No Rise Cinnamon Rolls with Blueberry Filling

We have breakfast for dinner about once a week. Evenso, I felt a little guilty making a cinnamon roll. We usually eat the yeasty,sugary, traditional amazing kind only twice a year and it is a BIG treat. But then I found this recipe for no rise cinnamon rolls. And then I had these local blueberries. And then I justified my way into a perfectly delightful breakfast for dinner. I admit that it's a little on the sweeter end, but no worse (and probably a good deal better) than pancakes or waffles would have been (in my family, the syrup really gets slathered on). I also admit that I was incredibly skeptical about the whole no-rise thing. I assumed from the recipe that it would come out a little biscuit-like and I have yet to find my biscuit soul mate, and my kids haven't even really found their biscuit friend, so that gave me pause. But not for too long.

In the end, they came out much more like a wonderful English scone with even more wonderful fillings all wrapped up inside. My kids devoured them (though they preferred the ones without the blueberries) and I bought more ricotta just to make them again for breakfast sometime. I must tell you though, that these are not exactly like a yeasty cinnamon roll. Just don't expect them to be identical, okay.

I made some with blueberries and lemon sugar. I made some with cinnamon (and a few chocolate chips thrown in; yes, we have issues). I glazed some and not others. I loved them all.

No Rise Cinnamon Rolls with Blueberry Filling
adapted from Fashioned 4 You
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Cost: $4.50 (without glaze)
ricotta: 1.00, milk: .05, sugar: .10, butter: .30, flour: .15, whole wheat flour: .10, blueberries: 2.50, lemon: .30

Dough:
3/4 C ricotta cheese
1/3 C buttermilk (or a scant 1/3 C milk with 1 tsp vinegar mixed in)
1/4 C sugar
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 C whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt (if using salted butter, reduce to 1/8 or omit)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Cinnamon Filling:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2/3 C brown sugar (I used less)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Blueberry Filling:
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2-3 C blueberries (fresh or thawed and drained)
1/4-1/2 C sugar
lemon zest

Glaze:
2 oz mascarpone cheese (you can sub cream cheese, but mascarpone is a dream and I believe a little higher in calcium)
2 Tbsp powdered sugar (the original recipe called for 1/2 C, but seriously that 2 Tbsp really did all I needed it to, especially when using mascarpone (which is creamy) instead of cream cheese (which is slightly more tangy)
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease pan. I used a 6x9 or something weird like that and had a few extra that I put in a bread pan.

For the dough:
Combine ricotta, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla. Process in food processor until smooth. Add flours, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and pulse until dough clumps (don't over-process it, or your dough will be tough). The dough will be soft and moist.

Dump dough onto a floured surface and knead it with floured hands 4 or 5 times. Then (adding more flour to your work surface if necessary) roll it into a 12x15 inch rectangle.

Brush the dough with the melted butter. Then add either a cinnamon or blueberry filling.

Fillings:

To make the cinnamon, just mix everything together, and then sprinkle it over the butter.

To make the blueberry, rub the zest into the sugar until it smells lemony and you think you'll faint with the loveliness of it (we used the lower amount of sugar, and that was good for me, but if you like things sweeter or have tart blueberries you might want to opt for a bit more sugar; remember the dough is slightly sweet also). Put the lemon sugar on the melted butter, then add your blueberries.

Roll your rolls up long-ways.

Cut with a sharp knife. (Original recipe says she got 8, but I got a good deal more; I assume mine were thinner.) I cut them 3/4-1 inch wide.

Put them in the pan. Let them touch a bit, but don't jam them in (remember they won't be rising, so you don't need to leave space for them to get a lot bigger, though they do grow a bit in the oven).

Bake until golden on top and firm when you touch them. Mine took about 15 minutes. If they're fatter, they'll take longer.

Make glaze if using:
Mix mascarpone, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Spread over rolls while still warm (oh, yes, do; it's so amazing).

Serve warm or cool (naturally, we went for warm as we couldn't hold back).

PRINTABLE RECIPE