Peanut Butter & Jelly Sweet Rolls
PB&J is a classic lunchtime favorite, but what happens when you turn it into dessert? You get these delicious and decadent peanut butter and jelly sweet rolls! They have peanut butter in the dough, a peanut butter and jelly filling, and a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. What else could you ask for? This recipe does call for two rounds of proofing, so make sure you set aside enough time in your planning.
Blooming the Yeast
You can use either active dry or instant yeast in this recipe. Blooming the yeast before making the dough shows if your yeast is still active (if using active dry yeast) and helps to better evenly distribute it throughout the dough. To bloom the yeast, begin by heating your milk to ~100°F and whisk it with 2 tablespoons of sugar and the full amount of yeast. You can do this in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover the bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Your mixture should turn foamy like the picture below, showing that the yeast is still active.
Interested in learning more about yeast? Check out my post on the basics of baking with yeast here.
Mixing the Dough
Add the remaining sugar, melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, salt, and 1 cup of bread flour to your bloomed yeast mixture. Mix on medium speed using a stand mixture fitted with a dough hook for 1 minute to combine the ingredients. Then, add the remaining flour and mix on low speed until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the bowl. Mix on low or knead by hand for an additional 3 minutes to continue to develop the gluten.
Why use bread flour instead of all purpose flour? Bread flour has a higher protein content which results in more elasticity and strength in the dough, allowing it to better trap carbon dioxide bubbles and expand during proofing and baking.
The First Rise
Roll the dough into a ball and place it in a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let it rise at room temperature for 2 hours or until doubled in volume.
Dough not rising? I did not have any problems proofing at room temperature, but if your dough isn’t rising quick enough you can try moving it to a slightly warmer environment. One way you can do this is by preheating your oven for just a minute or two to make it slightly warmer than room temperature (you want it around 80°F). Turn the oven off and let the dough proof inside with the door closed.
Rolling, Filling, and Shaping the Dough
When the dough has doubled in volume, turn it out onto a floured work surface and gently press out the gases. Dust a rolling pin with flour and roll out the dough, shaping it into a rectangle of even thickness about 10 x 16 inches in size.
Spread peanut butter in a thin, even layer over the whole rectangle. Top with jelly or jam of your choice - jams with less water content are better for preventing a mess (learn from my mistakes!).
Roll the dough along the long side, creating a 16 inch cylinder. Some of the filling may spill out, so be prepared for a bit of cleanup! Cut the dough into 12 even slices and place them in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish. You dollop any filling that spilled out on top - or try to sneak it back into the dough swirls like I did :)
The Second Rise
Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and let the rolls rise at room temperature for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Baking
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the proofed rolls uncovered for 24-26 minutes until the tops are golden brown. If they start browning too much too soon you can tent them with a piece of aluminum foil for the remainder of baking. Once baked, place the baking dish on a wire cooling rack and let the sweet rolls cool for at least 10 minutes.
Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting…Yum!
While the rolls are cooling, make the frosting. Using a stand or handheld mixer on medium speed, beat together cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla until fully combined. Add the powdered sugar and mix on medium-low until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. If you prefer thinning frosting, you can add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
Spread the frosting on the rolls, serve, and enjoy! These sweet rolls are best enjoyed fresh, but can be stored tightly covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar, divided into 2 tbsp and 4 tbsp portions
- 1 tbsp active dry or instant yeast
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 cups bread flour, divided into 1 cup and 3 cup portions
- 2-3 tbsp peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
- 1 cup jam or jelly of choice
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk, if needed, for thinning
Instructions
- Warm the milk to 100°F.
- Whisk together the warmed milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. If the yeast is active, the mixture should become foamy.
- Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of sugar, melted butter, peanut butter, eggs, salt, and 1 cup of flour to the bowl and mix with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of flour and mix on low speed until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix on low or knead by hand for an additional 3 minutes.
- Grease a large bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours or until doubled in volume.
- Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
- Turn the dough out on a floured work surface and press gently to release the gases.
- Using a rolling pin sprinkled with flour, roll out the dough and shape it into a rectangle, approximately 10x16 inches in size.
- Spread the peanut butter evenly onto the dough. Top with the jelly or jam.
- Roll the dough to create a 16 inch cylinder. Some of the jelly or jam may spill out, so be prepared for a bit of mess.
- Cut the dough into 12 rolls of even width. Place in the prepared pan in a single layer. If any jelly or jam spilled out while rolling, you can dollop that on top of the rolls.
- Cover and let rise for another hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the rolls uncovered for 24-26 minutes until the tops are golden brown. If the rolls begin to brown too much too soon, you can loosely place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan for the remainder of the baking time. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting. Mix together the cream cheese, peanut butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl with a handheld or stand mixer until fully combined and smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix until the frosting is light and fluffy. If you would like thinner frosting, you may mix in the milk one tablespoon at a time.
- Spread the frosting over the sweet rolls, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- Storage Instructions: These sweet rolls are best eaten fresh, but can be stored tightly covered at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
- Jelly or Jam: You can use whatever flavor of jelly or jam you like to eat with peanut butter. Thicker or less watery jellies and jams will make assembly step 5 (rolling into a cylinder) a little easier and less likely to spill out.
