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A close up of sweet rolls being brushed with melted butter
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4.48 from 44 votes

Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls Recipe

Learn how to make Homemade Hawaiian Sweet Dinner Rolls (Sweet Rolls) right at home that are perfectly sweet, fluffy and oh, so delicious. These little pillows of heaven will become a family favorite you never expected!
Prep Time1 hour 10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Servings: 18 rolls
Calories: 363.34kcal

Ingredients

  • 5- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour divided plus more for dusting
  • 4 1/2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
  • 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk divided
  • 1 cup pineapple juice
  • 8 tbsp unsalted butter divided
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs divided
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Use a stand mixer fitted with a greased dough hook. Add 5 cups flour, yeast, and salt to a bowl, and whisk to combine.
  • In a medium sized microwave safe bowl, add 1/2 cup of milk, pineapple juice, 6 tablespoons of butter and honey and whisk to combine. Microwave the mixture in 20 second increments until it reaches 120 to 130 F, about 90 seconds.
  • Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add the warmed milk mixture, brown sugar, 1 egg, apple cider vinegar and vanilla to the flour mixture. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed to incorporate the flour.
  • Knead the dough on low until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl, 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium low and knead until the dough is elastic and smooth in texture, 7 minutes. The dough should start to clear the sides of the bowl, but will be sticky on the bottom. Add 1/4 cup of additional flour, mixing on low speed, 1 minute. Add another 1/4 cup if needed, until the desired texture is achieved and a slightly sticky bowl is formed. Use as little added flour as possible. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside. Cut the dough into 18 even size pieces. Roll pieces of the dough into balls with smooth tops, lightly flouring the work surface as needed. Place the dough balls into the greased pan. 3 balls per row, 6 rows total. Leave about 1/2 inch around the corners of the pan.
    If you have any problems with rolls not rising, try this! 
    After the dough is made, take it out of the bowl and kneaded it a couple extra times, dusting it with more flour. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and let it double in size for an hour and a half. 
    Then take the dough out, punch it down, shape the rolls, and let that proof for another hour and a half.
  • Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and place in a warm draft-free place. Allow the dough balls to rise and double in size, 30 to 40 minutes. The buns should be touching each other and nearly filling the pan completely.
  • Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of milk. Brush the egg wash on the tops and sides of the buns. Bake the rolls until golden brown and shiny on the surface, 18-20 minutes. Make sure to rotate the pan halfway through baking.
  • Cool the rolls on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the rolls from the tray and brush with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Serve the rolls immediately while warm.

Notes

If you have any problems with rolls not rising, try this! 
After the dough is made, take it out of the bowl and kneaded it a couple extra times, dusting it with more flour. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and let it double in size for an hour and a half. 
 
Then take the dough out, punch it down, shape the rolls, and let that proof for another hour and a half.
The trick to even baking and a uniform aesthetic is making sure each of the rolls have the same weight. I use a kitchen scale to measure each of my dough balls. It isn’t much added effort and I end up with rolls that are nearly uniform in size.

Nutrition

Calories: 363.34kcal | Carbohydrates: 65.47g | Protein: 9.69g | Fat: 6.69g | Saturated Fat: 3.62g | Cholesterol: 32.24mg | Sodium: 337.45mg | Potassium: 142.67mg | Fiber: 2.8g | Sugar: 8.38g | Vitamin A: 192.87IU | Vitamin C: 1.31mg | Calcium: 26.54mg | Iron: 3.6mg