, combined with juicy bursts of tart raspberries, creates a delicious, comforting and indulgent texture.
- Enjoy Any Time of Day. Whether you enjoy them for a morning pick-me-up, a sweet afternoon snack, or an after-dinner dessert, these sweet rolls are the perfect treat for any time of day.
How to Make Raspberry Sweet Rolls
Sweet rolls are always a labor of love. But once you take that first bite of a warm, glazed roll, you will realize it was absolutely worth it! Here’s a quick look at what you can expect from this recipe. As always, you can find the full printable recipe card at the end of this post.
- Combine the warm milk, yeast, egg, sugar, melted butter and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the flour and use the dough hook to mix the dough for 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap.
- Leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size.
- Punch down dough and transfer to a lightly floured surface.
- Roll out into a rectangle of roughly 15 inches by 8 inches.
- Combine raspberries, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl and mix well to combine.
- Spread the filling evenly on top of the dough. Roll up the dough into a log pinching the seam with your fingers to close the dough around the filling.
- Cut the log in half and then cut each half into 6 equal pieces. Arrange rolls in a greased 9”x13” baking dish.
- Cover and let rise, about 45 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and heavy cream in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Drizzle the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm in the dish.
Use a sharp knife, dough cutter, floss or whatever method you are comfortable with to cleanly cut the rolls.
Recipe Notes:
Wait until the rolls have cooled slightly, about 15 minutes, before adding the glaze. This is enough time to prevent the frosting from becoming a melted puddle all over the rolls, but it still adds to the “ooey gooeyness” you find in sweet rolls.
Storage and Make Ahead Information
Raspberry Sweet Rolls are best enjoyed fresh, but if you happen to have leftovers, here’s how to store them for later!
Refrigerator: Leftover rolls should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.
Freeze Before Baking: Prepare the rolls up to the point right after they rise for the second time. Wrap the dish with plastic wrap and foil and then place in the freezer. Remove from the freezer 24 hours before you plan to bake and let thaw in the refrigerator. Continue with the recipe from where you left off, allowing the rolls to come to room temperature, about one hour, before baking.
Freeze After Baking: To extend the life of your sweet rolls further, they can be frozen for one month when individually wrapped in plastic wrap and placed in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag. When ready to serve, thaw the rolls in the refrigerator overnight and reheat them in the microwave.
Reheating: As with most baked goods, Raspberry Sweet Rolls are best enjoyed the day they are baked. However, if storing, you can reheat for 30 seconds in the microwave at a low setting before eating.
Make Ahead: If you would like to prep the rolls and then bake the next day, place in the refrigerator, tightly covered in plastic wrap, right after their second rise. When ready to bake, remove the rolls from the refrigerator and leave on the kitchen counter for at least one hour to come to room temperature before baking.
Variations to Try
- Add a bright and citrusy twist by incorporating lemon or orange zest.
- Enhance the flavor and texture by adding chopped almonds or other nuts.
- Sprinkle mini chocolate chips or chunks over the raspberry filling before rolling up the dough.
- Add a tropical twist by incorporating shredded coconut into the filling.
- Experiment with different berries, such as strawberries, blueberries or blackberries.
Trish’s Tips
- If you’re short on time in the morning, prepare the rolls the day before. This way, all you have to do in the morning is pop them in the oven! See make ahead instructions in the recipe card.
- Spread the raspberry filling evenly over the rolled-out dough to ensure that each bite of the sweet rolls is bursting with raspberry flavor.
- When slicing the dough into individual rolls, use unflavored dental floss to prevent the dough from squishing when you cut it.
- Keep an eye on your sweet rolls as they bake and adjust the baking time if needed. When done, they should be golden brown on top.
- Bread flour works best in this recipe because it has a higher protein content and ensures a soft and fluffy dough. That being said, if you can’t get bread flour, this recipe has been tested with all-purpose flour and will work.
- Allow the dough to double in size before rolling out. Properly proofed dough will look domed on top and rise slowly when you gently press your finger into the top.
- Use frozen raspberries in this recipe, not fresh raspberries. Fresh raspberries will cause the filling to run out more.
- Take your time when rolling out the dough. A wet filling like this one is trickier than standard cinnamon rolls. You will see that the filling tries to escape – just do the best you can to roll it up tightly and neatly.
- Do not worry about some of the filling seeping out of the rolls in the dish – it’s going to happen no matter what.
- For a less rich glaze, substitute milk or half and half for the heavy cream.
- For a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice. For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar.
More Breakfast Recipes
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Bread
- Blueberry Cheesecake Danish
- Lemon Berry Bread Pudding
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
Raspberry Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls
- 1 ¾ cups whole milk warmed to 105°F-110°F
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast 1 packet
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 4½ cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon butter melted (for greasing pan)
Filling
- 3 cups frozen raspberries
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
Lemon Glaze
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
Dough
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm milk, yeast, egg, sugar, melted butter and salt. Whisk together until combined.
- If using a stand mixer: Add the flour and use the dough hook to mix the dough for 5 minutes or until the dough has formed a ball and is slightly tacky to the touch but does not stick to your finger.
- If mixing by hand: Add the flour and mix with a spatula until the dough starts to form. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for 5 minutes. The dough is ready when it is slightly tacky to the touch but will not stick to your finger.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and flip the dough over making sure it is lightly coated with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about one hour.
- After the dough has risen, punch it down with your fist and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into a rectangle of roughly 15 inches by 8 inches (or 40 cm by 20 cm).
Raspberry Filling
- Combine raspberries, sugar and cornstarch in a bowl and mix well to combine.
Assembly
- Spread the filling evenly on top of the dough rectangle making sure to leave about an inch of space around the edge of the dough.
- With the longest side facing you, tightly roll up the dough into a log pinching the seam with your fingers to close the dough around the filling.
- Cut the log in half and then cut each half into 6 equal pieces. Feel free to use a sharp knife, dough cutter, floss or whatever method you are comfortable with. (Alternatively, instead of rolling up the dough into a log, you can cut individual strips and roll those instead.)
- Grease a 9”x13” baking dish with one tablespoon of melted butter. Arrange the rolls in the dish leaving a little space in between each one to allow for the second rise. You should have four rows of three rolls.
- Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, draft free area to rise, about 45 to 60 minutes. The rolls will puff up and be touching. (See notes for making overnight.)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap and cover the dish with foil.Bake rolls for 25 minutes, remove foil and if they are not golden in color bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and set aside.
Lemon Glaze
- Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and heavy cream into a small bowl and whisk to combine. For a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice. For a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle the glaze over the rolls while they are still warm in the dish. Serve immediately.
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