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blueberry sweet roll on white plate with lemon slices and blueberries
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5 from 7 votes

Streusel-Topped Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Soft, fluffy, and oh so tender, these blueberry sweet rolls are studded with sweet blueberries and lemon zest, topped with a buttery streusel, and a sweet/tangy lemon glaze!
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Rising Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 55 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Keyword: blueberry rolls, sweet buns
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 703kcal

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp instant or active dry yeast (approximately 2 standard packets)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened and cut into 5-6 pieces
  • 2 large eggs room temperature is best
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4 - 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Filling

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 cups blueberries

Streusel

  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 - 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted

Sweet lemon glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar whisked to remove any lumps
  • 1 fresh lemon juiced
  • 1 - 2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Prepare

  • Lightly grease a large mixing bowl with a drizzle of vegetable oil and set aside.

Make the dough

  • Heat milk until about 95°F (where milk is warm to the touch but not hot), using either the stove or microwave.  Add to bowl of a stand mixer, add warm milk, sugar and yeast.  Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
  • After 5-10 minutes, the mixture should be foamy and smell “yeasty”.  This step to to activate the yeast and make sure it’s still good.  If mixture doesn’t look foamy, discard and start over with new yeast.
  • Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and add butter, eggs and salt, then mix on LOW speed until combined.
  • Gradually add the flour, in roughly 1 cup increments.  When 4 cups of flour has been added, increase mixer speed to MED and knead about 5-6 minutes, until a soft dough forms.
  • Dough should be soft and smooth, slightly tacky but not sticky.  If dough is too sticky, add extra flour, 1 Tbsp at a time, and mix until it’s soft and smooth.  If dough is too stiff, add some water, about 1/4 tsp, and mix until dough is soft.

Knead the dough

  • Lightly flour your counter or other flat surface and transfer dough onto it.  Dust your hands with a little bit of flour and gently knead the dough for a minute or so.  

First rise

  • Form into a ball and transfer to prepared mixing bowl.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.  Place bowl in a warm spot for about 2 hours, or until roughly doubled in size.

Roll the dough

  • Punch down the dough, then turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle, roughly 12x18” in size, and even in thickness.

Make the filling

  • Spread softened butter on the rectangle of dough. In a small mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar and lemon zest, stirring well with a fork.
  • Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top of the butter, then sprinkle the blueberries over the top of that.
  • Starting with one of the longer sides of the rectangle, roll up tightly into a log shape.  I find starting to roll one side, rolling away from you once, then moving down the line a bit and doing the same thing, repeating until you’re all the way across gives you the most even rolling method.
  • Once you have an 18” log shape, carefully slice into 12 evenly sized rolls.

Second rise

  • Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13” baking dish.  Arrange rolls in baking dish, cut side up.
  • Cover rolls loosely with foil and let rise in a warm place for 45 min - 1 hour, until large and puffy.

Make the streusel

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Add streusel ingredients (minus the butter - so just the flour, both sugars, and salt) to a small mixing bowl, then stir in the melted butter until crumbly.

Bake

  • Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the puffy rolls.
  • Bake rolls for about 25 minutes, until golden.  Halfway through, cover loosely with foil so the tops don’t brown too much.

Drizzle

  • Let baking dish of baked rolls cool on a wire cooling rack for about 7-10 minutes.
  • Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice to a small mixing bowl, then add 1 Tbsp of heavy cream. Whisk until smooth, and add another tablespoon of cream if you’d like the glaze to be thinner.
  • Drizzle over the top of the baked sweet rolls.
  • Serve sweet rolls warm or at room temperature.

Notes

  1. My favorite yeast is Red Star Platinum, but any yeast will work.
  2. Fresh blueberries are my preference, but frozen berries will also work (just thaw them and pat them dry).

No Stand Mixer:

  • If you have one, by all means use it!  But you don’t have to use one, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t own one.  You just use a bowl and wooden spoon, but you’ll have to knead by hand until the dough comes together.

Check Your Yeast:

  • After sitting with the warm milk, the yeast should be frothy and foamy looking.  If it doesn’t, then that yeast is likely dead and won’t work for this recipe.  Start over with a new batch of yeast.

Make Your Own Warm Spot for the Dough:

Most people, myself included, don’t necessarily know where a naturally warm spot is in their kitchen… or maybe it’s the dead of winter and there’s no warmth anywhere.  No worries!
  • Preheat your oven to 200°F and let it preheat for about 3-4 minutes.  Then turn your oven OFF, don’t let it get all the way to 200°F. 
  • Place the bowl of dough in the oven to rise. 
  • Alternately, you can turn on the light in your cold oven and add the bowl of dough to the oven with the door shut.

Easy Slicing:

  • Slicing the sweet roll dough into wheels can be tricky.  Use a very sharp serrated knife, or some unflavored dental floss (seriously, make sure it’s unflavored – no one wants spearmint flavored rolls!).
  • Slide the floss underneath the log, bring both sides up, cross them over each other, and pull tight.  Easy slices!

To Make Overnight Sweet Rolls:

  • Complete steps up to the second rise (but don't do the second rise).  Place the rolls in the baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate 8-18 hours.
  • Remove baking dish from refrigerator and let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, then uncover and bake as directed.

Nutrition

Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 123g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 171mg | Potassium: 180mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 587IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 5mg