Resurrection Rolls
Resurrection rolls (aka Empty Tomb Rolls) are such a fun and special way to teach children about the Easter holiday. Use my easy homemade recipe, along with a printable story, and make this a yummy Easter tradition for your family.
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What are Resurrection Rolls?
Resurrection Rolls are one of my favorite Easter Recipes. Also called Sweet Empty Tomb Rolls, they’re a soft roll with a butter dipped, cinnamon-sugar coated marshmallow in the center. Once baked, the marshmallow melts into a sweet caramel-like sauce, leaving a hollow center inside the roll.
This object lesson is a simple way to teach children about the Savior and why we celebrate Easter. Below you’ll find a printable story you can share with your kiddos as you make these with them. Together, you can talk about the symbolism of this activity:
- Marshmallow – represents Jesus’ body. He was pure, clean and free from sin.
- Butter and Cinnamon Sugar – represents the oils and spices His friends used to prepare his body for burial.
- Roll Dough – represents the linens they dressed His body with.
- The Oven – represents the 3 days Jesus was in the tomb.
- Empty Roll – represents the empty tomb after Jesus was resurrected on the third day.
- Melted Marshmallow – the sweet melted marshmallow inside the hollow roll represents the linens left behind in the empty tomb.
You can print this PDF Easter story and follow along as you make the resurrection rolls together. While the rolls are baking, share some meaningful scriptures too – there are some suggestions on the printable. Find the recipe at the end of this post. Get the kids involved in the process, and let it be a hands on learning experience for them. This can be fun but also reverent as you talk more about the Easter story.
For more fun Easter recipes to make with your kids or grandkids, try my Bunny Shaped Cinnamon Rolls or Easter Crescent Roll Carrots. These are perfect for Easter celebrations!
When you make the Resurrection Rolls, you can use either a homemade roll dough or a store bought dough. But I personally think they turn out much better with homemade dough. My Skillet Dinner Rolls recipe is so easy and you can also make dinner rolls with the extra dough! You could also use my Homemade Crescent Dinner Rolls or Parker House Rolls dough recipes too.
Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are super simple and you most likely already have them in your pantry.
- Roll dough – If making your own dough, allow it to rise until doubled in size before making the Resurrection Rolls.
- Marshmallows – Use the regular size (large) marshmallows – minis or extra large won’t work the same.
- Melted Butter – I use unsalted butter to control the flavor.
- Cinnamon Sugar – a mixture of granulated sugar and ground cinnamon.
How to make Resurrection Rolls
- Roll the dough to a 12×18-inch rectangle.
- Cut the dough into 6 equal sections. Cut each section in half diagonally, making 12 triangles.
- Dip the marshmallow in the melted butter and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Wrap each marshmallow in the dough and roll it up. Pinch the sides to make sure it is completely sealed shut.
- Place the rolls in a greased cupcake pan.
- Bake at 375°F for 16 to 18 minutes, or until golden.
- Cool about 10 minutes in the pan before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- Open the Resurrection Rolls and see the magic of the disappearing marshmallow!
Can I make these ahead of time?
Even though these Resurrection Rolls are super easy, you can make the dough the night before, cover and refrigerate. This helps you get prepped, saving time on the day of baking. The dough can stay in the fridge for up to 24 hours. After removing it from the refrigerator, let it warm up slightly before shaping your rolls (about 20 minutes).
Conclusion
You will love making Resurrection Rolls as an Easter tradition. Not only is it a great way to help children understand the Easter story, but they are so yummy too! Make sure you print the PDF story towards the beginning of this post. You read along as you make your Resurrection Rolls – it contains all the symbolism behind each ingredient. I know your kids or grandkids will love this tradition just like mine have. Enjoy and Happy Easter!
Resurrection Rolls
Equipment
Ingredients
Roll Dough
- ¼ cup warm water 85°F
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4 cups bread flour plus up to 1/2 cup (60g) as needed
Filling
- 24 large marshmallows
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make the dough
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, buttermilk, yeast, 4 T melted butter, 1/4 cup sugar, fine sea salt, eggs, and half the flour. Mix with dough hook until all ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes.
- On low speed, gradually add the remaining flour, about 1/4 cup at a time. Add enough flour so that the dough is soft and slightly tacky. You may or may not need to add an additional few Tablespoons of flour to reach a dough with the right consistency. Knead dough for 8 minutes on low speed.
Proof the dough
- Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray. Place dough in bowl and cover. Let rise until doubled in size, about 60-90 minutes.
Assemble the Rolls
- In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon. Set aside. Spray 2 muffin tins with nonstick spray and set aside.
- Punch down the dough and turn it out onto a floured work surface. Divide the dough in half and work with one half at a time. Each half will make 12 rolls – you can use one half for Resurrection Rolls and the other half for dinner rolls if you like.
- Roll the dough to a 12×18-inch rectangle. With a pizza cutter, divide the dough into 6 equal sections. Then cut each section in half diagonally, making 12 triangles.
- Dip each marshmallow in the melted butter, roll in the cinnamon sugar, and place the marshmallow on the dough triangle. Wrap it up tightly, making sure the dough is completely sealed around the marshmallow. Place the wrapped marshmallows in the muffin tin.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 375°F while the rolls rest and puff up slightly, about 20 minutes.
- Bake on center rack of oven for 16-18 minutes, or until the rolls are golden on top.
- Allow the rolls to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Be careful not to burn your fingers – the hot marshmallow syrup can sometimes come out the bottom of the roll.
- Once the rolls are cooled, cut open with a knife and see the magic of the disappearing marshmallow. The inside should be hollow, and will have a yummy cinnamon sugar syrup inside where the marshmallow melted.
Notes
- This recipe uses the same dough from my Skillet Dinner Rolls recipe. You can easily use half to make 12 Resurrection Rolls and the other half to make 12 Skillet Dinner Rolls. Link for Skillet Dinner Rolls: https://thatbreadlady.com/skillet-dinner-rolls/
- You can make the dough the night before and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours.
- Resurrection Rolls are best when enjoyed freshly baked, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- See recipe post for the printable Easter story that talks about the symbolism of the Resurrections Rolls.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQ’s
They are best enjoyed fresh the same day. Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Enjoy Resurrection Rolls as a sweet treat or as a side for your Easter dinner.
These cinnamon sugar sweet rolls are yummy on their own but would also taste so good with a vanilla glaze on top or on the side for dipping. Whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 2-3 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream.
Yes, but Resurrection Rolls are best baked in a muffin tin. It helps them to maintain their shape when baked. Plus if any melted marshmallow escapes out of the roll, the muffin tin will keep it from getting too messy. I actually love when this happens – it actually creates a yummy caramelized bottom crust!
Yes, that will create a yummy cinnamon sugary crust. Once the roll is formed, dip it in the melted butter, coat it with the cinnamon sugar mixture, and place in the prepared muffin tin to bake.
More Easter Recipes you’ll love
- Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
- Bunny Shaped Cinnamon Rolls
- Lemon Coconut Loaf
- Garlic Knots
- Cinnamon Roll Focaccia
- Sourdough Discard Blueberry Muffins
I am so excited to try this! I usually make these with store bought dough, but the homemade dough will be so much better! And thank you for the printable! I’m excited to do a little Easter lesson with my kids while we bake!
I’m so glad you’re going to try these! They’re so fun! And yes, I’m excited about the printable too! I’ve been wanting to make one for a long time. Makes it so much easier to share about the symbolism!
So excited to make these with my kids this Easter! Your recipes are always so good!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy! Let me know how it turns out!
If making dough the day before, at what point in the recipe would you recommend refrigerating it?
I would refrigerate it right after mixing. It will rise in the refrigerator, but the colder temperatures will slow it down.
Can I use regular AP flour if I don’t have bread flour? So excited to try these with my kids!
Yes you definitely can use all-purpose flour. You might find that you’ll need a little bit more flour and the dough may be a bit stickier to handle. They should still turn out great as long as you can get that gluten developed well during kneading. Hope you enjoy!
We made these this morning and they added so much to our Easter Celebration. I made the dough the night before, and it worked out great. I also halved the recipe because we only needed 12. Delicious and beautiful! One of them didn’t get closed all the way, and it actually looked really neat after baking even though it was open—just like the garden tomb. Thank you so much for this recipe!!
That’s so sweet Jessica! Thank you for trying it out and for your sweet message. Sounds like a wonderful Easter!
Really great recipe, especially the ability to make them ahead of time! This was exactly what I was looking for!
So glad you enjoyed it!!