Cinnamon rolls is not quite right as I didn’t use any cinnamon, but you get the idea. This was my second recipe that I tweaked to add my freeze dried products. I have raspberries, blueberries, and lowbush cranberries that I freeze dried and decided to try adding to a batch of berry buns I guess I call them.

I’m not going to include here the recipe for the actual buns. I’ve made enough bread dough that I didn’t measure anything. Find your favorite bread dough recipe and use that. I don’t like my dough very sweet since I’m adding a lot of sweet to it, so I use more of a bread dough, but I have in the past used a dinner roll dough which is tasty too.

I powdered the berries all together, but wasn’t sure the best way to add them, so I ended up mixing them with the rest of the filling ingredients, which worked well. The glaze at the end added just the right amount of tart.

Filling:

1/2 cup Butter

2/3 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup powdered, freeze dried Berries. That’s just a guess, I poured some of each in a baggie and smashed them. Adjust for your taste preferences.

Soften the butter until it’s really workable but not melted. Add the brown sugar and mix well. Add the berries and mix well. Once your dough has proofed once, roll it out into a rectangle or square. Mine was about 18 inches by about 15 inches. Spread the filling mixture over the dough and then roll into a log using the long edge. Cut into buns using a sharp knife or string (dental floss works great). I got 8 large buns, but I could have easily gotten 12 just a bit smaller.

Place buns with the cut sides up in a greased baking dish. Cover and let rise until almost double. About 10 minutes before you think they’ll be ready to bake, get your oven turned on to 350 degrees. Remove the cover and place in preheated oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, but start checking after 30. You want a golden brown color. If you prefer to temp it, it should be at least 185 in the center of the pan of buns.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. You can cool them all the way in the pan, but I like to remove them about 5-10 minutes after I pull them out of the oven so they don’t stick later. I remove them to a cookie sheet and wire rack to cool. Let cool completely.

Glaze:

2 cups Powdered Sugar

1 Lemon, juiced

In a small bowl, add the powdered sugar to the bowl and then juice the lemon into the bowl, removing seeds if any. Mix together and then drizzle over the berry buns.

You’re now ready for a delicious sweet treat. The lemon glaze adds just a little punch of flavor, and pairs really well with the sweetness of the berries. I wasn’t sure how we’d all like them, but oh my goodness, they were delicious! Do any of you have a favorite recipe using freeze dried items?

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