Super soft and fluffy sweet rolls filled with cream cheese and juicy raspberries. Topping these beautiful rolls with an easy glaze sets them right over the top. You won’t believe how easy it is to make these from scratch!
Hey, hey! How was your weekend? Over here, we are still trying to break into the 40’s and getting a grip on Spring. But the low temperatures didn’t keep me from putting away my winter coat and sporting my new Spring jacket instead. Even though the weather is still slow to cooperate, Spring is in full swing at la casa de Deliciously Yum!
One thing I always crave during the warmer months of the year is fresh berries. I love, love, love them. No matter what kind, I could devour them all. Raspberries, however, hold a special place in my heart. My mother-in-law has the best raspberry bushes and every year, we get to pick as many as we like and besides eating as many as we possibly can, I always end up making jelly. Never did it cross my mind to freeze some fresh berries so I could make um, Raspberry Sweet Rolls, for example. It boggles my mind that I have failed in that department. But I didn’t let that deter me. So to the grocery store I went. Lesson learned and with frozen raspberries in hand, I set out to make these amazing rolls.
There’s nothing like the moment of pouring glaze on top of sweet rolls that have freshly come out of the oven. It’s my favorite part of the entire process. It also means that I am this close to digging in and savoring one or two (who is counting?) of these sweet rolls.
I am using my trusty Christmas Morning Cinnamon Roll dough in this recipe. If you are new to making sweet rolls or to working with yeast dough in general, this recipe was made for you. It’s a no-fail dough that comes together in no time. What makes them so foolproof? Two things.
First off, you don’t need to activate the yeast, instead the yeast is combined with the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients are added to them. Super easy. Second, these rolls require only one rise and that rising time goes anywhere from 30-60 minutes. Not much time at all when it comes to homemade sweet rolls.
It is important that you use quick-rise yeast. It’s what makes these rolls rise so fast and causes them to double in size within a matter of minutes. I love that stuff.
I’d say having these rolls for breakfast or a late morning brunch, would make for a pretty sweet day ahead. No matter how many times I make these, we can never get enough of them!
The filling is super easy to throw together as well. I spread a wonderfully delicious cream cheese filling on the rolled out dough. It’s a mixture of cream cheese (duh), a little bit of sugar and vanilla. Spread the sugared raspberries on top, finish with lemon zest and you’re all set. You could totally skip the step of adding the cream cheese mixture, if you’d like. Raspberries only works really well.
Here’s the recipe for ya. Have a very happy Monday, everyone!
- 1 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter, cut into chunks
- 3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
- 5 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 12 oz. bag frozen raspberries, not thawed
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan and set aside.
- 1. Starting with the dough, place milk and butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat until butter is almost melted and milk is warm. Stir until butter is completely melted. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix until well combined with the beater paddle attached. Add the egg and milk mixture to the dry mix and continue stirring until thoroughly combined. Substitute dough hook for the beater paddle and add remaining flour or until dough starts to pull away from the sides, about 1-2 minutes. Continue to knead the dough for 5 minutes. Slightly flour your work surface and place dough on top. Let rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
- 2. In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and vanilla extract. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine frozen raspberries, remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar, and cornstarch. Set aside as well.
- 3. Roll out your dough until it measures 12 x 14 inches (rectangular shape). Spread cream cheese filling evenly over the dough. Place raspberry filling on top and sprinkle with lemon zest. Beginning with the longer side that’s closest to you, roll dough into a log. Pinch edges closed and cut into 12 equal pieces. Place sweet rolls in four rows of three into the prepared pan and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise in a warm place for 30- 60minutes (or until double in size). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When the rolls are finished rising, bake them for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
- 4. While the raspberry sweet rolls rolls are baking, prepare the icing by combining the confectioners’ sugar, butter, vanilla and milk. Once the rolls have finished baking, let cool for 2 minutes and spread icing evenly over the top. Enjoy!
- Raspberry Sweet Rolls will keep up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze them for up to 3 weeks.
Oh wow I love sweet rolls! These are definitely the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen! I’ve had orange rolls and apple sweet rolls, but never raspberry – that definitely needs to change! Pinned 🙂
Chelsea, thank you so much for your sweet comment. It means so much to me! Wish I could have had you over to enjoy these sweet rolls with raspberries – they are definitely my favorite so far!!
These are just so gorgeous! I feel spring in these rolls!
That’s exactly what I was going for :). Thank you, Jocelyn!
So springy! I love the idea of putting raspberry into rolls like these. I will have to make these for brunch this spring!
You should – we loved these rolls. Hope you enjoy!! Thank you, Rachel!
Your pictures are making me drool over here! What beautiful colors, perfect for spring. I’m definitely a “scared of yeast” person, so this dough recipe sounds made for me!
I used to be scared of yeast too! This recipe helped me overcome and now we can enjoy homemade sweet rolls any time we want to – which is awesome and dangerous at the same time, ha! Thank you, Natalie!
I get more and more mesmerized by your photos with each and every post you publish! This look delicious and sound perfect for Easter morning.
Thank you so much, Justine. You are too kind!! These will definitely make another appearance at our house once Easter gets here 🙂
These look incredible Kathi! I can’t wait to try them!
Thank you, Julie! Hope you enjoy 🙂
These rolls are beautiful!! I just want to stare at them, FOREVER!!
Ha, thank you, Zainab! And thanks for stopping by 🙂
These rolls look beautiful! I’ve been wanting to try a variation on cinnamon rolls for a while now, and these look like just the ticket! Lovely photos!
Thank you, Amanda. These are a great way variation on cinnamon rolls for this time of year. Really yummy!
in love with your recipes….
Thank you so much, Palak!
Hi, Kathi! Wow, these look absolutely amazing! I wish I had one right now to go with my mid-morning coffee! They don’t look all that difficult to make either … but very impressive, that’s for sure! Beautiful photos, too!
Hi Helen! Thank you so much for your comment and stopping by!! These really aren’t that difficult to make – promise! Absolutely – coffee and these sweet rolls are basically best friends 🙂
These rolls look gorgeous Kathi! I am such a sucker for sweet rolls and love the sound of the raspberry filling – looks mouthwatering! Can’t wait to try these – pinning 🙂
I seriously could not wait to make this version of sweet rolls. They are definitely my favorite so far! Thank you so much, Kelly! So excited you’ve stopped by!!
I am so ready for berry season and these sweet rolls! They are gorgeously pretty-in-pink!
Thank you, Joanne!! I am ready for berry season to get here too. I see lots more sweet rolls in our future 🙂
Mmmmm. Love at first bite. I know I ‘d love these!
Thanks, Melanie. Hope you get to make these sometime!
Ah I just made my own sweet rolls this weekend but I wish id seen these because they look amazing! So colorful and pretty!
Thank you, Sam! Loved that you made your own sweet rolls, too. I am sure they tasted amazing 🙂
I also crave fresh berries. So good!
I have made raspberry rolls before, but they didn’t turn out as good as yours. This looks fantastic!
Thank you so much. You should give it another go, these sweet rolls are so worth it and pretty easy to make!
Hi Kathi! These Raspberry Rolls look amazing. Have already pinned! PS – Your photography is absolutely gorgeous! Keep up the wonderful (and delicious!) work! 😉 ~Erin
Thank you so, so much, Erin! I really appreciate your comment of kind words and encouragement!
I crave fresh berries all the time! Love this fun spin on sweet rolls – that filling looks so good. And then with the glaze … yummmm!
Thanks, Ashley! Fresh berries are pretty much the best in any and everything!
Mmmm these are SO calling my name. So pretty, and springy, I love! I’m with you, refuse to put on my winter coat again this year.
Thank you, Nicole!! Let’s hope Spring is on its way 🙂
Kathi! These look amazing! I adore berry sweet rolls, so you know I would be allllll over these. Pouring the glaze is my favorite part, too. And I have to eat my sweet rolls warm; there really is no other way. 🙂
Thanks, Ashley. Wish you and I could have shared these over a cup of coffee or something – we would’ve had a berry good time, ha!
WOW! I wouldn’t mind waking up to a pan of these tomorrow morning! They look amazing!
Thank you so much, Julie! And thanks for stopping by :).
Lovely, Kathi! There is just something about carbs and raspberries. Why don’t they get married or something.
Seriously, they need to get it together :). Thanks, Karen!
There is so much fantastic eye candy on your blog! I’m so happy to have discovered it! I just scheduled a whole bunch of pins from your site to some of my best boards 🙂 I’ll be back for more!! 🙂
Natasha, you seriously made my night with your super sweet comment. Can’t even tell you how much I appreciate you stopping by and sharing the love. Thank you so much!!
Your photos are gorgeous and I’m in love with raspberries so your rolls are perfect for me.
Thank you so much, Norm! So glad you said hi 🙂
WOW!! These are the BEST looking sweet rolls I have ever seen! I love that this recipe is simple and I can’t wait to try these raspberry sweet rolls, YUM! Pinned 🙂
Yes, these are so simple, Jenn. Hope you love these as much as we did. Thank you so much, dear!!
Kathi these look amazing! I absolutely love sweet rolls and raspberries so these are definitely a winning combination. I can’t wait to make these!
Thank you so much, Jodi! Sweet rolls and raspberries definitely make for a winning combination. Enjoy!
Kathi – these look AMAZING! I am in love with all of your photos especially the one of the sweet roll ripped open and that filling sounds heavenly!
Thanks, Jessica. They were every bit as good as they look 🙂
Gorgeous Kathi! Just stunning! I could sit here all day staring at your pics 🙂 Pinned and sharing on FB!
Awww, thank you, Trish. You are the best. Thanks for sharing the love!
Kathi, just one word: Beautiful! Your photography and styling are absolutely stunning! I would go for a few of these with that pile of glaze just totally dumped all over. Pinning!
Thank you, Gloria. Your comment means so much to me 🙂
Wow Kathi, I was looking pictures on the internet and saw this rolls. I defenitly make this tommorow for lunch.
Greeting from The Netherlands
Hi Sana. So glad you stopped by – hope you enjoyed these rolls over the weekend!!
These rolls look over the top amazing! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
I love the opportunity to link up with you! Thank you so very much, Karly!
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Can you use frozen strawberries instead of raspberries?
yes, definitely, just defrost them first and dry on a paper towel and cut into smaller pieces, i did it, it was same wonderful!
My rolls didn’t rise. I had fresh pkt of yeast. Did you mean to hand knead the dough for 5 min or continue using the dough hook and mixer? I used the mixer.
These are beautiful & look soooo good! I want to make them for a celebration at my husband’s office. I would just like to know if you could use fresh raspberries instead of the frozen ones? I want to make sure because I know some recipes have to be exact. Thank you for your help & for sharing this amazing recipe!
Hi Joanie, I would definitely recommend sticking with the frozen raspberries. I have found that fresh raspberries tend to be a bit too juicy and get smashed a lot easier when formed into rolls. To make sure your rolls stay perfectly fluffy and not soggy, frozen is the way to go. Hope they turn out great for you!!
Kathi, thank you! Wow! I just made them & they were AMAZING! They are going to be the shining star at my husband’s celebration! I was a little worried at first because they didn’t look like they raised but once I put them in the oven, poof! Mine were not as pretty as yours but they were delicious. A lot of the juice did come out from the rolls but I may wait to mix the berries until I put the cream cheese on. Anyway, they are fantastic! My husband says, thank you! He had them for breakfast & for a snack. Thank you again for sharing!
Hi Kathi,
Just discovered your blog over the weekend. Got too tempted this evening and made these Raspberry Sweet roll. Utterly divine. I did take some liberties with the lemon rind and added some juice to the cream cheese filling. Ultra delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe. You can guarantee I’ll be inspired to whip up many many more of the delights on this blog. Keep up the good work and greetings from New Zealand !
Nadia. x
I made these today and they were really good.
They are quite sweet, but instead of skipping the glaze, I would reduce the sugar in the cheese and raspberries.
Be warned! They are also very messy (maybe double the cornstarch or make the raspberries into a jam before) and mine didn’t turn out at all like the picture!! Minor details, once you try one 😉
The only alteration I made was the add lemon juice instead of butter to the glaze. NOTE: I used 2 cups raspberries (I don’t have a scale).
Also, I’m not usually a fan of the quick bun method, but these turned out really well!
Hello!
could You or somebody else please change the ingredients for the dough from cups to grams or 250ml glasses? please!!
I made these this morning for my husband’s birthday- they were amazing! He loved them and so did the kids.
thanks for sharing- I will be making these again.
I am soo glad I came across your blog on Pinterest this morning with your peppermint patties *omg drool!* and then continued clicking through random post that would pop up on the side and found this gem of a beauty!! I have about 29 raspberry bushes in my backyard and absolutely hate raspberries. When we first moved here the previous owners of our house kept cutting them down, but when it came to us, if it’s not grass or weeds who cares right? Well they are like weeds! So I’ve been making jam like crazy with them, so to find this recipe… Do I have to say who’s going berry picking today? That’s right and hubby just brought home some jumbo-gantic freezer bags. Can’t wait to bake these beauties up! Thanks for the amazing blog for the less creative baker
Hi, I came across this recipe and it looked so good I had to make the rolls. I have one question – should I have defrosted and drained the berries first? The recipe specifically says not thawed, but I had a royal mess when rolling and cutting up, since they started to thaw when meeting room temperature dough and cream cheese. Well this is just a minor detail, the taste was superb anyway so the mess was worth it! 🙂
Made these for Easter brunch and everyone LOVED them. Definitely adding to my recipe files. The only thing I did differently was add some lemon zest to the glaze, too. SO good…thank you!!
Hi, Kathi! I want to thank you for your recipies, cause they all are so delicious. And this rolls are my favourite! I’ve made them with cherry and strawberries and they were delicious as well. But I have one problem. I can’t make rolls to be round shape. When I bake them they became too big and there is not enough space in the baking form and if I take bigger form they just spread all over. And so I get strange-shaped rolls! May be there is a secret?
Can i make with straberry this ?
These are the best by far! I substituted frozen cherries for the raspberry. Love them so!
These are a wonderful change to the breakfast and snack lunch routine.
I made these today. They are amazing! I felt they were too thick when I cut them in 12, so I cut them each in half and made 24. They turned out perfectly and are more like danishes because they are thinner – but still over an inch thick. Lovely. Saving this recipe for sure. I will probably make 18 next time as I think then they would be the perfect thickness.
I just made these yesterday to take to my mom’s group today (February 10th). They were absolutely delicious and a BIG hit with everyone! They all want the recipe! What a treat to have summery raspberries in the middle of winter! Thanks for a great recipe!
To Note: I used raspberries frozen from my garden, and don’t have a scale, so I used about 3 cups of berries but I almost think I could have put in more.
I think I over proofed, and I know I used too many raspberries, but yum! Maybe next time, they’ll be as pretty as yours.
These look delish!! I think I am going to try them with blueberries. Good idea?
I have 2 pints of fresh raspberries and 1 cup and half of frozen raspberries will that work
Just thought I would mention how easy it is to cut rolls with unflavored waxed dental floss. (It helps avoid squishing them when you cut.) Just pull off a generous piece, maybe 18 inches or so, slide it under the dough and bring them together until it goes through.