If You're Not Using Hawaiian Sweet Rolls Like This, You're Simply Missing Out

If you've never had a King's Hawaiian dinner roll, you're missing out on something truly special. Delicately crisp and buttery outside, fluffy and tender inside, with a pale yellow hue and subtly distinct sweetness, these rolls have been popular throughout the United States since the 1960s — particularly in the South, where King's Hawaiian rolls are an essential component of ham and cheese sandwiches. The crazy part is that there are no secret ingredients, just the typical flour, sugar, yeast, and milk found in most dinner rolls — though some versions include pineapple juice for a touch of tropical goodness.

Though most recipes using these rolls seem to combine their sweetness with savory ingredients (e.g. delicious and easy King's Hawaiian brunch sliders for a crowd), they're also an incredible base for sweet recipes. Currently, an especially popular way to enjoy them for dessert is to turn up the indulgence by turning them into a cinnamon bun-style casserole. Since the rolls come attached at the edges and pre-split, it's fairly easy to tuck the bottoms into a glass casserole dish and smother them in cinnamon sugar-infused butter.

More of this delectable butter goes on after the tops are nestled into place before everything is baked to sticky, golden perfection. While incredible on their own (or paired with vanilla ice cream), most people can't resist generously coating them in sweet cream cheese frosting to finish. The result is more like cinnamon bun sandwiches than rolls, but who's debating semantics with such a tasty dessert available?

Though the basic prep method is already unbelievably delicious, there are lots of ways to upgrade these cinnamon rolls to make them taste entirely homemade, or simply to tailor them to a theme or your tastes. Since we're working with little sweet sandwiches instead of pastry dough, you can tuck things inside this dessert that might not be suitable for traditional cinnamon buns, such as chocolate chips, soft caramels, or other things that scorch easily. Protected by a pillowy roll, these ingredients will simply melt and mix with the other gorgeously gooey fillings.

If you love all things fruity, this style of cinnamon roll is also easy to elevate with jams, preserves, or fruit compotes of almost any kind. To tailor them to a springtime celebration, you might add a tablespoon of blueberry or raspberry preserves to each roll, along with a few drops of vanilla and some pink gel food coloring in the frosting. Meanwhile, an autumnal holiday brunch might call for apple, pear, or even pumpkin butter along with some additional warming spices, like ginger and allspice, along with some extra cinnamon in the frosting itself. You could even dot the tops with tiny, whimsical maple sugar candies.

As a nod to King's Hawaiian rolls' origins, you can also lean into more tropical flavors. Pineapple jelly or citrus marmalade adds a tangy pop of brightness to the filling, while lush coconut cream might add a floral, fruity flavor to the frosting.