Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

I thought I'd start off our recipe blogging with a recipe everyone will love!
It's fall and that's a perfect time for baking something that will fill your house with delicious smells.


We are going to be posting two or three recipes each month as we cook our way through the Heritage Family Farms Simply Delicious Blueberry Recipes book.
Hope you enjoy making at least a few of these delicious dishes.

BLUEBERRY CINNAMON ROLLS
Southern Living

1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 ounce dry yeast (I used 2 tsp.)
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 1/4 cups flour, divided
1 egg
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine (softened)
`/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 Tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 Tablespoons milk

Directions:
Combine 1/4 cup milk, sugar, salt, and 3 T. butter in a saucepan: heat until butter melts.
Cool to 105 degrees or so.  See note below:

Let me interject something here about baking with yeast.  You can use a thermometer and make sure the temperature is right but that's too much trouble for me so I have always followed the advice I got from a veteran bread maker some 20 years ago.  "The liquid for yeast should be the same temperature you would bathe an infant in.  If it's too hot or cold for a baby then it's too hot or cold for yeast".  I've been baking homemade bread every week for almost 20 years so trust me on this, it works. 

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
Stir in milk mixture, 1 1/2 cups flour, and the egg;  beat on medium speed.
Stir in remaining 3/4 cup flour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic ( about 8
minutes.)  Or you can use your Bosh type mixer and save your arms! (I don't usually flour the counter as I don't want to add more flour to my dough.  I butter the counter and knead the dough that way)

Place in a well greased bowl, turn dough over so the top is greased.
Cover and let rise in a warm place (85 degrees or so) You can warm up your oven for a few minutes and put the bowl in if the room is too cold.  Just don't leave the oven on very long.
Let rise until almost double in bulk...about 1 hour.

Punch dough down; turn out onto lightly floured surface. 

Roll dough into 12x8 inch rectangle; spread with 2 T. butter. (You can use more if, like me, you believe that butter makes the world a better place to live in!  I used more!)
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle mixture over dough.
Sprinkle with blueberries.  (If you use frozen blueberries you need to run them under warm water to thaw them out.  Then you need to drain them on a paper towel so most of the moisture is removed. This way there won't be excess moisture to cause soggy spots in your rolls.)
Roll dough beginning at the long edge.
Cut into 1 inch slices; place slices cut side down in 8x8 pan.
Brush tops with 1 T. melted butter (or a little more)
Cover and let rise in a warm place.  About 40 minutes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes.

Combine powdered sugar and milk and stir well.
Drizzle over warm rolls.

Now, remove a roll from the pan and put a slather of butter on top (you know why!), get a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!  These really were very nice cinnamon rolls and the addition of blueberries makes them extra special.

Let me know how you like them.