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Perfect to bring along to a spring or summer brunch, to make on a lazy weekend morning or just to enjoy as a delightful dessert, these Twisted Blueberry Sweet Rolls are truly divine. They are sticky, sweet, loaded with a juicy homemade blueberry jam that’s nestled into my signature sweet roll dough creating a combination that is out of this world.
I had a batch cooling on the counter last week when my twin sons came home from school. Allow me to share their response after eating one…
Nate: “Those are some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.”
I’ll take that as a win, ladies and gentlemen. And so should you. If you love blueberries you are going to love these delectable rolls.
You can add a little drizzle of glaze if you like as well.
Either way, they are divine.
Let me show you how to make it happen.
NOTE: Try not to be overwhelmed with all the steps. It really is pretty simple to execute, it just takes a bit of time and patience. This is one of those recipes that would fall under the “made with love” category. A labor of love, is what I mean here. Some recipes are that. And some are super fast and easy. I have to admit to adoring both kinds.
Start with frozen blueberries, white sugar, brown sugar, a bit of lemon juice and a cornstarch slurry. This cooks and thickens into a sticky jam (should only take 20 minutes or so), that can be made up to three days in advance. If you are making it in advance, you’ll want to warm it just a bit before you add it to the dough, so it will spread evenly.
When your dough is ready, heat your oven to 170 degrees.
Let the dough rest on your counter for 5 minutes, then roll it out into a large rectangle. Mine was about 12 by 16 inches. Spread the blueberry jam over the right 2/3s of the dough, make sure to leave at least an inch of dough around the edges.
Fold the vacant third of the dough over into the center, then the side with the jam.
Using a sharp knife or sharp dough scrapper, cut the dough into 4 equal parts. Then cut each part into thirds, giving youself 12 rectangles.
Please excuse this blurry photo! My hands were getting so sticky. 🙂 Also, I suppose an out of focus photo is one way you can know this is not an AI generated kind of operation I am running here. Real lady here, writing to you from Utah.
Cut three strips into each rectangle, leaving about 1 inch of the rectangle dough uncut. Braid these three strips over the top and under each other. Just like you would braid a little girls hair.
Carefully roll the braid into a ball, leaving the thicker uncut side of the rectangle underneath. It will act as a support for the twist.
Now that is a beautiful mess. 😉
Place the rolls into your warm oven and allow them to rise for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up. You don’t need them to double in size here, but they should certainly be puffy and taking up more space in the pan. They will continue to rise as the oven temperature rises and as they bake.
Turn your oven up to 350 degrees (leave the pan in the oven) and let the rolls bake until golden on top and bottom. Should take about 20-25 minutes.
So good!
When the rolls have cooled add the glaze if you like!
Hope you get a chance to try these, my friends. They are a delight.
Looking for more amazing Sweet Roll Recipes? Here are a few of my favorites…
Ingredients
- Blueberry Jam:
- 4 C frozen blueberries
- 3/4 C brown sugar
- 3/4 C white sugar
- 3 Tb lemon juice (bottled is fine)
- 1 Tb water
- 1 1/2 Tb cold water + 2 tsp cornstarch (this is the cornstarch slurry)
- dash salt
- 1 Tb butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Sweet Roll Dough:
- 1 1/4 C whole milk
- 4 Tb butter
- 1/2 C warm water
- 5-6 C flour
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 Tb yeast (I used instant)
- Glaze: (optional)
- 2 C powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tb half and half
- 1 tsp vanilla
- dash salt
Instructions
BLUEBERRY JAM INSTRUCTIONS:
- Make your blueberry jam first. Add the frozen berries, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice and water to a sauce pan. Give it a nice stir and heat it over medium high heat, stirring on occasion.
- When it starts to simmer, stir together the cornstarch slurry and pour it into the pot. Give everything a stir. Keep it rolling at a bit more than a simmer, stirring occasionally. It will thicken up and get nice and sticky for you after about 20 minutes or so.
- Remove it from the heat and add the vanilla, butter, and salt. Stir to combine. Set it aside to cool while you make the dough.
DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour the milk into a glass measuring cup and heat it in the microwave for 2 minutes.
- Add the butter to the milk and allow it to soften and melt slightly.
- Into your stand mixer place the warm water, 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, and eggs. Mix for just a minute or two, so the eggs get incorporated. Add the warm milk/butter and mix again. Add 2 more cups of flour and the yeast. Mix and while the mixer is on low speed, add the remaining flour. You know you have enough when the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer and remove the dough hook. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size. Should take between 45 and 60 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
- When the dough has risen, turn your oven on to 170 degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spray your counter with cooking spray. Remove the dough from the bowl and set it on your counter. Let it rest for 5 minutes (please don't skip this step, your dough will give you trouble when you try to roll it out if it hasn't rested for a bit).
- Roll the dough out into a large rectangle. Mine was about 12 x 18 inches.
- Check to see if your jam is still warm. If it's gotten too stiff or cold, just heat it up again for a bit on the stove top. It will spread better for you if it's warm. Spread the jam over 2/3 of the dough, making sure to leave about an inch along all the edges.
- Fold the vacant third of the dough over into the center, then the side with the jam.
- Spray a large sharp knife or sharp dough scrapper with cooking spray, then cut the dough into 4 equal parts. Then cut each part into thirds, giving yourself 12 rectangles.
- Cut three strips into each rectangle, leaving about 1 inch of the rectangle dough uncut. Braid these three strips over the top and under each other. Just like you would braid a little girls hair.
- Carefully roll the braid into a ball, leaving the thicker uncut side of the rectangle underneath. It will act as a support for the twist. Place each roll on the large baking sheet.
- Place the rolls into your warm oven and allow them to rise for about 20 minutes, or until puffed up. You don't need them to double in size here, but they should be puffy and spreading into each other. They will continue to rise as the oven temperature rises and as they bake.
- Turn your oven up to 350 degrees (leave the pan in the oven) and let the rolls bake until golden on top and bottom. Should take about 20-25 minutes.
- When the rolls have cooled, mix the glaze and drizzle it across the top if you like.
Hope you get a chance to try these, my friends. They are a delight.
Notes
NOTE: Try not to be overwhelmed with all the steps. It really is pretty simple to execute, it just takes a bit of time and patience. This is one of those recipes that would fall under the "made with love" category. A labor of love, is what I mean here. Some recipes are that. And some are super fast and easy. I have to admit to adoring both kinds. ADDITIONAL NOTE: The blueberry jam can be made up to 3 days in advance. When you are ready to use, just warm it up slightly so it's easier to spread.
Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up! (Blueberry Jam recipe inspired by Sturbridge Bakery)
I can’t get the print function to work. I thought it might be a blocked pop up, but that’s not it. Any trick to printing?
Tara,
Thank you so much for letting me know. It looks like it’s working on my end. Can you give me some details about what you see when you try to print so we can trouble shoot and get the issue resolved.
Thank you and looking forward to your response,
~Jamie