Blueberry Cheesecake Morning Buns

Do I have a story for you!! We had a lovely little weekend, ALL the way down in Colorado Springs. The hotel was great, the boys spend hours in the pool, the Geologist bought a ridiculously hot leather jacket (I still can't believe he let me talk him into it!), we saw The Lego Movie, and finished our trip with a visit to this neat little area of Downtown Colorado Springs, where my family used to visit a kite shop (I think) and I used to go to a candy store with my best friend. The candy store is closed, but the square is still full of fun little shops surrounding a park. We had some awesome burgers (cream cheese, bacon, perfectly gooey fried egg. Life-changing!!) and hung out at the park for a little while, before rounding up the boys and heading home. Idyllic.

On the drive home, right as we hit Denver, I realized I left my purse at the park!!! Now, that in itself is scary enough, but for those of you not familiar with the area, Colorado Springs is over an hour's drive away from Denver. I called the burger place and they were nice enough to run out and check for me... but my purse was gone. We drove around in circles while the Geologist called the police department and I frantically got all of my credit and debit cards blocked, then resigned ourselves to my purse's fate. But less than five minutes after we got off the phone, we got a call... from the police officer who found my purse!! And everything was still in it!! Of all the people who could have found it, a cop?? Seriously?? Call it luck, call it blessings, my prayers were certainly answered. So we drove back down to get it. And took the scenic route back, because we were completely sick of the highway at that point. Life is good!! Besides, I had just bought a new purse that day, and I really really like it. :)

Blueberry Cheesecake Morning Buns (adapted from Willow Bird Baking)
Printable Recipe
Makes 24 rolls

Dough:
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups buttermilk
2/3 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
5 cups all-purpose flour

Filling:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla
1 (12-14 ounce) jar blueberry jam
1 pint fresh blueberries

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tb milk
1 tsp vanilla

**Note: The original recipe does not recommend halving this recipe, I know 24 rolls sound like a lot, so if you don't want them all at once, here are some tips from Julie at Willow Bird Baking for dividing and freezing these rolls: "If you don’t want 24 rolls at once, consider freezing some for later. To freeze some of the unbaked rolls, just wrap them well before the second rise and freeze them. Once frozen, pop them out of the pan all together and store in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip top bag or wrapped in foil. When you want to bake them, stick them back in a greased pan, thaw them in the fridge overnight, proof for the instructed amount of time, and bake like usual. These bun/roll recipes also provide the perfect opportunity to try two different flavor combos. I often make half sweet buns and half savory buns (like these or these, which both look amazing to me and I can't wait to try them!!) and half to make sweet buns for dessert. If you do this, just half the filling recipes and roll out the dough half at a time."

Stir the warm water and yeast together in a small bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes. In a large bowl (or stand mixer) whisk flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together. Add the cold butter and cut it into the dry ingredients with two knives or a pastry cutter until the chunks are no bigger than small peas. Add the buttermilk and yeast mixture and mix well, switching to a dough hook and kneading for just a few minutes. Transfer the dough to large, well-greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm, draft-free place for about an hour, or until doubled. (It will feel more like biscuit dough than yeast dough at this point, don't worry!)

Next, beat softened cream cheese until fluffy, add sugar and eggs, and mix till smooth.

Turn the risen dough out onto a floured surface, divide it in half, and (one at a time) roll each half out into a large rectangle, about 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Spread half of the cream cheese filling evenly over the dough.

Dollop half of the jam on top and spread it gently across the cream cheese. Sprinkle half of the berries over the top.

Carefully roll the up the dough, starting at the long side, and pinching the seam together along the roll. Cut into 12 pieces and place them in a greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish. (This part is REALLY messy, filling oozing out all over. No worries, just kinda gently hold the rolls together and carefully place them in the dish. They'll be fine)

Repeat with the other half, and the rest of the jam and filling. (This is the point where you could wrap and freeze the rolls for later).

Cover both pans tightly with plastic wrap and place in the oven to rise overnight. The next morning, pull the buns out for about an hour to warm up. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, (letting the rolls rise on top of the oven is a great idea) 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until browned on top (not just golden brown, if you leave them too light they'll be underdone in the center). Let cool for a few minutes, whisk together the glaze ingredients, and drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls. Serve immediately.

 Being the husband of a foodblogger is a tough job. The Geologist has to try all these treats I make, and has become very hard to impress. So when I got a text after dropping these off at work saying "Those things are freaking awesome!!" it just about made my week!! I can't remember the last time I made something that he went into raptures over the way he did with these rolls. He wants them instead of birthday cake!

Yes, they are an overnight recipe, yes they make a million, and yes they take some work. But they're SO worth it. Really. These are show-stopping breakfast buns!

The bun itself is light and fluffy with just a hint of a tang from the buttermilk, perfect ratio of sweet fruit and rich, creamy cheesecake to bun, and scrumptious vanilla drizzle. You could easily do these with raspberries, like the original (Which I highly recommend checking out here, it's one of my favorite blogs!) There's also a lemon version that looks incredible, plus a handful of other variations with the same dough recipe!