This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
By adding blueberry jam to the filling and icing, these blueberry cinnamon rolls give a special touch to a traditional breakfast treat.
When it comes to breakfast, there are two options - sweet or savory. And when it comes to the sweet options, you could have banana chocolate chip pancakes or churro donuts or chocolate croissants.
But to me the original king of sweet breakfasts is cinnamon rolls. Who doesn't love sweet rolls, cinnamon and icing? Well by adding blueberry flavor throughout, this recipe is kicked up a notch.
Why This Recipe Works
- Color - you get a fun purplish color from the icing when you mix the blueberries with the other ingredients, making it a unique looking dish.
- Flavorful - if you like blueberries, it is hard to go wrong with this. It adds a slightly sweet/acidic flavor.
- Make-ahead - the beauty of these blueberry cinnamon rolls is you can prep the day before, then through in the oven the morning or night you are ready to eat.
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Milk - it is important to use whole milk as it has the right fat content to create that fluffy texture.
- Instant yeast - I'm a fan of instant yeast for this recipe as you can just throw it in with the ingredients and you don't have to activate it with water.
- Blueberry jam - I like to use blueberry jam for the filling and icing for its ease of use.
- Sugar - light brown sugar is used for the filling and powdered sugar is used for the icing that goes on top of the rolls.
Ingredient Swaps
As with any recipe, you can mix up the ingredients. Some variations include:
- While I like instant yeast, you can use active dry. You'll need to heat up ¼ cup of water to 110°F and let yeast bloom for about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- I like the ease of blueberry jam, but you can cook down 2 cups of fresh blueberries with ¼ cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice until breaking down.
- While I'm a fan of light brown sugar for the filling, you can use granulated or dark brown sugar as well.
Step-by-Step Photos
Please note full ingredient list and instructions can be found in recipe card below.
Make the dough by adding all of the ingredients a bowl of a stand mixer. With the dough attachment, knead until everything is combined, about 4-5 minutes.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
Roll out the dough to a rectangle that is about 12x16 inches. Spread the softened butter over the dough before adding the blueberry jam on top.
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt for the filling before pressing into the jam.
Roll the dough up into a log, trying to keep it tight throughout. Cut into 12 rolls, about 1" thick. Place in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to a fridge to rise overnight.
Bake the rolls at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and the middles are done. Make the blueberry icing in a bowl and spread on top before serving.
FAQs
You want to add just enough flour where the dough is just starting to not stick to the sides of the bowl. It varies between 3 ½ and 4 cups.
No you can do the second rise at room temperature for 30 minutes in a pinch. I just prefer to make ahead and throw in the oven in the morning.
As I said above, you need to add just the right amount of flour. Too little flour and the dough will be too sticky and will result in dense rolls. Too much and they'll be tough and dry.
You know the blueberry cinnamon rolls are done by inserting an instant read thermometer in the middle of one and it registers at 190°F.
Yes, cinnamon rolls can be frozen both before and after baking.
When freezing before baking, let them rise once and cover with foil before freezing for up to 6 weeks. When ready to bake, let them thaw in the fridge overnight.
When freezing after baking, let them cool completely and then place in an airtight container before freezing for up to 3 months.
Equipment
The equipment you use is important to how the cinnamon rolls turn out. What is needed is the following:
- Stand Mixer - saves the arms and shortens the kneading time.
- Rolling pin - need a rolling pin to evenly roll out the dough to a 12x16 inch rectangle.
- Glass baking dish - you want a 9x13 size to fit everything.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Don't overheat the milk. When a recipe says to use warm milk, that means it should be a little bit warm, like when you take a bath or a shower. Not too hot or it will hurt the yeast that helps the rolls rise! The milk should be between 100 and 115°F. If you don't have a special tool to check the temperature, don't worry! You can test the milk by putting your finger in it. It should feel warm, but not so hot that you want to quickly take your finger out.
- Use melted butter in dough. When we use melted butter in the dough, it mixes in better and makes the rolls more delicious!
- Use room temperature butter for filling. When you make the filling for the rolls, it's best to use butter that is at room temperature. If you use butter that has been melted, it will come out too quickly when we roll up the dough and you'll lose some of the yummy filling. You want to keep as much filling inside the rolls as possible!
- Dental floss. If you have dental floss, you can use it to cut the dough when making the rolls. This is better than using a knife because it won't squash the dough and will help the rolls keep their shape.
- Chill the dough overnight. Not only does chilling overnight break up making the cinnamon rolls over two days, it allows for the rolls to really double in size.
Other Breakfast Recipes
If you’ve tried this blueberry cinnamon rolls recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! These chocolate cinnamon rolls are super tasty as well. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Cinnamon Rolls
- ¾ cup warm whole milk
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 ½ - 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup blueberry jam
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Blueberry Icing
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup blueberry jam
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, instant yeast, light brown sugar, eggs, butter, 3 ½ cups flour, salt and cinnamon. With a dough attachment, mix the ingredients until the flour is incorporated, about 4-5 minutes. If dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time but it's better to be on the sticky side. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt for the filling. Set aside.
- Lightly dust your work surface with some flour. Remove dough from mixing bowl and punch down. Roll the dough to about ¼" thick and a rectangle about 12x16 inches. It doesn't have to be perfect. I use a 9x13 baking dish as reference.
- Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough. Spread the jam on top of the butter before sprinkling the cinnamon mixture over top and lightly push into the jam and butter mixture.
- Starting with the long edge close to you, roll the dough into a log, trying to keep tight throughout. With a sharp knife, cut 12 rolls about 1" thick. Place the rolls in a parchment-lined 9x13 baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to fridge to rise overnight. (You can let rise for 30 minutes at room temperature in a pinch)
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and the middles are done.
- While baking rolls, make the blueberry icing. In a stand mixer, beat together the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, blueberry jam, vanilla extract and salt until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, just add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Spread the frosting over the warmed rolls and serve immediately.
Notes
- Don't overheat the milk. When a recipe says to use warm milk, that means it should be a little bit warm, like when you take a bath or a shower. Not too hot or it will hurt the yeast that helps the rolls rise! The milk should be between 100 and 115°F. If you don't have a special tool to check the temperature, don't worry! You can test the milk by putting your finger in it. It should feel warm, but not so hot that you want to quickly take your finger out.
- Use melted butter in dough. When we use melted butter in the dough, it mixes in better and makes the rolls more delicious!
- Use room temperature butter for filling. When you make the filling for the rolls, it's best to use butter that is at room temperature. If you use butter that has been melted, it will come out too quickly when we roll up the dough and you'll lose some of the yummy filling. You want to keep as much filling inside the rolls as possible!
- Dental floss. If you have dental floss, you can use it to cut the dough when making the rolls. This is better than using a knife because it won't squash the dough and will help the rolls keep their shape.
- Chill the dough overnight. Not only does chilling overnight break up making the cinnamon rolls over two days, it allows for the rolls to really double in size.
Leave a Reply