by Crystal Schlueter
In honor of the Blueberry Festival, I wanted to make a special blueberry recipe, yet keep it simple enough to throw together without having to miss out on all the usual summer festivities.
A while back, I had some leftover Hawaiian sweet rolls and thought the flavor and texture would be delicious as cinnamon buns. After a brief online search, I found that Hawaiian cinnamon rolls are a popular sweet treat amongst online bloggers. I thought the buns would be even more delicious with a blueberry twist, and instead of heating up the whole house by turning on the oven, I decided to cook them in the sauna.
Cooking in the sauna is a tradition in Finland, with sausages being the typical food of choice for this method of cooking. The sausages are usually wrapped in aluminum foil with a splash of beer to keep them moist, then served with mustard for dipping and additional beer for drinking.
Due to widely varying temperatures of saunas, it is best to use fully cooked sausages, such as Zup’s fully cooked blueberry brats. Last year I shared a sausage and wild rice stuffed mushroom recipe that I cooked in the sauna, so this year I wanted to challenge myself with coming up with a sweet treat.
Last week I picked just enough berries for the original recipe I had written, but while making the buns, I decided to add extra blueberries to the filling. Therefore, I didn’t have any berries left for the garnish, and decided to make the 10 minute drive back to my blueberry spot. I knew there was a patch just by the trail entrance, so I didn’t bother to change out of my flip flops and into more practical footwear. Almost immediately, I felt the burning sting of dozens of fire ants at my feet, so, I decided to cut my berry picking short. Off to my left was a beautiful patch of fireweed, and that seemed like a fitting addition, so I grabbed a handful to stretch my meager amount of berries, in true sisu style.
Sisu Blueberry Sauna Cinnamon Buns
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, divided (plus about 2 tablespoons for garnishing)
1 tablespoon water
1 package Hawaiian Sweet Rolls (11 ounces)
4 tablespoons melted salted butter
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup fireweed flowers (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat the sauna. In a small saucepan add 1 cup of blueberries with 1 tablespoon water. Turn the heat to medium. Use a potato masher to finely mash the berries. Bring the berries to a boil and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Place a metal fine mesh sieve over a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Push the berries through the sieve until most of the liquid has been extracted. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the liquid and set aside for the glaze. Reserve the remaining liquid and stir the pulp back in. Set aside. Using a bread knife, slice the sweet rolls in half. Grease a large sheet of aluminum foil with cooking spray. Place the bottom half of the buns on top. In another small bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Spread over the bottom half of the buns. Scatter 1/2 cup of fresh berries over top. Spread the top half of the buns with the reserved blueberry liquid. Place over the bottom half and press down gently. Wrap tightly with at least 3 layers of foil. Have a pair of grill tongs, oven mitts, and a rimmed cookie sheet at the ready. Place the buns onto the hot sauna rocks. Cook for 5 minutes, then flip. Splash a little water onto the rocks around the buns. Cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat once more, flipping then splashing. Give the buns one more flip, skipping the water, for a total of 20 minutes over the hot rocks. Use the tongs to move the buns to the cookie sheet. Let cool for 10 minutes, then unwrap onto a platter using oven mitts. In a mixing bowl, beat together the 2 tablespoons of blueberry liquid with the powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over the buns. Garnish with additional blueberries and fireweed.
Yield: 12 servings.
Notes:
If preferred, you can skip the step of straining the berries for the glaze and instead mix in about 2 1/2 tablespoons of the cooked berries. The glaze will just be a bit lumpy. If you don’t have access to a sauna, you can cook these buns on the grate over a low campfire flame, on a grill, or in the oven. Cook times may vary, so adjust accordingly.
