Empty Tomb Rolls
Empty Tomb Rolls or Marshmallow Delights – easy cinnamon sugar rolls with a melting marshmallow inside. These are a great symbolic dessert recipe for Easter. We make these every year for Easter with the kids. Even when it’s not Easter, these are a tasty and quick dessert.
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RESURRECTION ROLLS
My friend Wendy is an amazing cook and brought in these babies as dessert with her meal. The marshmallow melts inside the roll creating a juicy sauce. It’s like an inside out cinnamon roll.
I have heard these referred to as “Empty Tomb” rolls that can be made at Easter. They are easy to make with kids and they invite the opportunity to explain about the resurrection because the disappearing marshmallow is supposed to represent Jesus being risen.
Symbolism of Empty Tomb Rolls:
- Large marshmallows – body of Jesus
- Crescent roll – the wrapping of Jesus’ body or the tomb.
- Melted Butter – oils of embalming
- Cinnamon and sugar mix- spices used to anoint Christ’s body.
- Oven – the tomb
- Cavity in bun – the empty tomb or the empty cloths
HOW TO MAKE EMPTY TOMB ROLLS
- Separate rolls into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow into butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. Make sure to seal well or all the marshmallow will escape.
- Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place with sugar side up in greased muffin cups. It helps to use jumbo muffin tins so that the juice doesn’t overflow.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly then eat warm.
Other Easter Recipes:
- Easter Bunny Cake
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Coconut Macaroons
- Moist Carrot Cake
- Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Loaded Mashed Potatoes
- Funeral Potatoes
- Watergate Salad
“Empty Tomb” Rolls
Ingredients
Instructions
- Separate rolls into eight triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon. Dip each marshmallow into butter, roll in cinnamon-sugar and place on a triangle. Pinch dough around marshmallow, sealing all edges. Make sure to seal well or all the marshmallow will escape.
- Dip tops of dough into remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Place with sugar side up in greased muffin cups. It helps to use jumbo muffin tins so that the juice doesn't overflow.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly then eat warm.
Notes
I had never heard of Empty Rolls until I tried your recipe. I love what the recipe represents and the recipe itself is delicious. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it!
These were so yummy!!! Doubled the recipe and it was perfect for our little family gathering. They loved them!! Thank you!!❤️❤️❤️ Bonus was the lesson given to my son as we prepared them together. Breaking them open to find them empty was excellent!!
So happy to hear!
I’m going to use puff-pastery here instead of the crescent rolls, as I don’t have anything else on hand. If I can remember, I’ll tell you how it goes. Me and my mother made these before with crescent rolls, and they were amazing, so I’ll see how much of a difference these future ones will have.
I made these for years with my mom, yeast dough from scratch. .. . but we called the “April Fool Buns” due to the fact when you bit into them, you discovered they were hollow. . .lol
Ooh that’s fun! The kids love them.
Some suggestions: If using crescent rolls, fold the narrow end over the larger end to make more of a square. Lightly flour a cutting board and roll the dough out a bit, making a square if possible. Place the coated marshmallow in the center and brush the edges of the dough with water – you can use your fingers. Then fold the dough up and seal the edges by squeezing. The water helps seal the dough.
I’ve heard of other Easter desserts, but never this one. Love the idea! I can’t wait for Easter (or maybe sooner since this is just June, lol)!
Ha we love this one!
These are the cutest things!
Thank you!
I cannon find this recipe any where? Can you please post it or send it to me? Thank you.
Carla,
It’s at the bottom of the page. That’s strange. Maybe try a different browser!
I like this site very much
I have tried every way to get the Empty Tomb Rolls recipe! Where is it; better yet, please sent it to me. I can’t eat chocolate , and love cinnamon and sugar!!! Love your recipes!
Just emailed it to you!
I am searching for the Empty Tomb Rolls recipe! Please send it to me. I love you wide range of recipes; most I share with my daughter in So. Calif. Thanks a bunch!
It’s above Maryann!
Made these this morning for Easter morning. Delicious and the family loved them. Thank you!
Awesome to hear. We made them Friday!
Hi! I’m excited to try these rolls this weekend. I work with the kids at my church and would love to share this recipe with them on our Facebook page. Would that be okay?
Thank you
Of course! Recipes are meant to be shared.
i do not know what refrigirated crescent rolls are. if i were to replace it with homemade dough, what kind of dough to use? yeast? pastry? cookie?
I would use a pastry or yeast dough. Any bread dough will work.
I’ve made these for five times they are amazing huge success! I will say I use the jumbo crescent rolls it’s easier to keep the marshmallow inside with that
Ooh great tip. Thank you!
What a fabulous recipe!! I am thrilled you shared this with everyone.
I found your site through the pizza monkey bread recipe which by the way is absolutely tasty.
I am enjoying browsing through some of your recipes. Thumbs up! Way up! Great site
Thank you Syl!
I have been looking for this recipe forever! I used to make these back in 70’s and lost the recipe. It is a fun recipe to make. Thank you for posting. ☺
You’re welcome!
Has anyone tried this with homemade dough? My family and I really, really dislike the store-bought crescent dough BUT we really, really want to try this recipe!
My family makes these every year for Easter. We call them resurrection rolls. I use homemade bread dough and they turn out great! I give each grandchild a ball of dough to roll out then follow the recipe just as written. They really look forward to them!
Homemade dough would work great!
This recipe was a National Pillsbury winner many many years ago. I have been making them for over 20 years.
Oh! Good to know!
Can you add me to your emailings. I could not find a place to join, thx
We just made these and not only did my kids devour these but they had so much being able to help make these. Such a cute Easter activity.
We just used your recipe in my junior class to make Tomb Bread in celebration of Easter. Turned out great. Thanks for including a re-cap on the symbolism. Muffin tins not necessary: we just put them onto a baking sheet (which is probably easier for cleaning after).
Ooh! I don’t know why I haven’t tried that.
Okay, one of my favorites. We actually learned to make these in 7th grade co-ed HomeEc class and I have made them ever since. They are wonderful w/ choc. chips, or a smidge of strawberry jam inside w/ the marshmallow as well! Enjoy
I just saw this posting on pinterest. I got a kick out of your name “the girl who ate everything” but then you admit you “won’t eat other people’s foods unless you know them really well….which is just how I am.
My husband made these this afternoon for Easter dessert. He put them in part way through dinner so that they were nice and warm for serving. SO YUMMY fresh out of the oven.
This recipe was originally called “Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs” and one the Pillsbury Bake-off contest in 1969. My mom’s been making them ever since, and now so do I. You can also drizzle with powder sugar icing and chopped pecans if you want.
So I could theoretically use the Pillsbury biscuit dough instead of the crescent roll stuff, right? These look delicious.
Sure. I love the texture of crescent rolls but biscuit dough would work too.
Hi! Could you please shed some light on what “crescent rolls” are? I live in New Zealand and would love to make this for Easter, but have no idea what our equivalent here is. I’m so glad I found your website!!
Shoot. Sorry. They are like buttery rolls. You could use any dough here instead.
It is the dough used for croissants…….
I love these, the whole idea, awesome. Going to share these with my friends in a women’s group. THANKS
We made these in my jr. high school home economics class, only instead of crescents we used biscuts. They are sooo good and literally the first thing I ever made that people raved about. My ward used to have a bake sale to raise money for girls camp and this was the recipe I always made and we would sell out after two or three stops (we did a trunk bake sale and traveled around the neighborhoods in our ward).
I am so glad I found your blog! A few years ago Sonic came out with Cinnamon poppers for a few months and I made a point of eating there more often just to get them. Now I can make them for myself.
Thanks for posting this and I can’t wait to make them with my grandkids.
@iggyaa,
Yes, store bought marshmallows is what I used and they do disappear!
Do regular, store-bought puff marshmallows work? I thought that they would just get toasty? If standard marshmallows work in these, then I’m going to try them next weekend!
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Wow is amazing I love this product and is delicious and perfect for kids too, thanks for the recomendation
My roommate and I used to make these – we always called them Moose Knuckles though. No idea where the name came from!
My wife and I are trying these tonight (Easter Sunday) with our 9-month old son (our first child) as the beginning of our new Family Easter Tradition.
Thanks for the great idea!
these are wonderful…would love for you to link this to my fridays unfolded to share with my readers http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/2011/04/fridays-unfolded-14.html
blessings,
alison
stuff and nonsense
Those Marshmallow Delightsare just adorable! Can I change the marshmallows for some different fruits,??? I need to prepared this recipe to my next meeting tomorrow!!22dd
my purity bible study made this years ago, except we called them ‘resurrection rolls ! they’re fantastic!!
Yvonne,
A couple things to help you so they don’t leak:
Really try to seal and pinch up the dough tight so that it doesn’t leak. Also spray the muffin tins well with PAM so it doesn’t stick if it does leak. Finally, some people said that Pilsbury brand rolls work the best and leak less.
Good luck,
Christy
I’ve made these twice and both times they stuck to the muffin tin. Half of them oozed out during baking. I sure would like it if I didn’t have to dig them out of the muffin tins and soak the tins in hot water to clean. What am I doing wrong? My husband and granddaughter can’t get enough of them. They don’t care how they turn out. My husband puts frozen whipped cream in the center. Please Help!
[email protected]
I had the same issues….very disappointed
Did you seal them really well and spray the muffin tin?
Made these puppies for a special treat following the “Baked Ziti”, and my boy’s devoured them! Very Yummy….And soo easy!!
I made these for my sunday school class of 3-5 graders and they loved them. They wrapped their own and we put them in the oven – and they came out perfectly hollow (a few of the less pinched leaked), but they got the point, and they tasted WONDERFUL. Even the leftovers not warm were good – the inside turned to a wonderful GOO! 🙂
These are hilarious and VERY clever! They also look and sound delicious.
I wonder if I could use homemade biscuit dough instead? It’s not the same a crescent rolls, but might be just as good… or maybe too heavy? Hmmm….
two things i love but have never consumed in combination = crescent rolls and marshmallows. these are exquisite and i intend to make a batch posthaste!
Interesting…I want one with a cup of coffee!
wow doesn’t rven look like theres marshmallow in there
These look so yummy! I have always loved marshmallows.