Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

Make these easy raspberry cinnamon rolls using fresh or frozen raspberries in under 3 hours! A simple powdered sugar glaze makes these sweet rolls the perfect breakfast or afternoon treat!

Why You Will Love these

• Bright, raspberry fruit filling. A flavorful fruit alternative to overnight cinnamon rolls! Bake up a batch for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day or just any Summer Sunday!   
• No cook filling makes these super easy! Simply toss together the raspberries, sugar and cinnamon before sprinkling over the dough!
• Can be baked the same day or refrigerated overnight for easy AM baking!
• Use fresh or frozen raspberries to make all year long.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Milk: I love using whole milk in enriched doughs because of the flavor and added fat, but you can use any dairy or non-dairy milk that you have on hand. You can even use water.
• Granulated Sugar
• Active Dry Yeast: I use active dry yeast for an even rise, but you could also use instant yeast and skip the first step of blooming the yeast. You’ll have raspberry cinnamon rolls ready faster! Just keep an eye on them so they don’t overproof.
• Unsalted Butter
• Large Egg
• Lemon Zest
• Salt
• All-Purpose Flour
• Raspberries: You can use fresh whole raspberries or frozen raspberries (unthawed) interchangeably in this recipe, or you can substitute raspberry jam for all the filling ingredients.
• Cornstarch
• Powdered Sugar (glaze)

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Change up the fruit filling: Use fresh or frozen mixed berries or make the filling into a jam like these strawberry cinnamon rolls. You could also combine the raspberries with the filling for these hazelnut cinnamon rolls for a crunchy, sweet twist!
• Use a different frosting: Use a cream cheese frosting or glaze like the one from my sourdough cinnamon rolls, or add lemon juice  to the glaze like in these lemon poppy seed rolls.
• Mix up the dough. My cinnamon roll obsession is well documented here on GVD. Use this fresh raspberry filling with the dough from sourdough cinnamon rolls, gingerbread cinnamon rolls, or cereal milk cinnamon rolls.

How to Make Raspberry Sweet Rolls

Break from traditional cinnamon rolls with these raspberry cinnamon rolls! Further instructions and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Prepare sweet dough:

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir or whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.

Step 2: Add softened butter, egg, lemon zest, salt and flour to the bowl and combine all the ingredients with paddle attachment. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes, until dough is soft, smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Step 3: Remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Place ball of dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. Flip the dough to coat the top and bottom and then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Step 4: Remove dough from bowl and gently degas on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll dough into a 12-by-5-inch rectangle with a rolling pin. In a small bowl, toss together fresh or still frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch to coat.

Step 5: Sprinkle raspberry mixture over dough. Roll up dough from the long end into a 12-inch log, pinching edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, slice log into 8 equal slices. Place slices, cut side-up, into a greased 9-inch round cake pan (or square baking dish). Spoon any extra raspberry mixture over the rolls.

I do not recommend cutting this sweet roll dough with dental floss because the filling might just spill out. Using a kitchen knife or serrated knife will allow you to hold the rolls together while slicing.

Step 6: Cover the pan with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Rolls made with frozen raspberries will take a little longer than those made with fresh, just because of the temperature difference.

Step 7: After about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Once the rolls have doubled and are visibly risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake until golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.

Step 8: Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes in pan. Meanwhile, make the confectioner’s sugar glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter and milk until a smooth, spreadable glaze forms (add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to achieve proper consistency).

Step 9: Pour glaze over warm rolls and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread evenly. Serve rolls warm or at room temperature.

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Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

By Stephanie Wise

Make these easy raspberry cinnamon rolls using fresh or frozen raspberries in under 3 hours! A simple powdered sugar glaze makes these sweet rolls the perfect breakfast or afternoon treat!

Servings: 8 rolls

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Proof Time: 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 55 minutes mins

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

For the dough:

• ▢ ½ cup milk, warmed to 95-100 degrees F
• ▢ ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ¾ tablespoon active dry yeast
• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 2 ⅛ cups all-purpose flour, ⅛ cup = 2 tablespoons

For the filling:

• ▢ 5 ounces raspberries, fresh or frozen unthawed
• ▢ 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon cornstarch

For the glaze:

• ▢ ½ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons milk
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

US Customary – Metric

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Instructions 

• In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir or whisk to combine. Let sit 5-10 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
• Add butter, egg, lemon zest, salt and flour to the bowl and combine all the ingredients with paddle attachment. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough hook and knead dough on medium speed for 8 minutes, until dough is soft, smooth and elastic and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. Place ball of dough in a large, lightly greased bowl. Flip the dough to coat the top and bottom and then cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
• Remove dough from bowl and gently degas on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll dough into a 12-by-5-inch rectangle with a rolling pin.
• In a small bowl, toss together fresh or still frozen raspberries, sugar and cornstarch to coat. Sprinkle raspberry mixture over dough. Roll up dough from the long end into a 12-inch log, pinching edge to seal. Using a sharp knife, slice log into 8 equal slices. Place slices, cut side-up, into a greased 9-inch round cake pan (or square baking dish). Spoon any extra raspberry mixture over the rolls. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
• Note: Rolls made with frozen raspberries will take a little longer than those made with fresh, just because of the temperature difference.
• After about 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Once the rolls have doubled and are visibly risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake until golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let cool 30 minutes in pan.
• Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, melted butter and milk until a smooth, spreadable glaze forms (add more powdered sugar or milk as needed to achieve proper consistency). Pour glaze over warm rolls and use a spoon or offset spatula to spread evenly. Serve rolls warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Yield – 8 Rolls

Variations –  Add spice, citrus zest or juice to the filling; mix up the berries; or try a different glaze.

Storage – Store baked and cooled raspberry cinnamon rolls covered at room temperature for 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.

Adapted from Food & Wine Magazine

Nutrition

Calories: 300kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 90mg, Potassium: 104mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 308IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 38mg, Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Before you go!

I hope you enjoyed this easy cinnamon roll recipe. Check out all our breakfast and brunch recipes link my cinnamon swirl bread, or explore more Mother’s Day recipes or Valentine’s Day recipes!