Bacon + Cheddar Rolls With Blackberry-Black Pepper Syrup

In need of a last minute Christmas breakfast? I got you!

Well, I lied about it being last minute. These Bacon + Cheddar Rolls with Blackberry-Black Pepper Syrup actually take a lot of love & time to make, but when I tell you they’re worth it… I mean it. If you start prepping today, or even tomorrow, they’ll be ready to pop in the oven for a Christmas morning brunch.

At first, I wanted to make kolaches, but then I thought about my grandmother’s insanely delicious refrigerator rolls she makes every Thanksgiving and Christmas. These rolls are unlike any rolls you have ever eaten or will ever eat. I can’t explain how soft, pillow-y, fluffy, and delicious these babies are. It has an indescribable distinct flavor with ripples of buttery, slightly sweet, and milky notes. You may think you’ve had the best rolls of your life, but until you try these, I can promise you you haven’t.

Anyway, I started dreaming about her rolls and thought about how amazing they would be as the kolach dough in this recipe. I tried making them into kolaches, but with the leftover dough I made these rolls. And thank God I did because this dough turned out to be too tender to keep the structure of a kolach. The rolls, however, turned out amazing. Think savory cinnamon rolls drowning in butter and drizzled with a slightly bitter, slightly fruity, very peppery syrup.

That brings me to the syrup. The combination of bacon, cheddar, blackberry, and black pepper might seem random, but there’s a reason for it. Whenever I think of a recipe idea, I add it to the ongoing list of recipes I want to test in my notes on my phone. I also do this flavor profiles and combinations. I’ll think of flavors that I want to try together and wait until I come up with the perfect recipe to utilize them in. I’ve had “bacon cheddar blackberry black pepper” as a random note on my phone for months, maybe even over a year now. When I was brainstorming all of the recipes I wanted to do for this “12 Days of Christmas” recipes and mapping out each day, I thought of kolaches because I’ve always wanted to try my hand at them…. and then I thought of that note. I’m so happy all of the flavors worked so well together because this combination has been so long awaited, it would’ve definitely been a let down if it failed.

Okay - I highly recommend making these right now so you can also have the smell of butter, bacon, and maple baking while unwrapping gifts on Christmas morning.

Bacon + Cheddar Rolls with Blackberry-Black Pepper Syrup

Yields: 12 rolls

Time: 1 hour prep time, 6 hour rise time, 15-20 minute cook time; 7.5 hour total

for the dough:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 packet active dry yeast (around 1 1/8 teaspoon)

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1/4 cup melted shortening

• 1 cup whole milk

• 2 tbs. lukewarm water

• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. baking powder

for the filling:

• 5 large strips bacon, cooked to crunchy and pat dry from grease

• 1 cup medium cheddar cheese, grated

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

• 2 tbs. dried basil

• 1 tbs. dried oregano

• 2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. ground black pepper

• 2 tsp. garlic powder

• 2 tsp. crushed red pepper, optional

for the blackberry-black pepper syrup:

• 12 oz. fresh blackberries

• 1/2 tbs. whole black or pink peppercorns

• 1/2 tbs. crushed black pepper

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/3 cup water

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit or orange juice

• 1 tbs. corn starch

For the dough: Bring the milk, sugar, shortening, and salt to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

Soften the yeast in the 2 tbs. warm water and let sit until foamy. Add to the cooled milk mixture and mix whisk together until smooth. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour in half of the milk mixture, stir to combine, and then pour in the other half. Stir just until a slightly sticky dough forms and all of the flour is incorporated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a cool, dark place until it has doubled its size — about an hour.

Punch down, recover tightly, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or up to 10 days. When ready to use, roll out the dough on a well-floured surface using a well-floured rolling pin (it’s a pretty sticky dough so you’ll need a lot of flour). Roll out to be 1/4 inch thick in an equal square-like shape.

Mix together the melted butter, and all of the herbs/spices of the filling ingredients. Brush the melted butter evenly covering the entire surface of the dough. spread half of the cheese out evenly, then the crumbled bacon, and then the rest of the cheese again. Roll the dough starting with the side closest to you to the opposite side in a log shape. Cut into 12 even pieces about 1.5 inches wide, resembling cinnamon rolls. Brush more of the butter mixture on the bottom and sides of 2 inch round cake pans. Arrange 1 pinwheel in the center of each pan and 5 surrounding it. They should not fill the entire pan surface. Pour the rest of the butter mixture evenly on top of each pan and brush to spread the butter over all of the rolls. Cover lightly and allow to double in size once more.

Preheat the oven to 400º F. Place the pans on a center rack and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top. I found that 17 minutes is the perfect time for my oven.

While the rolls are cooking, prepare the syrup. In a medium-sized saucepan, add all of the ingredients, except for the cornstarch and bring to a boil over high heat. Once brought to a boil, turn the heat down to low, add the cornstarch, mix to combine, and let simmer until thickened to a syrup consistency. Strain to remove the leftover blackberries and pepper.

Let the rolls cool slightly for 5 minutes before drizzling the syrup over.