Rhubarb Rolls
My dad used to make these rhubarb rolls when I was young and I didn’t really like them. I think I just didn’t appreciate them. But I saw rhubarb in the grocery store the other day and immediately thought of making these rolls for Hubby. Growing up, we always had these for breakfast but they are sweet enough that they could be served for dessert as well. The rhubarb has a tangy tartness that balances out the sweetness of this recipe. We both really enjoyed them and Hubby even had two!
See that pink syrup on the plate. That’s the key to the success of these rolls. It’s the basting sauce mixed with the syrup in the pan while baking. Hubby thought it was weird to bake these rolls in so much “water” – I explained that it was a very sugary water that would make these rolls delicious. Be sure to pour some of this sauce over the rolls that you put on your plate! It’s fantastic!
Rhubarb Rolls – from my Dad – makes 8 rolls
Syrup:
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
Biscuit Dough:
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 cups milk – I used Soymilk
Filling:
3 Tbsp melted butter – I used Earth Balance
5 cups chopped rhubarb – divided into 2 c and 3 c – I cut the 3 cups for the filling smaller than the 2 cups for the sauce
Sauce:
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup water
Combine 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water; boil 5 min. Pour into greased rectangular baking pan. (I used a 9×13 glass casserole dish).
Make biscuit dough by sifting flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Add shortening and milk and stir lightly.
Knead on floured board. Roll into a 12 inch square ~1/3 inch thick.
Brush with melted butter. Spread dough with 3 cups of cut rhubarb and roll as for jelly rolls.
Cut into 1 1/2 inch slices and place in syrup in pan.
Bake at 400 for 40 min. Make sauce by boiling 2 cups cut rhubarb, 1 cup sugar, 1 1/3 cup water. During baking, baste with sauce. (I baked the rolls for 10 minutes and then poured the sauce on and baked the remaining 30 minutes).
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love blueberries in pancakes and waffles. They’ve gotta be good in cinnamon rolls too!
Yum! I have always wanted to make my own cinnamon rolls but have always been a tad nervous about he process!!! These look amazing with the blueberries!!
P.S. I found your blog today when you posted that you were from Boston on Tina’s blog! I am from just outside of Boston too!
these look amazing. I love cinnamon rolls, and this combo sounds great!
Can you tell me how to make the frosting?
I love the blueberry, I tried swapping them with raspberries and they were just as good if not better. Love the base recipe.
I made these today cheating with crescent roll dough. They were amazing!
Da bomb! Brilliant, as well as yummy:)
Thank you! I will make an impression at brunch tomorrow..lol
Made these for Easter breakfast (blueberry cinnamon rolls, hardboiled eggs, and thick sliced ham slices). What a delicious treat! I don’t know if I’ll ever go back “regular” cinnamon rolls again! I cut the recipe in half. Perfect amount for my husband, myself, and 3 teenaged boys. Honestly, I can’t say enough about this recipe. These rolls are worth every minute spent making them. To avoid having to get up so early, I saved the second rise for the morning. After slicing the rolls and placing them in the greased pan, I covered them tightly with plastic wrap and placed them in the fridge overnight. I took them out of the fridge and let them set at room temperature to rise for about an hour before placing them in the oven. They were perfect! Thanks so much!
beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 2:50 pm
So glad you enjoyed them!! I’ve done the second rise the next morning as well.
Forgot to mention that a step was left out of the recipe: it never tells you to sprinkle the rolled out dough with sugar and cinnamon mixture (& 2 T flour?).
beantownbaker — April 27th, 2014 @ 3:01 pm
Thanks for pointing this out. I updated the recipe to reflect this.
Hi there – I was wondering if this dough would be okay to freeze? I’m a novice when it comes to anything baking related!
beantownbaker — September 2nd, 2014 @ 7:14 pm
I have blogged about freezing cinnamon rolls here: http://www.beantownbaker.com/2011/01/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls.html I like to par-bake them, then freeze them, then finish baking them when you want them.
I found that the cinnamon was over powering. I will add 3 tsp next time 4 Tablespoons was way to much.
Is there any kneading involved???