Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls start with a soft, sweet dough, are filled with lemon-infused sugar and blueberry filling, and then are topped with a sweet lemon glaze. 

Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls

We make and eat cinnamon rolls so often at my home, that a few weeks ago I decided it was time to change up the flavor profile a bit. After a couple of weeks of testing and perfecting, Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls hit the table and my boys haven’t let me go back to making plain cinnamon rolls since!

These sweet rolls are incredible! They’re sweet, buttery, tart, fresh, and vibrant. They’re bursting with juicy sweet blueberries and covered in a sweet-tart lemon glaze.

Today I’ve included step-by-step photos, a full video tutorial, and very detailed instructions so you can make and enjoy these Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls even if you don’t have much baking experience. 

How to make Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Step one: Warm milk and proof the yeast.

• Warm the milk to 100 degrees F and remove it from the stovetop. If you have a candy thermometer or meat thermometer, you can use that for accuracy.
• Next, we proof the yeast, which means that we activate it. To do this, add the yeast and sugar on top of the warm milk, give it a quick stir, and let it stand for 5-10 minutes. (See the pictures above for how the yeast looks before and after it’s proofed). 

Step two: Combine butter, vanilla, and egg.

• While the yeast is activating, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and let it cool back to room temperature – it’s important the butter isn’t hot so when it’s added to the egg, the egg doesn’t cook.
• Whisk together the butter, egg yolk (reserve the whites and use it in this Egg Wrap recipe!), and pure vanilla extract.

Step three: Add everything to the stand mixer.

• Now add that butter and egg mixture to the base of your stand mixer.
• Add the activated yeast mixture (see quick tip above) right on top.
• Mix everything together in the base of the stand mixer.

Step four: Add in dry ingredients.

• Add the flour and salt right on top of the wet ingredients in the bowl of the stand mixer.
• Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky (~2 minutes), scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed.
• Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, (~5-6 minutes).
• If the dough is not gathering around the hook, very slowly add in some extra flour. We want the dough to be slightly sticky and tacky, so resist the urge to add too much additional flour; this will take away from the softness of the dough.

Step five: Let the dough rise.

• Gently form the dough into a ball and place it in a large, greased bowl. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled– about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Once the dough has risen, give it a punch to release the air! (Kids can be very helpful here.)

Step six: roll out the dough

• Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough. Form a rectangle shape that is approximately 15×12 inches (with the 15-inch side facing you). Avoid overworking the dough at this point.
• In a separate bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the zest and sugar together with your fingers until the zest is broken down and fragrant. Stir in the lemon juice; this is our sweet filling for these sweet rolls.
• Spread the softened butter, lemon sugar mixture, and fresh blueberries over the dough.
• Starting on the long end, tightly roll up the dough jelly-roll style. You should end up with an even-sized cylinder.
• Cut the dough cylinder into 12 even slices (use your measuring tape for perfect accuracy!). Use a sharp knife so that you don’t squish the dough as you cut.

Step seven: Let the rolls rise again.

• Generously grease a 9×13-inch pan and place the sliced rolls onto the pan.
• Cover the rolls and allow them to rise for 20-30 minutes or until nearly doubled. 
• Once the rolls have risen, brush warmed heavy cream evenly over the rolls. This makes the Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls gooey, delicious, flavorful, and also slightly caramelizes all the edges. 

Step eight: Bake and glaze.

• Place the pan of rolls in the oven and prepare the lemon glaze while they’re baking.
• Once the sweet rolls are out of the oven, let them cool for 5-10 minutes before spreading the glaze evenly over the rolls.
• Enjoy while warm and gooey!

Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Roll tips

• Give yourself plenty of time to make these sweet rolls. This recipe takes a good amount of time! Even though a lot of the time is hands-off, it’s still time and labor intensive. Give yourself plenty of time; there can be a lot of variance in how the dough rises and how the sweet rolls bake, depending on the altitude where you live, the humidity, and other factors.
• While this recipe is very precise, the flour measurement can greatly vary, again due to many factors. Ultimately, you are looking for a slightly sticky and tacky dough that gathers around the hook and doesn’t stick to the side of the stand mixer.
• Avoid metallic baking pans. Metal pans and lemon don’t mix well; I’ve found when baking lemon treats in a metal pan, the treats end up tasting metallic. Use a ceramic or glass pan for the best results.

More Baked Treats

• Peanut Butter Brownie Bites with a chocolate ganache topping
• Chocolate Muffins Costco copycat
• Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats with chocolate cereal
• Edible Cookie Dough with food-safe flour
• Simple Hawaiian Roll Cinnamon Rolls

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5 from 2 votes

Lemon-Blueberry Sweet Rolls

By Chelsea Lords

These sweet rolls start with a soft, sweet dough, filled with lemon-infused sugar and blueberry filling; they’re topped with a sweet lemon glaze. 

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 lemon blueberry sweet rolls

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

For the Dough:

• ▢ 1 cup whole milk (I wouldn't recommend a lower fat)
• ▢ 2 and 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (not instant)
• ▢ 1/3 cup + 1/2 teaspoon white granulated sugar, separated
• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 large egg yolk
• ▢ 2 and 3/4 cups white, all-purpose flour, plus additional flour if needed
• ▢ 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the Filling:

• ▢ 4 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
• ▢ Zest of 1 large lemon (~1 tablespoon)
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• ▢ 1 cup fresh blueberries
• ▢ 1/3 cup heavy cream, slightly warmed

For the Frosting/Glaze

• ▢ Zest of 1 large lemon (~1 tablespoon)
• ▢ 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 1 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ Pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions 

Make the Dough:

• Heat the milk in a medium pot over low heat until it reaches 100 degrees F. Remove from heat and add in the yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Give it a quick stir. Let sit until foamy, which should take roughly 5-10 minutes. (If the mixture doesn't foam you may need new yeast or you could have killed the yeast with milk that was too hot. Start over or the rolls won't rise).
• While the yeast is proofing, melt the 4 tablespoons butter and let it return to room temperature. Once cooled, whisk in the vanilla extract and egg yolk until smooth. Pour this mixture into the base of a stand mixer along with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar. Pour the activated yeast and milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix everything until combined. Add the flour and salt on top.
• Mix on low speed with the dough hook until thick and slightly sticky (~2 minutes), scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Knead on medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, (~5-6 minutes). If the dough is not gathering around the hook you can slowly add additional flour (1/4 cup up to 3/4 cup extra). You DO want the dough to be slightly sticky and tacky. Resist the urge to add too much additional flour as this will take away from the softness of the dough, but the dough should gather around the dough hook and be slightly sticky and tacky, but not stick to your fingers.
• Remove the dough and shape it into a ball (again, it will be a little sticky!). Grease the mixing bowl with cooking spray or butter and return the dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the spray or butter. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and let rise until doubled. This takes roughly 45 mins to 1 hour 15 minutes. Placing the dough in a warm(but not too warm)environment will make it rise a bit faster.
• Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out the dough. Try to get a rectangle shape that is approximately 15 x 12 inches (with the 15 inch side facing you). Avoid overworking the dough.

For the Filling:

• With a table knife, spread dough evenly with 4 tablespoons of softened butter (leaving a 1- inch border on the dough). In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant and zest is broken down. Add the lemon juice and mix. Sprinkle this lemon sugar over the butter. Sprinkle and gently press the blueberries evenly over the lemon sugar mixture.
• Using a very sharp knife (I use a bread knife), cut the roll of dough into 12 equal slices and place (cut side up) in a well-greased 9x13-inch ceramic or glass pan (avoid metal pans if possible; metal pans will sometimes make the sweet rolls taste metallic and react with the acid in the recipe).
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cover the rolls in the pan and allow them to rise until nearly doubled, about 20-30 minutes.
• Warm the heavy cream for 15-20 seconds in the microwave (you don't want it hot, just not cold/straight from the fridge).
• Using a pastry brush, brush the heavy cream over the risen rolls and allow it to soak down in and around the rolls.
• Bake cinnamon rolls at 375 degrees F for 30-35 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden brown at the edges and the center of the rolls are cooked through.

For the Frosting/Glaze:

• While the rolls are cooling, prepare the glaze. Whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, melted butter, powdered sugar, and salt.
• Allow sweet rolls to cool at room temperature for 5-10 minutes and then spread the glaze evenly over the rolls. Enjoy warm!

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1Sweet Roll | Calories: 379kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 106mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 421IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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