Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

Your classic cinnamon roll recipe got a little makeover for spring. Say hello to BLUEBERRY cinnamon rolls AKA pillowy soft sweet rolls filled with a scrumptious blueberry filling and topped with a dreamy lemon cream cheese icing.

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

I’m sort of a cinnamon roll fanatic. But sometimes a classic cinnamon rolls loaded up with butter and cinnamon sugar feels a little heavy come the spring season. That’s where these scrumptious blueberry cinnamon rolls come in. They’re made with a zingy lemon blueberry filling and topped with a dreamy lemon cream cheese icing that screams spring.

They’re perfect for whipping up on a Sunday as a fun weekend baking project, dropping off for a neighbor, or serving for Mother’s Day brunch. Or just because…because you certainly don’t need an occasion to make blueberry cinnamon rolls in my opinion.

What do you need to make blueberry cinnamon rolls?

I suppose that these should actually be called blueberry sweet rolls because they don’t have any cinnamon in them! Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always thought that “sweet rolls” didn’t really encapsulate the ooey-gooey, sweetness of the cinnamon roll form. So that’s my logic. I present to you blueberry cinnamon rolls sans cinnamon.

The best part about these blueberry cinnamon rolls is that they are SO easy to make. Dare I say, easier than regular homemade cinnamon rolls? I DO. Because these babies are filled with blueberry jam, meaning you don’t have to deal with any of that softened butter and cinnamon sugar messiness of traditional cinnamon rolls.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour for this scrumptious spring breakfast sweet. If you’re using bread flour, use 1/2 cup less flour than the recipe calls for!
• Sugar: You’ll need a little bit of granulated sugar in the dough to give your blueberry rolls a little extra sweetness.
• Yeast: We used Fleischmann’s RapidRise yeast, but any rapid rising yeast should work! If you don’t have rapid rise yeast on hand, you can always use regular yeast and double the rise time!
• Butter: This cinnamon roll dough has a bit of butter in it to keep your dough super tender and buttery. You’ll also need some butter for that dreamy lemon cream cheese frosting
• Eggs: Eggs will work together with the yeast to give your dough the perfect amount of structure.
• Lemon Zest: You’ll need lemon zest in both the blueberry filling as well as your cream cheese frosting. A little lemon zest will brighten up your flavors and make these blueberry cinnamon rolls taste straight out of a bakery!
• Blueberry Preserves: We used Bonne Maman Intense Blueberry Fruit Spread (because we are obsessed with it. It’s so scrumptious, just sweet enough and has whole blueberries in it. If you’re looking for a quicker blueberry breakfast sweet these baked blueberry donuts are to die for!) But, any high quality blueberry jam will work here!
• Cream Cheese: In my opinion, it’s not a cinnamon roll if it’s not slathered with cream cheese icing. Make sure your cream cheese is at true room temperature to ensure it will beat up into a fluffy, clump-free frosting.
• Powdered Sugar: The wonderful thing about these blueberry sweet rolls is that they’re not loaded up with sugar in the filling. Which means you can go all out on the frosting. Powdered sugar will thicken and sweeten your homemade icing.
• Vanilla Extract: A splash of vanilla extract goes a long way. Make sure you’re using pure vanilla extract for the best results!

How to zest a lemon:

Now, I know that you might have seen that on the ingredient list and panicked. I know that’s what I used to do when recipes called for zest. Before we get into it, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. You make lemon zest by finely grating the peel of your lemon. The zest of citrus fruits packs a potent, flavorful punch. In this case, the lemon perfectly complements the blueberry flavor and really brightens up the whole recipe.

So, how do you zest a lemon? No, it is NOT a stupid question! It’s actual super, super simple. Just wash your fruit and whip out your zester. If you don’t have a zester I would highly recommend investing in one, but you can also use a microplane. In desperate times I have even used a fine cheese grater and it does the trick. Hold the zester at an angle and pull your lemon across until you reach the white of the rind. Rotate your lemon, repeating until you’ve gone all the way around your fruit. All of the zest will gather on the back side, where you can just scrape it into your frosting and your blueberry filling.

Tips for the best blueberry cinnamon rolls

Thanks to that jar of blueberry jam, these blueberry cinnamon rolls are pretty easy to throw together. If you’re new to yeasted dough, follow the recipe closely, trust the process, and follow these 3 rules:

• Be Patient: Yeasted dough requires some extra time and planning but it’s so worth it for these pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. Make sure you give the dough the full rise time for the ultimate fluffy cinnamon rolls dough. If you try to rush the process you can end up with sad, dense rolls.
• Don’t over bake them: I think we can all agree that the best part of a cinnamon roll is the gooey, slightly underbaked center. It’s a fine line between overbaked and too doughy, so keep an eye on them in the last 10 minutes of baking and remember that they will continue to bake as they cool!
• Eat them warm: Cinnamon rolls are best hot from the oven (duh.), but don’t worry if you have leftovers that you want to enjoy later. Simply pop your blueberry cinnamon roll in the microwave for 20 seconds to get it gooey and warm again!

Happy blueberry season, my friends! We hope you enjoy these blueberry cinnamon rolls just as much as we do!

XXX

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Rise Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours
• Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls
• Category: breakfast
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

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Your classic cinnamon roll recipe got a little makeover for spring. Say hello to BLUEBERRY cinnamon rolls AKA pillowy soft sweet rolls filled with a scrumptious blueberry filling and topped with a dreamy lemon cream cheese icing.

• Author: Sofi | Broma Bakery
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Rise Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 3 hours
• Yield: 12 cinnamon rolls
• Category: breakfast
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: american

Units: USM

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 packet (2 1/4 tsp.) Rapid Yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg, room temperature

For the Blueberry Filling

• 1 8 ounce jar blueberry jam (we used Bonne Maman Intense Blueberry Fruit Spread)
• zest of 1 lemon

For the Lemon Cream Cheese Icing

• 3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• zest of 1 lemon

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix to combine.
2. In a microwave safe bowl microwave the milk and butter for 30 seconds until warm and the butter is mostly melted. The mixture should be warm, but not hot. If it is too hot, make sure to let it cool before adding to the yeast to prevent killing the yeast. Add the warm milk and butter to the flour mixture. Add the egg.
3. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until completely combined, about 2 minutes.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add 1 ½ more cups of flour, beating until combined. Add the remaining cup of flour in a little at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and form a ball.
5. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and you can stretch a piece of dough out between your fingers without it breaking. This means the gluten has developed and your dough will be pillowy soft.
6. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
7. While the dough rises combine the blueberry jam and lemon zest together. Stir to combine.
8. Once the dough has risen, roll it out into a long rectangle about 18 x 12 inches on a well floured surface. Spread the blueberry jam all the way to the edge of the dough, using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it evenly.From the long end, roll the dough away from you into a tight roll, sealing the bottom edge down by pinching the dough together.
9. Use floss or a very sharp knife to cut the dough into 12 even rolls. Place the rolls in a 9 x 13 pan lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with a dish cloth and allow to rise for another hour until doubled in size and puffed up.
10. Bake the blueberry cinnamon rolls at 350°F for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown and no longer doughy. Allow to cool.
11. While the rolls cool, make the cream cheese frosting. In a stand mixer fit with the whisk attachment combine the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt, vanilla extract and lemon zest. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing to high until light and fluffy. Spread the icing evenly over the 12 rolls. Enjoy warm!