Ruth Friesen’s Roasted Rhubarb Biscuit-style Sweet Rolls

After seeing this recipe posted on Facebook, my mouth was watering. Ruth Friesen graciously shared her recipe—her adaptation of a Roasted Rhubarb Scone recipe on the Mennonite Girls Can Cook website. She combined that recipe with another technique that adds hot syrup to a biscuit dough mixture, similar to the method used when making apple dumplings. For an added flavor boost, Ruth used a box of strawberry gelatin as part of the one cup of sugar called for when roasting the rhubarb; the gelatin also helps thicken the syrup that develops as the rhubarb cooks. (Mennonite Girls recipe calls for one cup of granulated sugar rather than the gelatin and sugar combo.) Ruth also grates (versus cubes) the cold butter called for in the recipe; this results in a butter-flecked dough that is visible in the second photo, step # 6 below.

Since there is no yeast involved, there is no rising involved in this recipe that is sure to please! 

Roasted Rhubarb Biscuit-style Sweet Rolls     Makes 9 or more rolls, depending on size and thickness

Roasted Rhubarb 

8 cups diced rhubarb (about 1/2 inch dice)

1 box strawberry-flavored gelatin added to a 1-cup measure + granulated sugar added to to the l-cup fill line

1. Wash and dice rhubarb and spread onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-gelatin mixture. (The rhubarb will lose about 1/2 the volume during the roasting.  You should end up with about 4 cups.)
   
2. Roast in a 350° F oven for about 45 minutes to one hour.  Remove from oven to cool until needed; mixture may be made ahead and refrigerated.  
3. Note: Refrigerate leftover Roasted Rhubarb as you’ll use just about 2/3 of it to spread on cinnamon rolls.

Biscuit-style Sweet Rolls

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, grated using largest holes of a box grater

1 cup buttermilk (I started with 3/4 cup and added a little more as needed)

1 egg

Meta's extra addition: about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Syrup

2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl.  
   
3. Grate butter into dry ingredients and mix. (I used my hands to mix the ingredients.)
   
   
   
   
4. Stir together buttermilk and egg and gently stir into flour mixture. (I started with 3/4 cup milk mixed with the egg and added a little more milk as needed; I also added the liquid in about 3 batches, mixing with a fork after each addition.)
   
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times.  
6. Pat out the dough to measure approximately 14" x 9". Enough so you can get 9 slices. Note: I rolled my dough to measure approximately 14” x 8” as I used two 8-inch baking pans, thinking I’d make two pans of 4 each but after stretching roll slightly to even it out, I ended up with a 10” log that I cut into 10 rolls. It could be easily stretched to 12” creating 12 rolls. By the way, we ate one batch and froze the other. 
   
   
   

   

   Above - Notice the fleck of butter in the dough!
7. Spread a thin, even layer of roasted and cooled rhubarb over dough, using about 2/3 of the fruit mixture. Top with chopped nuts if using.
   
8. Roll up up like jelly roll, rolling from short end. Use your hands to slightly stretch or even out the roll so it is uniform in space. (I used a bench knife to help roll the dough; the straight edge of a dough scraper would work, too.) 
   
   
   
   
9. Cut rolls into 1” thick slices (Ruth cut her 9” roll into 9 slice; I cut my 10” roll into 10 slices—5 rolls per each pan)
10. Meanwhile make syrup by combining 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Boil for 5 minutes.
    
11. Pour hot syrup in 9" x 13" pan. (I divided it between two 8” x 8” pans.)
12. Place rolls in hot syrup, three to a row in  9" x 13" pan. There will be a fair bit of space in between, but rolls will expand as they bake.
    
13. Bake in preheated 375° F for 30 to 35 minutes.
14. Pour Sweet Roll Glaze over warm (not hot) rolls.
    

Sweet Roll Glaze

  2 cups powdered sugar 

  Cream or whole milk  to make a smooth runny glaze

Combine ingredients and pour over cinnamon rolls while they are still warm.

ABOUT RUTH . . . Barry and I met Ruth and Peter in New Braunfels,TX several winters ago. We were there as “winter Texans” and lived in the same vacation condo complex. Ruth did a lot of  cooking and baking in Texas and I enjoy keeping track of her kitchen adventures in Canada via Facebook. Her timeline is always full of yummy looking recipes and we both belong to a  Facebook group—Red Star Yeast Bakers. 

Above: Peter and Ruth Friesen.
Below: Ruth's 9" x1 3" pan of r Roasted Rhubarb Biscuit-style Cinnamon Rolls

Recipe without photos . . .

Roasted Rhubarb Biscuit-style Sweet Rolls     Makes 9 or more rolls, depending on size and thickness

Roasted Rhubarb 

8 cups diced rhubarb (about 1/2 inch dice)

1 box strawberry-flavored gelatin added to a 1-cup measure + granulated sugar added to to the l-cup fill line

1. Wash and dice rhubarb and spread onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sugar-gelatin mixture. (The rhubarb will lose about 1/2 the volume during the roasting.  You should end up with about 4 cups.)
2. Roast in a 350° F oven for about 45 minutes to one hour.  Remove from oven to cool until needed; mixture may be made ahead and refrigerated.  
3. Note: Refrigerate leftover Roasted Rhubarb as you’ll use just about 2/3 of it to spread on cinnamon rolls  

Biscuit-style Sweet Rolls

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter, grated using largest holes of a box grater

1 cup buttermilk (I started with 3/4 cup and added a little more as needed)

1 egg

Meta's extra addition: about 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Syrup

2 cups water

1 cup granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Stir together dry ingredients in a bowl.  
3. Grate butter into dry ingredients and mix. (I used my hands to mix the ingredients.)
4. Stir together buttermilk and egg and gently stir into flour mixture. (I started with 3/4 cup milk mixed with the egg and added a little more milk as needed; I also added the liquid in about 3 batches, mixing with a fork after each addition.)
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead a few times.  
6. Pat out the dough to measure approximately 14" x 9". Enough so you can get 9 slices. Note: I rolled my dough to measure approximately 14” x 8” as I used two 8-inch baking pans, thinking I’d make two pans of 4 each but after stretching roll slightly to even it out, I ended up with a 10” log that I cut into 10 rolls. It could be easily stretched to 12” creating 12 rolls. By the way, we ate one batch and froze the other. 
7. Spread a thin, even layer of roasted and cooled rhubarb over dough, using about 2/3 of the fruit mixture. Top with chopped nuts if using.
8. Roll up up like jelly roll, rolling from short end. Use your hands to slightly stretch or even out the roll so it is uniform in space. (I used a bench knife to help roll the dough; the straight edge of a dough scraper would work, too.)
9. Cut rolls into 1” thick slices (Ruth cut her 9” roll into 9 slice; I cut my 10” roll into 10 slices—5 rolls per each pan)
10. Meanwhile make syrup by combining 2 cups water and 1 cup sugar. Boil for 5 minutes.
11. Pour hot syrup in 9" x 13" pan. (I divided it between two 8” x 8” pans)
12. Place rolls in hot syrup, three to a row in  9" x 13" pan. There will be a fair bit of space in between, but rolls will expand as they bake.
13. Bake in preheated 375° F for 30 to 35 minutes.
14. Pour Sweet Roll Glaze over warm (not hot) rolls.

Sweet Roll Glaze

  2 cups powdered sugar 

  Cream or whole milk  to make a smooth runny glaze

Combine ingredients and pour over cinnamon rolls while they are still warm.