Blueberry Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Lemon Icing

On quarantine day 32, we make cinnamon rolls that taste like pie!

This week’s PIP box was full of vibrant and delicious items, but the blueberries and lemons were begging to be turned into something special. This cinnamon roll recipe is not like the one you simply popped from the can as a kid, but ohhh so much more. Have you ever tried making homemade cinnamon rolls before? Contrary to popular belief, they are actually pretty easy to make and I'd say we all deserve a little something sweet to keep us going these days.

As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I coach my clients to incorporate a variety of foods into their diet as tolerated. Desserts and sweet treats are no exception. Many foods get a bad rap with labels such as “bad”, “harmful” or “unhealthy”. While it is important to pay attention to food quality and nutrition density, it is also important to remember we are human. Perfectly imperfect humans.

Nutritionally speaking however, blueberries are actually such a beneficial food! These tiny fruits have tons of fiber, which helps with digestion and aids in blood sugar control. They are also full of Vitamin C, which is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from being damaged. In addition, they are great sources of Vitamin K that helps in blood clotting and Manganese, which plays a role in energy metabolism. Including the health benefits, blueberries are naturally sweet and provide so much flavor to the items you add them to such as smoothies, salads, oatmeal and more!

I hope you enjoy these blueberry pie cinnamon rolls as much my family did!

Blueberry Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Sweet Lemon Icing

Ingredients

Blueberry Filling:

2 cups fresh PIP blueberries

2 Tbsp. PIP Lemon Juice

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. corn starch

2 Tbsp. water

Dough:

16 oz homemade* or store-bought pizza dough, at room temperature.

Dough Filling:

¼ c sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter, softened

Icing:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. PIP lemon juice

1 Tbsp. milk

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice . Cook until blueberries just begin to break down. Stir together water and cornstarch to make a slurry mixture and then add into the blueberries. Combine and heat until thickened. Remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
Prepare dough* according to the directions. You can also get REALLY fancy and make homemade cinnamon roll dough. I like this recipe here (https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/recipe-for-cinnamon-rolls/) Whatever you chose will work!
On a nonstick surface, roll out the dough into about a 12x9 inch rectangle. (You can use the 9x13 in baking dish to help as a guide.)
Once the dough is rolled out to about ¼ inch in thickness, use a pastry brush to slather the dough with softened butter (leaving about a ¼ inch boarder around the edges). Combine cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle the mixture around the buttered dough area.
Spread about ½ cup of the cooled blueberry filling over the dough as evenly as possible..
Begin to carefully roll the dough up into a log as tight as possible and pinch the edges to seal.
Trim off both of the edges of the log and cut about 1 inch slices with a sharp knife – you will have about 10-12 cinnamon rolls depending on how thick and precise they are cut!
Place the cut side up in your 9×13 inch greased baking dish.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until lightly golden.
Once done, let cool if desired and drizzle the top with more of the remaining blueberry filling. Finish the rolls with fresh lemon icing and voila!

* Homemade Dough Ingredients (optional)

1 cup warm water

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1 Tbsp. oil

2 to 2 1/2 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Put warm water into a large bowl, then add sugar + yeast. Mix to combine. Let yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes or until bubbles form. Add in oil, gently stir to combine.

We hope you'll try this recipe. And we can't wait to see what you're cooking up in your own kitchen with the produce from this week's box. Don't forget to tag us @perfectlyimperfectproduce.com on Facebook and Instagram so we can share your recipes and inspire others. Have a great weekend PIP Fam!