Growing up in our household, Christmas morning begun with fresh cinnamon rolls, hot out of the oven, accompanied with a mug of cocoa. Of course this was after rummaging under the tree looking for presents marked “For Mary,” and after emptying out my Christmas stocking.
The aroma of fresh baked cinnamons rolls filled the house, making it feel homey and Christmassy. After a decent amount of time enjoying our presents and having a fill of candy, my siblings and I would sit down at the table for our mother’s famous cinnamon rolls.
I still can’t think of Christmas without thinking of these delicious treats. So, as the holiday quickly approaches I couldn’t resist in making some of my own rolls, this time with a little twist. Instead of cinnamon and brown sugar, try using blueberry jam as filling.
4 -5 cups all-purpose flour
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 ¼ cup milk
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
6 tbsp. butter, softened
1 jar (about 1 cup) of blueberry jam
For the glaze:
Powdered sugar
Milk
Orange zest
Warm the milk on the stovetop, just enough so it will dissolve the yeast. I use evaporated milk, because that’s what my mom used, plus it’s richer and makes for a sweeter dough. Pour the milk into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast and sugar. Give it a quick little stir and let it dissolve.
Add the melted butter and salt. Add the eggs.
Slowly mix in the flour, one cup at a time with a wooden spoon. Once you stir it as best you can with a wooden spoon, use your hands to knead the dough. Scrape the bowl with your hands in between kneading. Grease your bowl with a little oil. Cover your dough with a dishtowel and leave it alone to rise in a warm place. This takes about an hour, to an hour and a half.
Once the dough has risen, punch the dough down. Lightly flour a surface that you can roll out your dough. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin into the best rectangle you can manage. Spoon on the blueberry jam and spread with the back of the spoon. Roll up from the short side, and seal edges. Be warned, this can be pretty messy since the jam makes this job extra slippery. Slice the roll in 1 ½’ inch rolls. Arrange slice in a greased baking pan. Smear each roll with a little butter on the top. Cover; let rise until they have doubled. This takes about 30 minutes.
In the meantime heat your oven to 350 degrees. Once the oven and the rolls are ready, bake for 25-30 minutes. The rolls should be slightly browned at the bottom.
Drizzle the rolls with your glaze and garnish with a little orange zest.