Pineapple Sweet Rolls

Photo by Gerik

Today, I was overwhelmed with the desire for Pineapple Sweet Rolls.  They are the ultimate comfort food as they remind me of my childhood home and the laughter and love represented there.  They say you can never go home again but when I really need it, this comes the closest.

Several weeks ago, I met with my older brother Tom and my sister Sharon to celebrate Tom’s birthday.  We visited and relieved many memories.  Strangely we all grew up with different memories because we are each 10 years apart in age.   Brother Tom lived in the early years, Sharon in the middle years and I was the tag-a-long growing up in the years when Mom and Dad were approaching retirement.  The fourth sibling, Larry, was unfortunately out traveling the world that week and we missed him terribly, but he was there in spirit.

Despite all of our different memories, the one unifying memory for all of us was food.  We all  enjoyed the fruit filled sweet rolls Mother use to make almost weekly.  Each of us have our favorites, prunes, peaches, apricots but mine is pineapple.

I’ve taken some shortcuts to make my sweet rolls but the taste is the same.  Those of you who enjoy the long method of making your sweet roll dough, go ahead.  I’m usually in too much of a hurry to get to the end result of enjoying the sweet goodness I remember from home.

Pineapple Sweet Rolls

Photo by Pat

Makes 8

Filling:
1 20-oz. can Crushed Pineapple in 100% Pineapple Juice
¼ cup sugar or Splenda
1 T. butter
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2 T. cornstarch mixed with a little of the juice
dash of salt

Dough:
1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix

White Frosting:
2 T. softened butter
2 T. milk
1 lb. powdered sugar or enough to make a spreadable frosting

Instructions:
Make the filling first.  To make the filling, place the can of crushed pineapple with juice in a saucepan or microwaveable bowl.  Mix in the sugar, butter, cinnamon and cornstarch.  Cook, stirring constantly (or microwave) until filling is thick and glossy.  Set aside while you make your dough.  Although the filling is hot when you spread it on your dough, it will only make your rolls raise faster.

Mix the dough using the hot roll mix and mix according to directions.  Beware! if this is your first time making sweet dough, you may be tempted to add additional flour to make it more  like bread dough.  Don’t do that, you want the dough to be very soft and sticky.

To make the sweet rolls, roll out the dough into a 10×15 rectangle.  Spread the hot pineapple filling over the dough and roll and flop the dough into a log trying to keep the filling from flowing out.  It’s messy but that’s okay because it will be really yummy when done.  Cut into 8 sections and move each one into an oiled 9×13 glass dish, scooping up what falls out and placing on top of the rolls.  The hot filling will make the dough raise fast and in just 15-20 minutes the rolls will be ready for the oven.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until light golden brown.  Let cool a bit before frosting generously.

Photo by Pat

To make the frosting.  Melt the butter, add milk and hand stir in the powdered sugar until it’s semi-thick and creamy.  I love the use my hands to frost my rolls.  That way the frosting gets down in all the nooks and crannies.

Ahh, now for a taste!