Something about the greening of the grass in my backyard spurs the urge to make brunch. Where cold and gray winter mornings have me reaching for a bowl of warm oatmeal, I'm now craving crêpes or a spinach omelet eaten in the morning sun with the day still ahead, just as the summer is yet to come.
It's such cravings that lead to the production of 80 cinnamon rolls as I search for the one I am dreaming of. Of course, now armed with the recipe, it's only right that we should tinker a bit, and what came next was the spreading of blueberry preserves, tucked into an ever-so-lightly lemon-dusted dough and baked into fist-sized puffs of breakfast heaven.
These lemon blueberry rolls take a traditional cinnamon roll dough and introduce it to the brightness of lemon zest and a filling of blueberry preserves. They are a fun and unexpected twist on the classic.
Lemon Blueberry Rolls
1 ¼ cups whole milk
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
½ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
10 oz Cascadian Farm Blueberry Fruit Spread
Before baking:
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 teaspoons milk
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until bubbles form around the edges. Turn the burner off and add butter, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Stir to combine, then continue stirring until the butter melts. Allow the mixture to sit until it reaches between 110º and 120º F. Add the yeast and let it sit for 10 minutes, until it turns frothy.
Pour the milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and start adding the flour a ½ cup at a time. Once all the flour is incorporated, cover and let it rise in the bowl for one full hour. Punch down the dough and knead lightly. Roll the dough into a large rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread the blueberry preserves over the entire surface and roll into a long tube. Cut 1 1/2" sections from the tube for the rolls. Place 2” apart on a parchment-lined sheet or in a baking dish. Allow to rise for 45-60 minutes. The dough will continue to rise after you put it in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425º. Beat together egg and water and brush over the tops of the rolls. Bake for 8-12 minutes, remove from oven.
Mix together all glaze ingredients. Drizzle lightly over warm rolls. Serve warm or up to 24 hours later if stored in an airtight container.
Makes 20 rolls.
Photo by Shaina Olmanson
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