Fancy Blue Corn Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Valentine’s Day is just right around the corner and what better way to treat your loved one than with yummy Blue Corn Cinnamon Rolls. It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a new recipe and I am excited to share this one with you. Ya’ll know I looove desserts and blue cornmeal is my favorite way to add Navajo/Indigenous ingredients to my favorite treats. The added blue color makes these super special and really makes it stand out as a fancy treat. It has a hint of blue cornmeal flavor to it and honestly I should make more treats with cinnamon sugar, butter, and cornmeal because it’s really the perfect trio!!! Toasted blue corn, butter, sugar, and cinnamon…yum sign me up!! 🙂

Cinnamon rolls always remind me of the men in my family. It’s like their go to pastry in the morning paired with their hot cup of coffee. I have fond memories of eating Loretta’s cinnamon rolls. The nostalgic blue and yellow branding on their products always makes me smile. I also love how they are packaged with the frosting almost always stuck to the plastic wrapper and the white tray they place them in. Its a lovely sticky mess!! Whenever I go back home to New Mexico, I always make sure to stop by T&R or the local 7-11 gas station to grab a mini apple. I always get excited when they have cinnamon rolls. Of course I buy both and gift the cinnamon rolls to my dad or step dad. This year I’ll have to gift them blue corn cinnamon rolls.

I don’t eat cinnamon rolls very often, especially since I am nowhere near Loretta’s and I live here in Phoenix, AZ. But if I am ever at a bakery or walking the mall and smell sweet cinnamon rolls near, I go grab some. It’s the perfect little treat!! You can make these for yourselves, your special loved one, or bring them to your next get together with friends or family. I don’t know about you but I don’t like having too many dessert leftovers. Typically after 2 servings I am done. So this recipe is perfect for a smaller batch of cinnamon rolls. It makes 9 medium sized cinnamon rolls. But if you wanted to make a bigger batch, you could double the recipe.

Just a few tips for making this recipe:

Make sure you are using instant dry yeast. This makes for a fail proof recipe, especially if you are nervous baking with yeast. Also if these don’t come out right the first time, try it again. Practice makes perfect.
When letting dough rise, make sure to do so in a warm dark place. I like covering the dough with saran wrap and placing in the warmest part of my house.
Don’t stress about making sure all the rolls are cut evenly. The rolls on the end may be smaller than the ones in the center.
Since these are smaller rolls, they don’t require too long to bake. Don’t cook them for too long or they will dry out.
Feel free to change up the frosting. I’ve tried these with cream cheese frosting and they are 10x more decadent and delicious. These also taste good on their own.
If you want to be super fancy and bake in a heart shaped pan, this is the one I am using here! I looove it!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and as always if you ever make these, send me a picture!! Tag me in a photo on social media or email me a picture. I love seeing your creations.

*** If you are interested in sharing recipes with your company or organization please email me TheFancyNavajo@gmail.com for permission***

Fancy Blue Corn Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Yields: 9 servings

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

Cinnamon rolls

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
¼ cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional 1-2 tablespoons
1 cup roasted blue corn meal

Filling

3 tablespoons melted butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/3 cup dark brown sugar

Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons milk
Pink food coloring (optional)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, add in the yeast and warm water and set it aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, add in the milk and butter. Heat in 30 second intervals, until the butter has melted completely. Carefully, remove from microwave and set aside to cool. Alternatively, you can do this on the stove top.
To the mixing bowl add in the sugar and salt and whisk until combined.
Once the butter has cooled to the touch but slightly warm, add in the butter and milk mixture to the mixing bowl and whisk until combined. Then add in the egg and mix until combined.
Either by hand or using a dough hook attachment, add in half the flour and half the cornmeal. Mix until combined, then add in the remaining half of the flour and cornmeal. If the dough is still sticky add in a tablespoon of flour at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl and/or hands. Knead the dough for 5 minutes or until the dough has an elastic pull to it.
Transfer the down to a clean mixing bowl and spray with oil or butter and place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place for an hour or until double in size.
Prepare the filling. In a small bowl, add in the butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar and mix until combined. Set aside.
Once dough has finished rising, roll out the dough to 15×9 inches on a floured surface. Spread the filling on top evenly. Then tightly roll the dough (long ways), keeping it tightly rolled. Once finished rolling in the dough, pinch the dough to seal it off on the long side. Cut the rolls into 1.5 inches. There should be 9 cut rolls.
To a greased 8 or 9-inch square pan, add in the rolled pieces. 3 rolls in each row. Cover the dough and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
Once rolls are done rising, move baking rack to the middle. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the rolls for 13-15 minutes or until they start to brown. Let rolls cool for at least 30 minutes before icing.
To prepare the icing, in a medium sized bowl, add in the powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and milk. Mix together until smooth. If the icing is too thick add in additional tablespoon of milk. If using food coloring, add in with milk before pouring into mixture.
Spread the frosting on top of the cooled cinnamon rolls. If you are feeling super fancy then add some colorful sprinkles on top.
Enjoy!