If you're bored with traditional cinnamon rolls and are ready to venture out and try a new sweet roll recipe, then you're in luck! These raspberry sweet rolls are what you need! Smooth cream cheese filling and juicy raspberries wrapped in soft, fluffy rolls! Trust me, they are as good as they look!

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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Whether you call them raspberry rolls or raspberry cream cheese rolls, this family favorite is a fun twist on classic cinnamon rolls!
- A sweet treat for Easter brunch or Christmas morning!
- This sweet roll dough recipe is soft, moist, and never dry!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Flour - All-purpose flour, not bread flour.
- Butter - I used salted butter, but unsalted butter can be used as well.
- Yeast - Active dry yeast is the same as instant yeast or rapid-rise yeast.
- Raspberries - You may use fresh raspberries in place of the frozen raspberries.
Couple Things You'll Need
Step by Step Instructions
- I prefer to use my stand mixer for my convenience, but this recipe can be done just as well with hand beaters. If using a stand mixer, fit it with the paddle attachment.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the butter, salt, and sugar.
- In a small saucepan, over medium-high heat, scald the 1 cup of milk. To scald milk, heat it until nearly boiling, then remove from the heat. Pour the scalded milk over the contents of the mixing bowl. Allow to cool down to a warm but not hot temperature (a bit warmer than a babyโs bath water).
- In a small bowl, dissolve 1 Tbs. active dry yeast and ยฝ teaspoon sugar in โ cup warm water and let stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
- Pour the foamy yeast, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of flour into the mixing bowl with the warm milk mixture.
- Mix on low just to get everything mixed together, then beat at a medium-high speed for 5 minutes. Donโt skimp on the time. You need to beat the batter for 5 minutes.
- Following 5 minutes of beating, add 1 ยฝ cups more flour and mix just until incorporated.
- Picture 12 is what your batter/dough should look like. This particular kind of roll is called a batter roll or batter bread. Meaning it is not going to come together in a ball like typical dough. It will be sticky and gooey.
- Remove the paddle attachment and cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, not plastic wrap.
- Let the dough rise until doubled. This should take an hour to an hour and a half.
- Gently punch down the dough, recover, and allow it to rise a 2nd time until doubled. This time, it will rise in about half the time it took before.
- While the dough is rising for a second time, make the cream cheese filling by beating the room-temperature cream cheese, softened butter, sugar, and vanilla together.
- Also, prepare a 9ร13 baking dish by spraying it with non-stick cooking spray.
- Dump the risen dough onto a generously floured surface. Gently knead the dough with a little flour, just enough that it is not terribly sticky. Do not add a ton of flour. You really only need a bit. This dough should not toughen up and be stiff dough like regular bread dough.
- Roll the dough out with the help of a rolling pin into roughly a 20 x 14-inch rectangle on a floured surface.
- Spread the cream cheese filling on the rolled-out dough.
- Place the frozen raspberries in a gallon size Ziploc type bag, measure the cornstarch into the bag with them, close, and shake to coat. You want to wait until this point to get the raspberries out of the freezer. If the raspberries thaw too much, they just make a mess. The dough is harder to slice up nicely, and the juice runs everywhere.
- Sprinkle the cornstarch-coated raspberries across the cream cheese filling and roll up the dough jelly-roll style, starting with the long side.
- Slice into 1 ยฝ-inch thick slices. I usually get 12-15 sweet rolls. I also use dental floss to slice these because you will get a nice clean cut every time, and it is faster. Just take a long string of floss, slide it 1 ยฝ inches under the end, cross the end in your left hand with the one in your right, making an X, and pull each end tight. It will cut right through the roll.
- Place the slices in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. These won't double in size. The frozen raspberries will slow the rising down a bit.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees while they rise.
- After 30 minutes, you should see that they have risen some, but probably not doubled. ย That's fine. ย
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. ย The tops should be lightly browned, and the center roll should be done. ย
- Make the icing while these bake. Allow to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before drizzling with icing.
- Store by covering the baking pan with a lid or with plastic wrap. No need to transfer to an airtight container.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, just make sure they are completely cool before freezing.ย Thaw at room temperature.
More Unique Sweet Roll Recipes
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Raspberry Cheesecake Sweet Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
Roll Dough
- ยผ Cup Butter
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ยผ Cup Sugar
- 1 Cup Scalded Milk
- 1 Tbs. Active Dry Yeast
- ยฝ teaspoon Sugar
- โ Cup Warm Water
- 2 Large Eggs
- 3 ยฝ Cups Flour divided
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- ยผ Cup Butter softened
- ยฝ Cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Raspberries
- 2 Cups heaping Frozen Raspberries (leave them in your freezer until it is time to use them)
- 1 ยฝ Tbs. Cornstarch
Icing
- 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Milk
Instructions
Roll Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (you can make these with hand beaters, too), place the ยผ cup of butter, 1 teaspoon Salt, and ยผ cup of sugar.
- In a small saucepan, scald the 1 cup of milk. To scald milk, heat the milk over medium heat high to nearly boiling. Remove from the heat and pour over the contents of the mixing bowl.
- Allow to cool to a warm but not hot temperature (a little warmer than a baby's bath water). This takes 20-30 minutes.
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and ยฝ teaspoon sugar in โ cup warm water. Let stand until foamy. About 5 minutes.
- Pour the foamy yeast, 2 eggs, and 2 cups of flour into the mixing bowl. Mix on low just until everything is mixed together. Then beat on medium-high for 5 minutes. Don't skimp on the time. You must beat it for 5 minutes.
- Add the remaining 1 ยฝ cups flour. Mix until incorporated. This is a batter dough, so the dough is going to be sticky and gooey; it will not be a ball of dough. Refer to the pictures included in this recipe post to see what this should look like. Cover the dough and let rise until doubled. This will take an hour to an hour and a half.
- Punch down the dough, recover, and let rise a second time until doubled. This will only be ยฝ the time of the first rise.
- While the dough is rising for a second time, spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and mix up the cream cheese filling.
- Dump the risen dough out onto a generously floured surface. Knead gently just enough so the dough is not sticky. This won't take a lot of flour. Remember, this is a soft dough and should not be a stiff ball of dough like bread dough would be.
- Roll out into a rectangle that is roughly 20x14 inches. Spread the cream cheese filling over the top of the rolled-out dough.
- Place the frozen raspberries in a gallon size Ziploc type bag and add the cornstarch to them. Seal the bag and shake the raspberries until they are well coated. ย Sprinkle over the top of the cream cheese filling.
- Roll up the dough jelly roll style and slice into 1 ยฝ inch slices. ย Refer to my post for instructions on how to slice these with dental floss.
- Place the slices into the prepared baking dish. ย I can only fit 12 in my 9x13 pan, so if you have more than 12, you will need an additional smaller pan. ย Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. ย Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and make the icing.
- These will probably not double in size. ย The frozen raspberries will make them rise slower. ย After 30 minutes, they will have risen some, but probably not doubled.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes. ย The tops should be lightly browned, and the center roll should be done. ย Cool for about 15 minutes before drizzling with icing.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
Icing
- Using a fork, mix together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and enough milk to bring to a drizzly consistency.
Notes
- If you have questions, be sure to read the recipe post. There are many pictures that are very helpful
Nutrition
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JP
One of my favorites
Michael
Can I use fresh berries
Mindee
Yes, you can ๐
Sonya Capate
Probably some of the best rolls Iโve ever made!
Mindee
Thank You! Your kind words made my day!
Josh
Can this be refrigerated until morning of baking?
mindeescookingobsession
I wouldn't advise doing that because the raspberries will thaw overnight and all the juice would go to the bottom of the pan. Plus the sweet rolls with rise way too high overnight in the fridge. These sweet rolls are actually almost better cold than warm. I would just bake them the night before and serve them chilled the next day or you can always reheat them.