Blueberry Cheesecake Twists

For the dough:
Combine the cold milk and pudding mix in a medium bowl. Whisk for 2-5 minutes or until the pudding is smooth and slightly thickened. Set the mixture aside—the pudding will thicken more as it sits.

Measure the granulated sugar into a small bowl. Remove 1 teaspoon of it and add that, along with the yeast, into a bowl with the warm water. Stir, then set the mixture aside to allow the yeast to dissolve and the mixture to get foamy, about 3-5 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, the remaining granulated sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in the eggs, vanilla, butter extract, cream cheese emulsion, lemon zest, yeast mixture and 2 cups of the flour. Beat on medium speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes.

Add the pudding and 1 cup of flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in just enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead, using some of the remaining flour, until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Knead in the dried blueberries until they are evenly dispersed in the dough.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl. Turn to grease the top. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1 1/2 hours.

While the dough is rising, make the filling. I usually make the filling in 2 batches, dividing the ingredient amounts in half so that I know that each rectangle of dough will have the same amount—it’s not necessary to do it that way, but it works best for me. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter until well mixed. Set the filling aside.

Spray 3-4 baking sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set the pans aside.

Punch the dough down and divide it half. I weigh the dough on my digital scale to make sure each half is the same size.

On a lightly floured surface, roll one half of the dough into an 18×14-inch rectangle. Spritz the dough with water to cover the surface. Spread half of the filling evenly over the dough, then press the mixture into the dough lightly to help adhere it to the surface. Fold the dough in half to make an 18×7-inch rectangle, then pinch all the edges to seal the dough.

With a sharp knife, cut the dough into twelve 1 1/2″ strips. Twist each strip 2-3 times and place them on the prepared pans.

Scoop up any of the filling mixture that remains on the work surface and sprinkle it over the tops of the each twist.

Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Lightly cover each pan of twists and let them rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.

When the twists have almost doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350 F.

Uncover the rolls and bake at 350 F for 11-15 minutes or until they are light golden brown and cooked through.

Remove from the pans from the oven and place on wire racks to cool completely. Again, if any of the crumb mixture remains on the baking pans, scrape it up and sprinkle it over the tops of each twist.

For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cheesecake oil in a small bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of milk, then stir in additional milk until the mixture is smooth and reaches the desired drizzling consistency.

Drizzle the glaze over each roll. Allow the glaze to set before storing. Makes 24 rolls.