Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Lemon Glaze

Or try my glazed lemon blueberry scones.

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Who’s with me in that?

Pastries, jumbo muffins, buttermilk pancakes, gooey cinnamon rolls, french toast, crumb-filled coffee cake, granola parfaits, buttery croissants, veggie omelets, coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Oh, and these and these. And when it’s breakfast-for-dinner night? Forget about it. It feels like Christmas and my birthday all in one day. Does it get any better?

Most of the time I’m a fruit and yogurt gal. (Did I mention coffee too?) There’s not much time for anything else in the morning as Kevin’s running out the door and I’m catching up with my inbox and planning out the day’s work. However, when we both have time to sit down together, I love to whip up some homemade sweet rolls. You could say… I’m addicted.

Today’s fruity sweet roll comes from my Easy Cinnamon Roll recipe. It’s an easy yeasted roll recipe that is perfect for the baker who wants to learn how to bake with yeast for the first time. What makes them so easy? Well, they only require one rise!

You’ll find that the typical sweet roll or homemade bread recipe requires two rises – a first rise of about 1-2 hours, then a second rise for another two hours or overnight. I developed a sweet roll recipe that bypasses the first rise all together.  With a growing to-do list everyday, I am always looking for ways to cut down time on recipes without sacrificing taste or texture.

Let’s discuss the filling.  It’s a simple mixture of frozen blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Make the filling before you make the dough so the blueberries have to absorb the sugar and cornstarch.  Using frozen blueberries is important. Fresh blueberries won’t release their juices like frozen blueberries do. If you have a plethora of fresh blueberries to use up, I suggest making these muffins.

Using frozen blueberries means that you can bake these glorious sweet rolls in the dead of winter, too!

Since the blueberries are frozen, they will make the dough cold after you fill it, cut into rolls, and allow to rise.  Even though this recipe is developed from my Easy Cinnamon Roll dough, today’s rolls will take longer to rise since the dough is cold as a result of the blueberries. Does that make sense? The rise time is about 2 hours. Still much shorter than most typical recipes.

The rolls need a warm, draft-free environment to rise. Here’s what I do: Heat the oven to 200F. Turn off the oven. Place the rolls inside for 2 hours. That’s it!

When the rolls are rising, the frozen blueberries release their juices and fill the bottom of the pan with a layer of sweet blueberry juice. As the rolls bake, the blueberry juice thickens and bakes up into the bottom of the roll. A layer of thick blueberry goo at the bottom of the pan. I mean, it’s practically heaven.

After the rolls have risen and you’ve baked them, it’s time for a glaze.  I made an easy sweet lemon glaze to pair with the fluffy dough and juicy blueberries. A drippy, zesty coating that pairs perfectly with the doughy rolls. I love lemon and blueberry together! The glaze is a simple mix of powdered sugar, a touch of cream, and the juice of a lemon. There’s really no science behind it. You truly can control its lemon flavor and thickness– use more/less lemon juice, more/less sugar, and more/less cream. I use half-and-half, but heavy cream or milk will do the trick.

Completely drench the rolls with the glaze right before serving. 😀

Other sweet rolls you’ll love:

• Easy orange sweet rolls
• Maple pecan sticky buns
• Big giant cinnamon rolls
• Easy slow cooker cinnamon rolls
• Strawberry rolls with sweet lemon glaze
• Lemon sweet rolls
• Pumpkin cinnamon rolls
• Banana chocolate chip cinnamon rolls
• Cake batter cinnamon rolls
• Easy cinnamon rolls (from scratch)

Blueberry Sweet Rolls with Sweet Lemon Glaze

Yield: 11-12 rolls

Soft & fluffy homemade sweet rolls filled with juicy blueberries and covered in a sweet lemon glaze. These are unbelievable!

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Rolls

• 2 and 3/4 cups (345g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
• 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 packet Red Star Platinum Yeast or any instant yeast (1 packet = 2 and 1/4 teaspoons)¹
• 1/2 cup (120ml) water
• 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
• 2 and 1/2 Tablespoons (40g) unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, at room temperature

Filling

• 1 and 1/3 cups (225g) frozen blueberries, not thawed²
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Sweet Lemon Glaze

• Juice from 1 large lemon³
• 1 cup (120g) confectioners' sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) milk, half-and-half, or heavy cream

Directions:

1. Make the filling first: Combine the frozen blueberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl. Gently toss around and let sit while you prepare the dough.
2. Make the dough: Set aside 1/2 cup of flour. In a large bowl, toss the remaining flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together. Set aside.
3. Heat the water, milk, and butter together in the microwave until the butter is melted and the mixture is hot to touch. About 115-120 degrees F. Stir the butter mixture into the flour mixture. Add the egg and only enough of the reserved flour to make a soft dough. I only needed 1/3 cup, but you may need the full 1/2 cup. Dough will be ready when it gently pulls away from the side of the bowl and has an elastic consistency.
4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5-6 minutes. Place in a lightly greased bowl (I used non-stick spray) and let rest for about 10 minutes.
5. Fill the rolls: After 10 minutes, roll the dough out in a 14x8 inch rectangle. Pour the sugared blueberries on top and gently spread them to cover the dough surface. Roll up the dough tightly. Cut into 11-12 even pieces and place in a lightly greased 9-inch round pan. I used a pie dish, lightly sprayed with nonstick spray.
6. Loosely cover the rolls with aluminum foil and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 2-3 hours. Here is what I do: heat the oven to 200 degrees F. Turn oven off. Place rolls inside oven and allow to rise.
7. After the rolls have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until lightly browned. I covered the rolls with aluminum foil after 15 minutes to avoid heavy browning.
8. Make the glaze: Right before serving, top your blueberry rolls with glaze. Mix all of the glaze ingredients together. If you prefer a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar and then add salt to cut the sweetness, if desired. If you'd like it thinner, add more lemon juice or cream. Pour over sweet rolls.
9. Rolls are best enjoyed the same day, but stay fresh in a covered container for 5 days in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes:

Overnight: This dough can be made the night before through step 5. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, remove from the refrigerator and let rise, about 1 hour. Continue with step 7.

1. If you replace Red Star Platinum with an active dry yeast, the rise time may be 50% longer.
2. You must use frozen (not fresh) blueberries in this recipe. Do not thaw.
3. Leave out the lemon juice if you do not prefer lemon glaze. Replace with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract instead.

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Can’t get enough! Dare I say better than regular cinnamon rolls??