These twisted blueberry rolls are pillowy soft, fluffy, and full of a sweet, blueberry filling. What could be better than a homemade sweet roll with a fruit filling?! NOTHING. Especially when smothered in cream cheese frosting.
Twisted blueberry rolls
I have a very high standard for any type of roll (cinnamon, chocolate, fruit, WHATEVER it is). So you can bet that I have tested this recipe time and time again to make sure it is absolutely divine. These rolls have two rises, and yes, kneading a yeast dough can be a labor of love (especially if doing it by hand) but it is SO worth it. I promise you.
Ingredients
These blueberry rolls are out of this world delicious. AND you probably already have the majority of the ingredients in your pantry. But if not, here is your grocery list:
- All purpose flour is the key to a soft and pillowy blueberry roll. It gives the rolls the perfect texture.
- Instant yeast is necessary for these rolls. Instant yeast can be mixed right in with the dry ingredients. You don't need to activate it first with warm milk like you would with active yeast.
- Granulated sugar is used to sweeten the dough just slightly. We also use granulated sugar in the blueberry filling to make it sweet and delicious!
- Salt and nutmeg are added as flavor enhancers to the dough.
- Whole milk is my favorite type of milk to use because it leads to a soft, enriched and delicious blueberry roll!
- Eggs are needed for an enriched dough. We also use one egg for an egg wash to make the dough nice and shiny!
- Unsalted butter is my preferred butter to use in baked goods, that way you can control exactly how much salt goes into your recipe. However, if salted butter is all you have, that is totally fine too!
- Blueberries are the star ingredient here. So make sure you get a good bunch from the grocery store!
- Lemon juice is added to the filling just for a little bit of liquid, and flavor of course. It adds a nice acidity to the blueberry filling.
- Cream cheese is necessary for a cream cheese frosting, obviously! I like to use full fat cream cheese here. Philadelphia cream cheese is my favorite brand to use!
- We use powdered sugar to sweeten up the cream cheese frosting.
- Vanilla extract is needed in the frosting just for a little extra flavor!
Steps for making blueberry rolls
Like I said earlier, making blueberry rolls are a labor of love. It requires 8-10 minutes of kneading, making the filling, two rises, baking and making the frosting. But it is SO worth it. See below for all of the steps.
- Make the dough and knead for 8-10 minutes until the dough passes the window pane test.
- Let the dough rise for 1 ½ hours in a well-oiled bowl.
- Roll the dough out into a 16x20 inch rectangle. Spread on the filling and fold the dough into three equal parts.
- Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Make a slit in one piece, but don't cut it completely in half. Weave the pieces together, and roll it up into a bun. Repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
- Let the rolls rise in the pan for another 35-40 minutes.
- Brush an egg wash onto the rolls and bake for 14-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Let the rolls cool slightly, then SMOTHER them with the cream cheese frosting. Dive in!
How to know when to stop kneading your dough
There are a few tips and tricks to ensure you knead your dough for the right amount of time. My two favorite are the following:
- Press your finger into the dough. If the dough bounces back, it is ready to go! If your finger leaves an indent in the dough, it needs more kneading.
- The window pane test. This one is by far my favorite! Rip off a small piece of dough and place it in between your fingers. Carefully, spread your fingers apart to stretch out the dough. If the dough stretches easily without ripping AND you can see light passing through it, you are golden and it is good to go to rise!
Yeast tips for beginners
Don't get me wrong, working with yeast can be intimidating! Here are some tips that helped me a bunch as a novice yeast user:
- Make sure your yeast is fresh. This is a simple one, but yeast can be dead. I once tried making cinnamon rolls over and over and over again but the dough was just NOT rising. I thought I wasn't activating it correctly, but turns out the yeast was just dead.
- Allow the dough to rise for the entire instructed time. Don't rush the rise process! Interrupting the rise can cause your rolls to be dense and just not good.
- Sometimes the gluten needs to relax. If you are rolling out the dough and it just keeps shrinking as you roll it, stop what you're doing, cover it lightly, and let it sit for 10 minutes to relax the gluten.
Other bread recipes you may like
Twisted Blueberry Rolls
These twisted blueberry rolls are pillowy soft, fluffy, and full of a sweet, blueberry filling. There is truly nothing better than a homemade sweet roll, especially when it's covered in cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 ½ cups (313 grams) all purpose flour plus more for kneading
- 1 package instant yeast must be instant! 1 standard package of yeast is 2 ¼ teaspoons.
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¾ cup (180 mL) whole milk room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
Blueberry Filling
- 1 ½ cups (230 grams) fresh blueberries
- ⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon lemon juice
Egg Wash
- 1 egg lightly beaten
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup (4 oz) cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (60 grams) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl if kneading by hand), whisk together the flour, instant yeast, granulated sugar, salt and nutmeg.
- Add the milk, egg and melted and cooled butter.
Kneading
- If you are using a stand mixer, using the hook attachment, mix on low-medium speed until the dough comes together, scraping the flour off the sides of the bowl if necessary. Once the dough forms, turn the mixer up to medium speed and knead for an additional 8-10 minutes. If the dough is sticking to the bottom/sides of the bowl, add more flour tablespoon by tablespoon. You may need to add an extra 4-5 tablespoons of flour. The dough should come together and be slightly sticky but smooth.
- If you are making the dough by hand, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until a dough forms. Lightly flour your work space (and your hands) and begin to knead the dough. If the dough is super sticky, add more flour tablespoon by tablespoon. You may need to add an additional 4-5 tablespoons of flour so it is not super sticky. Knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes. The dough should come together and be slightly sticky but smooth.
- The dough is done kneading when it passes the window pane test. Rip off a small piece of dough and place it in between your fingers. Carefully, spread your fingers apart to stretch out the dough. If the dough stretches easily without ripping AND you can see light passing through it, it does not need anymore kneading. Additionally, if you press your finger into the dough and it bounces back, it is ready to go!
First Rise
- Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a well-oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm environment (in the microwave/in the oven - both OFF) for 1 ½ hours. It should double in size.
Blueberry Filling
- While the dough is rising, make the filling. Over the stove on medium heat, combine the blueberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice, constantly stirring until the blueberries get softer, about 2-3 minutes
- Using the back of a wooden spoon, smash the blueberries so that they release their juices. Let the mixture simmer, while stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool while the dough completes its first rise.
- Once the dough has finished its first rise, grease a muffin tin or line a baking sheet with parchment paper (both work) and set aside. Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a 16x20 inch rectangle.
- Spread the filling on the right ⅔ of the rectangle.
- Then, take the left ⅓ that is not covered in filling, and fold it towards the center.
- Then, take the right side and fold it over towards the center. It is like you have a piece of paper and you are folding it to get three equal-sized parts.
Preparing the rolls
- Trim the edges of the log because they do not have much filling on it. Then, using a sharp knife, cut the dough horizontally into 12 equal pieces.
- Working piece by piece, make a slit in each piece of dough, but not cutting it completely in half.
- Weave the two pieces together and lie it flat on your work surface.
- Starting from one end, roll the dough up onto itself to create one big bun. Place the roll into your muffin tin/on your baking sheet, and repeat this process with the rest of the dough.
Second Rise
- Cover the pan with a towel and leave the rolls to rise for another 35-40 minutes. They should fluff up.
Baking
- When the dough has 5-10 minutes left to rise, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Lightly whisk an egg to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the edges of the rolls using a pastry brush or your finger.
- Place the rolls in the oven and bake them for 14-15 minutes until slightly golden on top.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the cream cheese frosting. Beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and salt until super smooth. Once the rolls are cooled, spread the frosting on top of the rolls. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Reyna
Hello just wondering how well these freeze?
Jess Italiano
Hi Reyna,
I've never frozen them before so I can't say exactly - but I imagine they are best when enjoyed fresh. If frozen and then thawed, I feel like they would get soggy from the condensation as they are thawing.
Bridgette
Hey there,
I just made these for the first time. They seem a little dense and dry- though admittedly, when I was needing the dough a struggled to get it to pass the window test or to know how much the dough should bounce back when poked. Are they dense from being over or under kneaded or something like over cooked?
Jess Italiano
Hi Bridgette - I am sorry to hear this happened to you!! Dense bread tends to be from the kneading process, typically under kneading. Were you kneading by hand or using a mixer? The dough needs to be kneaded for a solid 10 minutes and if kneaded by hand, perhaps a little longer. Did the dough double in size?
Kate
These were pretty tasty! I added lemon zest to the filling. 10/10 dough, have never had that much luck with a dough. Appreciated all the tips for the dough as well.
Jess Italiano
Yay!! No problem!