Cinnamon rolls are my favourite sweet and I also love desserts with apples and cinnamon. These apple cinnamon rolls just had to be on the blog. I love the combination as well as the final result of the recipe.
Apple cinnamon rolls
What I like the most about my cinnamon rolls recipe is how soft the dough is when cooked. I don’t like when you pull o a cinnamon roll layer and they break apart because of how dry they are. I really enjoy peeling it and having the dough unravel and stretch. It took me a few tries to get it and I have to say it has become the base for many recipes. This apple cinnamon rolls recipe is great because apples and cinnamon go really well together as we all know. And now that it’s apple season, it’s time to make them. To get a general idea, check the video below to see how I make my cinnamon rolls. Also, this is the pan I use to cook them.
How to make apple cinnamon rolls
The difference between apple cinnamon rolls and regular cinnamon rolls is that they require apples (duh) that must be cooked first. When I tried the first versions of this recipe I didn’t cook the apple and I have to say they dry quickly in the oven and the ones left on top of the rolls looked like french fries, lol! Having said that, you definitely want to cook them. I cook them in a small pot with a bit of butter until they have gone soft and there’s no liquid left in the bottom of the pot. Once they have cooled down, you can use it as the filling along with the brown sugar and cinnamon.
The frosting
For the frosting, I used my cream cheese frosting for cinnamon rolls recipe. It’s the classic taste of cream cheese that commercial cinnamon rolls have only that it’s so much better because it’s home-made. It’s different from a cream cheese buttercream that you would use for a carrot cake, for example. That one is much firmer to be able to assemble the layers of the cake. If you’re a cream cheese lover frosting or a cinnamon roll fan, you’ll love this apple version.
Other similar recipes
If you like cinnamon rolls, you have to try these recipes that I adore. There are infinite possibilities with a delicious recipe like this one.
Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast
- 120 g sugar
- 240 ml lukewarm milk
- 60 g unsalted melted butter cooled to room temperature
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla esence
For the sugar filling:
- 220 g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 60 g melted unsalted butter cooled to room temperature
For the apples
- 2 apples
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
For the frosting
- 110 g cream cheese at room temperature
- 3 tbsp icing sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract/vanilla essence
- 30 g whipping cream
Instructions
For the dough
- Mix the lukewarm milk, eggs, vanilla essence and melted butter.
- Mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and make a hole in the centre and add all the wet ingredients in the center.
- Mix everything until you have a uniform dough. It’s really sticky so don’t worry, that’s just the way this dough is ? That makes them gooey at the end instead of bread-y and hard.
- Let the dough rest for 1 hour covered in cling film or until it doubles its size. If it’s too cold, turn on your oven until it’s warm (not hot) inside and let it puff up there.
For the apples
- Peel the apples and remove the core. Cut the apples in small cubes.
- Cook the apples in butter over medium heat until they are soft and no liquid remains on the pan.
Assembly
- Dust flour on a clean tabletop and roll the dough. Every couple of rolls make sure it’s not sticking and dust more flour underneath and on top. Roll it out to 2mm thick so that you get lots of rolls instead of just a couple thick ones. Try to keep it as rectangular as you can. At the very end make sure it’s not stuck and dust more flour if necessary so you can roll it with ease.
- Paint the melted butter on top evenly and reach every edge.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon and spread it out as evenly as possible. Sprinkle it and then spread out any mountains of sugar by gently brushing them with your hand.
- Start rolling: first do it carefully so it’s nice and tight and once you have the first 2 complete rolls, you can just push it (still very tightly) so it rolls to the end.
- Cut the rolls (I did mine 4cm) and put them on a baking tray lined with baking paper at the bottom (this will help later so the sugar doesn’t stick, you’ll thank me!) and arrange them nicely. Keep a decent amount of space between them so that they can rise during proofing and after in the oven without becoming square.
- Let them sit for 30min*** (again, it helps if they’re in a warm environment) and then they go in the oven at 180°C/350°F for 20-30min or until they're golden on top
For the frosting
- Whip together the cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar.
- Add the cream little by little, whipping it in.
- Spread the frosting onto the rolls.
Notes
