Recipe: Berry Sweet Rolls

A week and a half ago, Joey and I got cozy for the weekend to watch General Conference, one of our favorite events of the year. And, like many of our LDS friends, I made sweet rolls and cinnamon rolls to munch on all weekend! The first batch I made were a cinnamon orange roll (ten times better than the fake stuff in the pop can!), but the berry sweet rolls were hands down our favorite. 

Sweet but not deathly sweet, they were a nice change from the standard cinnamon. And despite the fact that my yeast ended up being a dud and therefore the dough didn't rise as much as hoped for, the rolls still turned out soft, spongy, and fluffy. One of my favorite parts was the pie-like filling---that ooey gooeyness was too undeniably tempting, as evidenced by our uncontrollable indulgence in these sweet rolls. I'm too embarrassed to even say how many were consumed between the two of us...

So after a little encouragement from some envious friends, here is the recipe I used, with a couple of my changes.

Berry Sweet Rolls
Adapted from Food & Wine

DOUGH

• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

FILLING

• 10-ounces frozen berries (still frozen). I used a mixed berry combo and pulsed them in the food processor for a few seconds to break down the strawberries and blackberries
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

GLAZE

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk/cream/half & half
• * this glaze is from Sally's Baking Addiction

MAKE IT

• Heat the milk in a saucepan or the microwave until its lukewarm (about 95-100 degrees). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a standing mixer and stir in the sugar and yeast. Let this mixture sit until it starts to bubble, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter, eggs, and salt. Mix until combined as much as possible---It might not be a totally smooth mixture so it will look weird.

• Switch the attachment on the mixer to the dough hook. Slowly add the flour in increments and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms, about 3 minutes. Continue to beat the dough at medium-high speed for about 10 minutes more, until its soft and stretchy. 

• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands 2 or 3 times. Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours. I usually place dough in a warm oven, safe from drafts and cold air.

• Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, allowing the paper to extend up the short sides. Butter the paper and sides of the pan. You don't have to use parchment, it just makes clean up easier. If you don't, still make sure to grease your pan. Again, return the dough to a floured surface and roll into an 10x24 inch rectangle, trying to maintain an even thickness.

• In another bowl, toss the frozen berries with the sugar and cornstarch. Spread the berry filling evenly over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form a 24-inch-long roll. Cut the roll into roughly 1.5 inch slices, creating about 16 rolls. Place in the baking dish cut side up. Cover the rolls and let them rise in a warm place until they are puffy and have filled the baking pan, about 1-2 hours. The berries will start to ooze and gorgeous pink juice will start to fill the bottom the pan--this is ok!

• Preheat the oven to 400°. Cover the rolls with tin foil and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove foil and, depending on how golden they are, bake another 5 minutes or so uncovered, until they are golden and the berries are bubbling. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool.

• In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners' sugar with the milk until the glaze is thick and spreadable. Drizzle or spread over the sweet rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

**I actually prepared these the night before---after slicing the rolls and placing them in the pan, I covered the dish and placed it in the fridge. The next morning, I simply removed the pan of sweet rolls from the fridge, allowed them to sit on the counter at room temperature for about an hour (maybe an hour and a half), and then baked and finished with the glaze as normal. With the rolls being made the night before, we were able to enjoy a relaxing morning, and all we had to do was pop them in the oven---making for virtually instant gratification!