Easy Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

Easy Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls with a homemade blueberry cream cheese frosting. These cinnamon rolls are the perfect breakfast treat. Soft, fluffy dough is swirled with a cinnamon brown sugar filling and homemade blueberry jam. Each roll is frosted with a generous amount of blueberry cream cheese frosting that melts into the cinnamon rolls, making them gooey and delicious. There’s nothing not to love about these cinnamon rolls.

Okay, I must admit, cinnamon rolls are my favorite breakfast treat. Growing up my mom would buy the cinnamon rolls that come in a can and make them for our breakfast on Sundays. On Sundays, we always had a special breakfast. Rather than a bowl of cereal or oatmeal, my mom would take extra time to prepare breakfast for us. She would typically make eggs, homefries and some sort of dessert, like the cinnamon rolls or store-bought doughnuts.

So, every time I make cinnamon rolls, I am reminded of those fond memories of all of us sitting around the breakfast table, eating our delicious breakfast and cinnamon rolls. Nowadays, I make my own cinnamon rolls, and just like these blueberry cinnamon rolls, I enjoy changing up the flavor every now and then.

These blueberry cinnamon rolls are EASY to make. Truly! The hardest part is waiting for the rolls to bake as you smell the delicious aroma from them throughout your house. Alright, let’s get into baking these, shall we!?

The details

mixing the dough

These Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls use instant yeast in the recipe. If you do not have instant yeast on hand, you can substitute the same amount of active dry yeast. The difference between the two of these lies in the activation time of the yeast. Instant yeast does not require an activation time. You can simply mix the yeast directly in with the remaining ingredients.

Active dry yeast on the other hand, needs to be mixed with the warm milk and sugar, then allowed to sit for 5 minutes. This step activates the yeast. If you use active dry yeast, do not add the salt directly on top of the yeast, as it will deactivate the yeast. I typically like to add the flour on top of the yeast, then add the salt on top of that.

After the ingredients are added to the mixing bowl, you’ll knead the dough for 5 minutes on medium speed, then transfer the dough to a greased bowl. I like to spray the top of my dough with nonstick cooking spray, then cover the dough with plastic wrap.

first rise

The bulk of the rise time for these easy blueberry cinnamon rolls is in this first rise. In fact, the second rise happens when the oven preheats. I’ve found that cinnamon rolls don’t need a ton of rise time. If they rise for too long, they will get too airy and end up with air pockets in the dough. While that’s great for some things like pizza crust, you don’t want a big air pocket in your cinnamon roll.

Anyways, the first rise takes only 25 minutes, thanks to a warm oven. You’ll preheat your oven to 150F. Once the oven reaches this temperature you’ll turn the oven off, then place your covered dough in the oven. The warm oven helps the dough rise faster. Certainly, if you don’t want to use your oven, you don’t have to. I would recommend allowing the dough to rise for 50 minutes, if you do not use the warm oven.

make the jam and the filling

While the dough rises, I like to make the jam and the filling. The blueberry jam takes 10 minutes to cook. This cook time softens the blueberries and allows them to burst open, releasing all of their delicious sweet juices.

shape the rolls

Once the dough is done rising, you’ll roll the dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle, spread the brown sugar cinnamon filling and blueberry jam over the dough, then roll the dough into a log. Use a serrated knife, or unflavored dental floss, yes you read that correctly, to cut the dough into 9 roughly equal pieces. To use the dental floss, you’ll wrap the piece around the dough, then cross the strands and pull to cut through the dough. The dental floss method creates cleaner cuts in the dough, especially for a messy dough like this one.

Alternatively, you can cut the dough into 9 strips, then roll each strip into a roll. These rolls are messy! So, just be prepared to get some purple blueberry jam color on your fingers. I promise, though, it’s worth it!

second rise and bake time

The second rise happens while the oven preheats, which usually takes around 10-15 minutes. I like to set the pan on top of the oven while the oven preheats. This creates a warmer environment, which helps the rolls rise better. The rolls then take 28-32 minutes to bake. Since the rolls have a gooey blueberry filling, they take a few minutes longer to bake than regular cinnamon rolls to bake.

top with blueberry cream cheese frosting and enjoy!

After the blueberry cinnamon rolls bake, I like to let them cool a few minutes before topping with the blueberry frosting. These rolls won’t last long, so make sure you grab one before they’re gone!

Here are a few other treats you may enjoy:

• 1-hour blueberry cinnamon rolls
• Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
• Blueberry Streusel Muffins
• Blueberry Crumb Cake

Let me know what you thought!

If you make these Easy Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls, let me know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I always appreciate your feedback, as it helps me improve my recipes for you. Also, if you make these, make sure you tag me on instagram @simplebakingwithpep. I LOVE seeing your creations. You can watch the full baking video on instagram, youtube, or facebook.

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