Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

This post is part of the June Top 5. Check out the rest of the best here.

I found this recipe for Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting on Pinterest, and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I love cinnamon rolls, but the idea of raspberry with them just sounded too delicious. It definitely helped that I had a bag of raspberries in the freezer from last summer, and they really needed to get used.
The recipe is from the blog, From Here to Paris, and she goes into great detail on the steps of how to make these raspberry cinnamon rolls, which was a huge help for me. So if you've never made cinnamon rolls, definitely check out her post, since she has pictures of every step!
It's a sad thing to admit, but I've had a Kitchen Aid mixer for almost 9 years now, and this was my first time using the dough hook! But now that I've tried it, I think I'm "hooked" (sorry, I just couldn't stand passing up such a great pun).
The only thing that I changed from the original recipe was adding more flour. It could be that our high altitude was the problem, but my dough was really sticky, so I ended up adding nearly an extra cup of flour. Other than that, the recipe was perfect.

Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
2 cups milk (2% or whole)
6 Tbs unsalted butter
7 cups (or more) all-purpose flour, divided
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
non-stick vegetable spray

Filling:
1 12 oz bag frozen raspberries, thawed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbs cornstarch

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. For dough, microwave milk and butter until butter is melted and temperature of 120-130 degrees is reached (around 2 minutes)
2. Sift together 2 cups of flour and the rest of the dough dry ingredients.
3. Pour butter/milk mixture into Kitchen Aid with paddle attachment on. Add the dry ingredients and eggs slowly, and mix on low until lumps are gone, making sure to scrape sides.
4. Add the remaining 5 cups of flour with the paddle attachment until dough is sticky.
5. Switch to the dough hook attachment. Scrape and flour the sides of the bowl. Knead at slow speed approximately 5 minutes, until dough forms a ball and becomes smooth and elastic. If dough is too sticky, add more flour a Tablespoon at a time (this is where I had to add a lot of extra flour).
6. Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray and put the dough in. Flip the dough over to coat both sides. Cover with clear wrap and then a kitchen towel. Set aside to rise for approximately 2 hours, until it is doubled in size.
   
7. While dough is rising, make the raspberry filling. Combine the ingredients in a small saucepan. Whisk until the cornstarch is well-incorporated. Heat over medium-high, whisking constantly, until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue whisking until sauce thickens slightly, about 1-2 minutes. Once it is thickened, transfer to a different container and place in the freezer to cool.
8. Once dough has doubled in size, punch it down and divide it into 2 parts. Transfer one part to a floured surface and roll the dough into a 15x11 inch rectangle.
9. Spread 1/2 of the raspberry mix on the dough rectangle,  leaving a 1/2-inch border that doesn't have any raspberry mix on it. Roll carefully, starting on one of the 15-inch sides. Make sure not to roll too tight, or the raspberries will come out the ends. When you get to the end, pull the other end up and seal it shut (I had to wet it with my fingers a little bit to make the dough stick to itself).
10. Use a piece of plain dental floss or clean string to cut the dough into 1/2-inch slices. To do this, slide the floss under the roll, then pull your two ends towards each other until they cross and keep pulling until it cuts through the dough.
11. Carefully transfer each slice to a greased 12x18-inch cookie sheet.
12. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough.
13. Cover with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel and set in a warm place to rise for approximately 45 minutes.
    
14. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for approximately 25 minutes, until they are golden brown on top, and make a hollow sound if you tap on them.
    
15. Mix frosting ingredients either with the Kitchen Aid whisk attachment or with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated. Then turn up the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes until the frosting becomes fluffy.
    
16. Once the cinnamon rolls have cooled, frost them and eat them. 

These were so delicious, but this recipe does make about 2 1/2 dozen cinnamon rolls, so you may want to share some. Or freeze some of them before you frost them.
After making these, I definitely appreciate the prices at bakeries. These were pretty time consuming, but they were definitely worth it!

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