Raspberry Sweet Rolls

These raspberry sweet rolls don’t need much in the way of introduction.  Sticky, sugary glaze contrasts with the tang of bright raspberries, and, served fresh out of the oven with a cup of strong coffee, they’ll ensure you start your day with a smile which, provided you don’t eat five of them in one sitting and experience a devastating sugar crash shortly after consuming them (this is an inherent risk, you should know), will flicker across your lips every time you think about your breakfast.

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Here’s what you need:

For the buns –

1 cup milk

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. active dry yeast (or 2 packages)

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For the filling –

1 10 oz. package of frozen raspberries (or, come to think of it, any frozen fruit you have stashed away with the good intent of using it for flaxseed chia seed spinach kale power smoothies that you just couldn’t bring yourself to make….)

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. cornstarch

For the glaze –

1 cup icing sugar

3 tbsp. heavy cream

Here’s what you do:

To make the dough, start by warming the milk in a small saucepan over low heat until it’s lukewarm.  Or, you could nuke it briefly.  That’s what I did.  Pour the milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (or just a regular bowl if you don’t have a stand mixer) and add the sugar and yeast.  Cover with a dish towel and let the yeast proof (get foamy) for 8-10 minutes.

Next, add the butter, eggs and salt, either beating with the dough hook attachment on low speed, or using your own elbow grease.  Gradually add in the flour and stir/beat until a soft dough forms.  Knead on a lightly floured counter/beat until the dough is fully incorporated and is soft and elastic-y.  If using a stand mixer, finish the last bit of kneading by hand.  Form the dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly buttered bowl.  Cover with a dish towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place until it has doubled in size (1-2 hours).

Once the dough has risen, grease a 9 X 13 baking dish.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 10″ x 24.”

Toss together the ingredients for the filling in a bowl and spread the raspberries (still frozen!) evenly over the dough.

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Tightly roll up the dough to form a log.  Cut into rolls about 1.5″ thick.  Place the sliced rolls, sliced side up, into your baking pan so they’re smunched up next to each other.

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Cover the rolls and allow them to rise until they’re puffy (~ 2 hours).  (At this point, you could put the rolls into the fridge and store them overnight, to be baked fresh for breakky in the morning).

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Preheat your oven to 400F.  Cover the rolls with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes.  Take off the aluminum foil just long enough for the rolls to brown a little on top, and then remove from the oven.

Allow to cool slightly before glazing.  To make the glaze, whisk together the icing sugar and heavy cream until you get a smooth, liquid-y mixture.  Drizzle over the raspberry rolls and serve.

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Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction.