Raspberry Swirl Sweet Rolls

If there’s one treat that can beat cinnamon rolls, it’s these absolutely indulgent raspberry sweet rolls. In this recipe, buttery dough spirals around a juicy, sweet-tart raspberry filling made from frozen raspberries. You can make the sweet rolls within a few hours, or get started the night before using the overnight option. Top with vanilla or cream cheese icing for an unforgettable breakfast experience.

This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.

As the first sweet roll recipe I ever published on my website, these soft and fluffy raspberry sweet rolls have truly stood the test of time.

Let’s travel back to the days of yore: the year 2012. That’s when I published my very first(!) sweet roll recipe on my website: raspberry sweet rolls. This recipe is practically vintage, and has hardly changed over the years!

I’ve developed many more sweet roll recipes since then like my lemon sweet rolls, apple cinnamon rolls, funfetti cinnamon rolls, and chocolate sweet rolls. I’ve learned a lot in the process, but today’s raspberry version has never lost its special place in my heart. It’s my most favorite dough, and I based my ultra popular overnight cinnamon rolls recipe off of it!

Should this recipe go in a museum?

What to Expect With This Recipe

• Texture: This is one of my richest homemade doughs, so you’re already promised a soft, springy, and fluffy texture. The more fat in the dough, the softer the baked bread. For example, this dough includes whole milk, butter, and egg. Recipes like my overnight cinnamon rolls, pizza pull-apart rolls, and honey butter rolls all start with a rich dough.
• Flavor: The combination of tart, juicy raspberries with tangy-sweet cream cheese icing is unbelievably mouthwatering. Just wait until you smell these baking!
• Time: This dough requires 2 rises. Once you understand the assembly process, which I detail below with step-by-step photos, the prep moves pretty quickly. Set aside at least 4–5 hours from start to finish, or divide it between 2 days with the overnight option. Whichever method you choose, keep in mind most of that time is hands off as the dough rises.

My #1 Tip for Sweet Roll Success: I recommend using a strong and dependable yeast. Platinum Yeast from Red Star is a premium instant yeast, which cuts down on rise time. Its careful formula contains natural dough strengtheners and makes working with yeast simple. And simple is always good, right?

One reader, Alicia, commented: “I have been baking for over 50 years and have made countless sweet rolls of all types. This dough was by far the best because it stayed soft for 3 days—most unusual. I will be making some of our favorites using this dough, or maybe I’ll try some of your other doughs. ★★★★★”

Grab These Ingredients for the Dough & Filling:

1. Whole Milk: Whole milk is ideal for the richest-tasting raspberry sweet rolls. Buttermilk works just as well without any changes to the recipe. Many readers have successfully substituted nondairy milks. In a pinch, you can use 2% or 1% milk, but do not use nonfat milk.
2. Sugar: You need white granulated sugar for the dough, both for flavor (these are sweet rolls, after all) and to feed the yeast. You’ll use some again in the filling.
3. Yeast: You can use active dry or instant yeast. Follow the directions exactly as written regardless of which you choose. If using active dry yeast, the rise times will be a little longer. I always use and recommend Platinum Yeast from Red Star.
4. Butter: This is a rich dough, meaning it has fat to help guarantee softness. Use softened butter and, to help it blend easier, cut it into 4 pieces before adding.
5. Vanilla: This is a new ingredient I use in today’s dough; the original recipe didn’t call for it. You don’t need much, just 1/2 teaspoon to add some unbeatable flavor. You also need vanilla in the icing. You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
6. Eggs: Like butter, eggs promise a softer, richer dough.
7. Salt: Dough is bland without salt.
8. Flour: Flour provides the dough’s structure. You can use either all-purpose flour or bread flour. You’ll notice the rolls are a little chewier if you use bread flour.
9. Frozen Raspberries: Frozen raspberries are a non-negotiable. You’ll lose your mind rolling up juicy, messy, sticky fresh raspberries.
10. Cornstarch: To help thicken the raspberry filling.

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Step-by-Step: How to Make Raspberry Sweet Rolls

Start by proofing your yeast in warm milk with a little bit of sugar. This step ensures that the yeast is active and not expired. Most yeast these days is already active, but it’s a quick 5–10-minute step that prevents you from wasting your time (and ingredients) just in case the yeast has expired.

Next you’ll add in the remaining dough ingredients.

What if I Don’t Have a Stand Mixer? If you do not own a mixer, you can mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters.

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After the dough comes together, it will be a little soft and sticky—that’s normal. Knead the dough on a floured counter or keep it in the mixer for kneading—whichever method you use, it should be about 5 minutes of kneading.

Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it in a draft-free area to rise until doubled in size—it takes about 2 hours. After that, punch the risen dough down:

Roll it into a rectangle shape that’s about 12×18 inches in size. Then it’s time to fill it!

Baker’s Tip: If the dough keeps shrinking as you roll it out, stop what you’re doing, cover it lightly, and let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. I often do this when I’m making pizza dough. When you return to the dough, it should stretch out much easier.

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Raspberry Sweet Roll Filling: Use Frozen Raspberries

You need FROZEN raspberries for the filling of these sweet rolls—do not thaw. Fresh raspberries are much too juicy and delicate for the filling. If all you have is fresh, freeze them first. Trust me on this. Otherwise you will have a big sloppy mess on your hands—and counter, and potentially your clothes—when rolling/cutting the rolls. And raspberry stains are not easy to clean!

Toss the frozen raspberries with a little bit of cornstarch and sugar, and then sprinkle it all over the rolled-out dough. Easy! Unlike a raspberry cake filling, there’s no cooking involved here:

Now, roll it up as tightly as you can:

Use a very sharp knife to cut the roll into 12 rolls, each about 1.5 inches wide. Arrange in a greased baking pan, cover, then let the rolls rise until a little puffy, about 90 minutes.

The rolls won’t totally double in size in the second rise because the filling is frozen, which keeps the dough cold. It’s a slightly longer second rise time than we usually need for overnight cinnamon rolls, for the same reason. (Alternatively, you could let the rolls rise overnight. See Notes in the written recipe below for overnight instructions.)

Be prepared for the berries to release their juices as they thaw. You will see red raspberry juice all over the bottom of the pan—this is fine, and expected! In fact, it’s a good thing. It turns into an incredible raspberry glaze that caramelizes over the bottom of the rolls when they bake.

I sometimes line my 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper just because the raspberry juice can get a little messy, but this is optional. You can simply grease the pan instead.

The rolls need about half an hour in the oven to bake. About halfway through baking time, tent a piece of foil over the top of the pan, to prevent the tops from browning too much.

Cool your rolls, in the pan, on a wire rack for about 10–15 minutes while you make the icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

The original recipe I published back in yesteryear (aka 2012) called for vanilla icing, but I really, really love these raspberry sweet rolls with cream cheese icing, so I’m changing it. It’s the same deliciously smooth and silky icing I slather on my classic cinnamon rolls, though lately I’ve been making it with vanilla bean paste instead of vanilla extract. See all those tiny vanilla bean specks? You can actually see the added flavor!

I don’t say this often, but I think it applies here… hubba hubba.

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Only the Best Raspberry Recipes Here:

• Raspberry Danish Twist Bread
• Dark Chocolate Raspberry Coffee Cake
• Raspberry Dessert Sauce
• Jumbo Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Chocolate Raspberry Cake
• Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake

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