I have a super simple recipe today for easy Crescent Roll Cinnamon Rolls. These are a little cheater version of a cinnamon roll that takes pretty much all the work out and gives you a buttery, cinnamony, gooey treat- sort of a cross between a cinnamon sugar doughnut and a cinnamon roll.
These are also fantastic to make if you celebrate the Resurrection for Easter as it is a great way to communicate this in a simple way to children.
Essentially you will dip a marshmallow in butter and cinnamon sugar and then bake it within a roll. All the butter and cinnamon and gooey-ness from the marshmallow will infuse the roll creating a delicious treat. The marshmallow will melt leaving the inside hollow. It makes these rolls a perfect visual for the empty tomb on Easter morning.
I can pretty much guarantee these will be a huge hit with the kids. My children go to a Christian school and the teacher actually does a very fun Easter party with activities and treats and asked me to make these for the class. I have always wanted to make these myself and both of my girls have done them at school and at Church in the past so they sort of knew what to expect but that didn’t take away the giant smiles when the marshmallow disappeared. “Mom that is so cool!”
Such a great way to create lifelong traditions and memories.
So here is the basic recipe that I like and then I will share some more ways to talk to the kids about the Resurrection using these rolls at the bottom.
Ingredients:
Note you can make a glaze for the top or make a caramel and nut topping if you like or even cream cheese frosting. These would all be amazing for Easter brunch. I tried to keep this recipe simple for those that want something that can be prepped ahead and easily transported to school or Church.
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 8oz can of Crescent Rolls*
- 8 Large marshmallows
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or aluminum foil and preheat the oven according to the directions on the back of your crescent roll can.
- Mix together cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl.
- Pull apart the crescents onto a cutting board and roll each crescent into a ball.
- Using your fingers stretch the ball into a flat circle shape.
- Take one marshmallow and dip it into the melted butter and then into the cinnamon sugar mixture, coating it completely and generously.
- Place the marshmallow in the center of the crescent and pinch the edges of the dough around the marshmallow.
- Be sure to pinch it completely closed or the marshmallow will ooze out the sides of your roll.
- Once all the rolls are finished, place on a baking sheet.
- Gently brush on additional melted butter to the tops of your rolls and sprinkle tops with remaining cinnamon sugar to create a coating on the outside of the rolls.
- Bake according to directions on your crescent roll can.
- When they come out of the oven, the inside of the roll will be hollow.
Roll dough into a ball.
Flatten dough into circle
Dip baby dip!
Make sure the dough is pinched up tightly.
Top with more butter and cinnamon sugar and bake!
A few tips for success with these rolls:
*You can substitute freezer rolls if you prefer for the crescents. The outcome will be the same.
*If you want to get the kids more involved, instead of dipping the marshmallows and brushing on the topping, you can put the cinnamon sugar in a Ziploc and shake it on the buttered marshmallow and the buttered roll.
*Be sure the roll is pinched tightly closed and also that there are no super thin spots of dough on the balls or the marshmallow will leak out of the sides. The roll will still be delicious but you lose a little bit of the flavor when the marshmallow leaks out.
*You can make these in the standard crescent shape of the rolls instead of a ball. I prefer the ball shape as I find it easier to make and less likely to have the filling ooze out of the sides 🙂 Plus it looks more like the rock that covered the tomb for Jesus.
And some additional conversation points with the kids:
~~ The white of the marshmallow represents Jesus and his purity.
~~After Jesus died, his body was prepared for burial using spices and oils. This is represented using butter and the cinnamon sugar.
~~Jesus was wrapped in linen and placed in a tomb with a large rock in front. The dough represents the linen and the ball shape of the dough represents the tomb.
~~After 3 days the rock was rolled away and you can tear open one of the baked rolls to discover the empty tomb!
~~Take a bite of the roll to discover the sweetness, that is just like God’s love for us!
I hope you enjoy these little rolls and more importantly I hope it makes your Easter that much more memorable and special with your children.
If you make any delicious adaptations to this recipe or have other talking points to add, please share them in the comments below!
I adapted a recipe from Pillsbury here to create the rolls and talking points from Lifeway here.
In the meantime, here are a few other things you might enjoy:
The Jesus Storybook Bible is a great one for kids with pretty pictures and simple to digest stories.
A magic jellybean garden is a favorite with our kids and so simple!
If you are a fan of cinnamon and sugar, this cinnamon swirl bread is delicious! The glaze recipe mentioned would be wonderful on your Resurrection Rolls!
Cinnamon and Chocolate Gooey Cinnamon Rolls (YUM!) The chocolate topping would also be delicious on your Resurrection Rolls
Thanks! This will be a fun tradition to do with my kids!
These are so cute and fun. My family loves them and we make them all the time.
Glad to hear that Lily 🙂