Description
These Apple Cinnamon Rolls are quite a spectacular treat, y’all. Every element of these rolls is scratch-made and worth it. Plush and tender yeast dough filled with warmly-spiced apples in a gooey sauce and slathered with a light cream cheese vanilla bean icing. Whether it’s a breakfast/brunch bite or a snack/dessert, these apple cinnamon rolls are such a delicious showstopper that everyone will enjoy!
Ingredients
For the apple pie filling mixture:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 honey crisp apples, cored & diced
- ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey- optional
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
For the yeast dough:
- 1 cup whole milk, warmed to about 115-120°F
- ½ cup granulated sugar, divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant or active dry yeast
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)
- 4 ½ cups bread flour (sub all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the dough filling:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup heavy whipping cream- optional
For the cream cheese icing:
- 4 ounces full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- ¼ cup butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Make the apple pie filling mixture. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. When melted, add the diced apples to the pan and toss well to coat them in the butter. Then add the brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger, and stir to fully combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the apple mixture cook for about 5 minutes, stirring the apples every so often, until the apples are a bit tender and the mixture is fragrant. Next, stir in the bourbon/whiskey (if using), vanilla bean paste, and apple cider vinegar (or lemon juice). Lastly, sprinkle in the cornstarch, and toss well to coat. Continue cooking the apple filling for another 3-4 minutes until the cornstarch dissipates, and the sauce thickens a bit and develops into a caramel-like consistency. Once achieved, remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside for the apple pie filling to cool down to room temperature before using.
- Prep the yeast dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl (if you plan to mix by hand with a wooden spoon), combine the warm milk and about half of the sugar together. Then sprinkle the yeast on top and mix well. Let the mixture sit for 10-15 minutes or until foamy (even if using instant yeast, don’t skip this step).
- Once the mixture is foamy, add in the remaining sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla bean paste (or extract), flour, and salt.
- Secure dough hook attachment to mixer and mix on low speed until the dough begins to come together, about 1-2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading the dough until smooth, elastic, and supple, about 5-6 minutes. Alternatively, if you are not using a stand mixer, knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly greased large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise/proof in a warm environment until it doubles in size, about 1 ½ hours or longer, depending on the temperature of your environment.
- Roll, fill, & cut rolls. After the first proof, punch down the dough, knocking out the air, and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to about 15×10 inches. Now let’s prepare the dough filling. Spread the softened butter over the dough, leaving a slight margin around the edges. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the buttered dough and use your hands to rub it in, leaving a slight margin around the edges. Then sprinkle the cinnamon and salt over the top and gently pat/rub them into the butter. Back to the apple pie filling, reserve about ½ cup of the filling and set aside (we’ll use this later for topping/garnishing the rolls). Then sprinkle the remaining apple pie mixture over the brown sugar filling and use an offset spatula or tool to spread the apple pie filling evenly over the dough.
- Roll up the dough into a tight log, starting from the longest side with the seam side down. Pinch the seam to seal in the edges as much as you can- some of the filling may leak out, no worries. I like to cut off a bit of the ends of the dough log because they are not as full in size as the other sections. Use a large, sharp knife or unscented dental floss to cut the log crosswise into 9 or 12 pieces.
- Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with a piece of parchment paper (this helps just in case any of the filling leaks out). Place the cut rolls into the baking pan, leaving a bit of space between each one for expansion. Grab a bench scraper or similar tool to scrape up any filling that leaked out and drizzle it over the rolls. Cover the pan with plastic wrap/clean kitchen towel. To make same-day rolls: Let the rolls proof in a warm environment until puffy, about 1 – 1 ½ hours or longer depending on the temperature of your environment. Towards the end of proofing time, preheat the oven to 325°F. *Alternatively, for overnight rolls, transfer the covered pan with assembled rolls into the refrigerator to rest overnight, about 8-10 hours max (to bake the rolls in the morning). >> Before baking: let the rolls sit out to reach room temperature until puffy and proceed with the step below.
- Baking the rolls: Remove the plastic wrap/kitchen towel. Drizzle the rolls with ¼ cup of cream (optional). Bake the cinnamon rolls at 325°F until lightly golden brown, about 35-40 minutes. While the rolls bake, prepare the icing.
- To make the cream cheese icing: In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Then add in the powdered sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla bean paste and continue mixing until the icing is well combined and free of any lumps. Set icing aside until the rolls are done baking.
- Finish & serve. When the rolls are done, use a spreading utensil to spread the icing over the rolls, slathering every nook and cranny. Garnish the rolls with the reserved apple pie filling. These gooey apple cinnamon rolls are best served right away. Enjoy!
Notes
- Bread flour note: I highly recommend using bread flour for this recipe for a chewy/fluffier texture, but feel free to use all-purpose flour as a sub.
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.