Recipe: Blackberry and Goat Cheese Cinnamon Rolls

While I haven't been trolling the Epicurious website like I used to do, I do obsessively read their tweets, and when they had an article on cinnamon rolls, I was intrigued enough to say aloud, "Who would make cinnamon rolls with cream cheese?? I want to make cinnamon rolls, but I don't think we have enough powdered sugar."

The boyfriend, who happened to overhear, replied, "Didn't you just buy some goat cheese? Use that."

I had, in fact, just purchased a pound of goat cheese so when I woke up bright and early Saturday morning, I had an idea of what to do. I say that I had an idea because I was fully planning on making standard cinnamon rolls with a glaze when I discovered that we were totally and completely out of powdered sugar.

So I turned to the goat cheese. 

I was afraid the goat cheese would be too overpowering so I added the only fruit in the apartment: blackberry preserves.

It was amazing. But it did diminish the taste of the goat cheese. If you're a fan of goat cheese, I'd double what's below. If you're hesitant on the goat cheese, just go with the recipe recommendation and you'll be fine.

Ingredients

For the dough:

3 cups flour
1 yeast packet
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
2.5 tbsp butter
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water 

1 egg

For the filling:

6 tbsp blackberry preserve 

1 tsp cinnamon
Chopped pecans, about 1/2 cup
4 tbsp melted butter
4 tbsp sugar

 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Set aside.

Melt the butter, milk, and water on the stovetop until the butter is completely melted. Combine with the flour mixture. Add the egg.

You should have a soft dough - non crumbling or sticky. Add flour or water to adjust as necessary.

Knead the dough for several minutes, then let the dough rest for about half an hour.

With a separate mixing bowl, begin to make the filling. Combine the melted butter, blackberry preserves, cinnamon, pecans, sugar, and crumbled goat cheese. Set aside.

Roll out your dough into a rectangular shape so that the dough is about 1/4" thick. Be sure to trim the edges so it's uniform.

Pour your filling mixture onto the dough and spread it around until it is evenly distributed. It should not be thick.

Beginning at one corner, tightly roll the dough until you have a log.

Cut your cinnamon rolls the thickness you prefer (I usually get about 8 of them), and place them in a buttered pan. Cover and let them rise for another 45-60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool, and enjoy!