Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls are fluffy rolls with a classic cinnamon-sugar paste and homemade raspberry jam filling. They are baked until golden brown, spread with extra raspberry jam and drizzled with a sweet vanilla glaze.
This was originally published as a sponsored post in 2021 but has since beed edited and updated.
These Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls are a delicious twist on classic cinnamon rolls. These rolls are fruity, bright, and just overall perfection. They are a perfect breakfast, brunch, or snack for spring or summer! If you're looking for another yummy cinnamon roll recipe check out my Caramel Cinnamon Rolls.
If you're looking for more breakfast and brunch recipes check out these Sweet Potato Breakfast Hash, Dutch Baby, or Blueberry Goat Cheese Scones.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- They are a fun twist on traditional cinnamon rolls.
- The tart sweetness of the raspberries complements the warmth of the brown sugar and cinnamon filling.
- Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls are so beautiful and inviting! Just like this Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake.
- The raspberry swirl will have you hypnotized and reaching for another bite!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Be sure to use instant dry yeast that is not too old or your dough won't rise. Instant yeast is also used to make the dough rise in my White Bread Recipe.
- You can use fresh or frozen raspberries. I used frozen. I also used frozen raspberries in my White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies.
- Lemon Juice will cut the sweetness of the jam and add flavor.
- Cornstarch will help to thicken the jam.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Any berry can be used in place of the raspberries.
- You can use store bought jam instead of making it from scratch.
- You can use store bought bread dough in place of baking fresh dough.
- More lemon juice can be added to the jam to make it lemon raspberry jam.
- The simple icing can be replaced with cream cheese frosting to make them Raspberry Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Step-By-Step Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Dough
STEP 1: Heat milk until warm to the touch, not hot, and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle in the dry yeast. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
STEP 2: Add the eggs, butter, salt, sugar, and flour. Using the dough hook, mix on low until the ingredients start to come together. Mixing slowly will ensure that the dry ingredients won’t go flying all over your kitchen. Then mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. At this point the dough should be smooth but still sticky, so don’t add any extra flour.
STEP 3: Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray. Turn the dough out into the sprayed bowl.
STEP 4: Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set it aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes to allow the dough to rise. It should double in size.
Homemade Raspberry Jam
STEP 1: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Use a silicone spatula to break up the raspberries as best you can. It's okay to have chunks of raspberries.
STEP 2: Turn the heat up to medium and cook the jam for about 5 minutes, until the raspberries have formed a sauce.
STEP 3: While the raspberry mixture simmers combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the raspberry mixture and stir to combine.
STEP 4: Bring the jam to a low boil for about a minute. The raspberry jam should be thick enough to coat the back of the spatula.
STEP 5: Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. The jam will thicken as it cools. You can transfer the jam to a small bowl and place in the fridge for faster cooling if needed.
Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
STEP 1: In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until fully combined. Set aside.
Cinnamon Roll Dough
STEP 1: Line a 12-inch cast-iron pan or a similarly sized baking dish with parchment paper. You can also spray with non-stick spray, parchment paper just makes the clean-up easier.
STEP 2: When the dough has doubled in size sprinkle a clean surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 12×15″.
STEP 2: Dust off any excess flour, extra flour is going to make the finished product drier, and spread the cinnamon-sugar filling out to the edges of the dough.
STEP 3: Spread about half of the cooled raspberry jam over the cinnamon-sugar filling. You want the layer of jam to be pretty thin or it will drip out when you roll up the dough.
STEP 4: Starting on one of the long edges tightly roll the dough up, dusting any excess flour off of the outside as you go. If the raspberry jam was too thick some of it might come out as you are rolling, that's okay.
STEP 5: Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 pieces and place the rolls in the prepared pan. The raspberry jam will make the rolls a bit slippery, so they might start to unravel a bit. You can just use your hands to push them back into place.
STEP 6: At this point, if you want to wait until the next morning to bake the cinnamon rolls you can cover them and refrigerate them. The next morning pull your cinnamon rolls out and let them rest for about an hour before baking.
STEP 7: If you want to bake them now, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise for 20 minutes, they should double in size.
STEP 8: Once risen, place in the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until browned and the centers are cooked through.
STEP 9: Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before icing.
Vanilla Glaze
STEP 1: In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick you can add more milk, ½ tablespoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin you can add more powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
Assembly
STEP 1: When the raspberry jam rolls have cooled slightly spread the rest of the raspberry jam evenly over the rolls.
STEP 2: Drizzle the vanilla icing over the raspberry jam and serve.
Expert Tips
- Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens run either hot or cold. Using an oven thermometer ensures that you are baking your cinnamon rolls at the perfect temperature.
- Weigh your ingredients. One of the most common baking mistakes that I see is measuring incorrectly, especially with flour. The best way to get accurate measurements every time is to weigh them with a kitchen scale.
- Let your dough rise in a warm room. Too cold of an environment will cause the dough not to rise as well.
- Be sure you are using fresh yeast. Yeast can expire and this will make the dough not rise.
Recipe FAQ's
There could be a couple of explanations for this. The first is that your yeast could have been expired. Be sure you are using fresh yeast. The room where the dough was rising could also have been too cold. Yeast needs a warm environment to rise well.
Yes! This will work just as well and will make the process a bit faster.
For sure!
Yes, you can make the cinnamon roll ahead of time and hold them in the fridge for up to a day before baking.
Room Temperature: The cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: If stored correctly in an airtight container the Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
Freezer: If stored correctly in an airtight container they will last up to 2 months in the freezer.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you tried these Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I so appreciate hearing from you!
Recipe
Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 1 cup LACTAID Whole Milk warmed
- 1 packet (8 grams) instant dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons (38 grams) unsalted butter
- 4 ½ cups (540 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
For Homemade Raspberry Jam:
- 1 ½ cup (180 grams) raspberries fresh or frozen
- juice of ½ lemon
- 3 tablespoons (37 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstartch
- 2 teaspoons water
For Cinnamon Roll Filling:
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup (213 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For Vanilla Glaze:
- 1 cup (113 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons LACTAID Whole Milk
Instructions
For Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- Heat milk until warm to the touch, not hot, and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle in the dry yeast. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- Add the eggs, butter, salt, sugar, and flour. Using the dough hook, mix on low until the ingredients start to come together. Then mix on medium speed for 5-7 minutes. At this point the dough should be smooth but still sticky.
- Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray. Turn the dough out into the sprayed bowl.
- Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and set it aside in a warm place for about 30 minutes to allow the dough to rise. It should double in size.
Raspberry Jam
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine the raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Use a silicone spatula to break up the raspberries as best you can.
- Turn the heat up to medium and cook the jam for about 5 minutes, until the raspberries have formed a sauce.
- While the raspberry mixture simmers combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the raspberry mixture and stir to combine.
- Bring the jam to a low boil for about a minute. The raspberry jam should be thick enough to coat the back of the spatula.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. The jam will thicken as it cools. You can transfer the jam to a small bowl and place in the fridge for faster cooling if needed.
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until fully combined. Set aside.
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- Line a 12-inch cast-iron pan or a similarly sized baking dish with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray.
- When the dough has doubled in size sprinkle a clean surface with flour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and roll into a rectangle about 12×15″.
- Dust off any excess flour and spread the cinnamon-sugar filling out to the edges of the dough.
- Spread about half of the cooled raspberry jam over the cinnamon-sugar filling. You want the layer of jam to be pretty thin or it will drip out when you roll up the dough.
- Starting on one of the long edges tightly roll the dough up, dusting any excess flour off of the outside as you go. If the raspberry jam was too thick some of it might come out as you are rolling, that's okay.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 pieces and place the rolls in the prepared pan. The raspberry jam will make the rolls a bit slippery, so they might start to unravel a bit. You can just use your hands to push them back into place.
- At this point, if you want to wait until the next morning to bake the cinnamon rolls you can cover them and refrigerate them. The next morning pull your cinnamon rolls out and let them rest for about an hour before baking.
- If you want to bake them now, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise for 20 minutes, they should double in size.
- Once risen, place in the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or until browned and the centers are cooked through.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before icing.
Vanilla Glaze
- In a small bowl combine all of the ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick you can add more milk, ½ tablespoon at a time. If the glaze is too thin you can add more powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time until your desired consistency is reached.
Raspberry Cinnamon Roll Assembly
- When the cinnamon rolls have cooled slightly spread the rest of the raspberry jam evenly over the rolls.
- Drizzle the vanilla icing over the raspberry jam and serve.
Notes
- Be sure you are using fresh yeast. Yeast can expire and this will make the dough not rise.
- Let your dough rise in a warm room. Too cold of an environment will cause the dough not to rise as well.
- The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
april says
I forgot to give the recipe 5 stars.
Ellie Haley says
Thank you so much!
April says
I just finished making these and my husband said that were fantastic. A 10/10. A really nice addition adding homemade raspberry jam to the filling. the only change I made was I used buttermilk, and they are so light and fluffy. Will definitely make again. thank you.
Ellie Haley says
I’m so glad y’all liked them!