Move over cinnamon rolls, Apple Cinnamon rolls are here! I have been seeing these rolls all over social media and I was literally waiting to work on a recipe any time I got a chance.
I wanted to share this recipe during apple picking season, but Diwali was coming up and I got busy. You can still make it with store bought apples.
These rolls are a small batch recipe. Even though you will need double the recipe, as they are super delicious in taste and flavors. I made them in a square pan but if you make smaller sized you can make at least 8 rolls.
If you end up liking these, I have another fruit forward flavor – also try Mango Lassi rolls.
We make the dough using regular bread, roll, or bun dough with yeast. I have also used bread flour. I love using bread for fluffier texture like in this recipe. Bread flour is easily available, and they have higher protein content. I have also used milk powder the way I use them in making dinner rolls.Â
The filling is cinnamon, butter and sugar. Chef Vikas Khanna at Bungalow gifted me cinnamon powder, and cinnamon rolls are the best way to use it all. Â
The frosting uses cream cheese and maple sugar, and we drizzle caramel on top. Â
You can also top these rolls with chopped pecans or walnuts and some of that apple filling. I loved the simple look.
Some tips about using Yeast
It can get confusing. Do proper reading always. Don’t let inexperience with yeast discourage you from trying it.
There are different types of yeast available in the market.
I am only going to touch upon two types that I have used and know about. Active Dry Yeast and Instant Yeast. Each type has its own activation method. Remember, yeast is an active living thing. That means you must activate it.
Active Dry Yeast must be dissolved in liquid or proofed before adding it to the rest of the dough ingredients. The liquid should be no more than 110 F warm. There are various tests to find out the 110 F temperature. Once you add the yeast to lukewarm liquid, you wait for few minutes until you see bubbles in them. This is to make sure yeast works and is active. If your liquid is too hot, heat kills the yeast, so you must start over.Â
Instant Yeast – quick rise yeast is also what’s it’s called. You can add it to the dough without the proofing requirement; there’s no need to dissolve it. It can be directly added as it to the dough ingredients. We don’t need to wait for it to bubble. You can still activate it if you like to make sure.
Big tip- Always buy small packs if you know you will not be using the yeast too much, that way it stays fresh. Always store yeast in a cool place like refrigerator. Yeast comes with expiry date. So be mindful of that. So, testing it in liquid is the best way to go if you are unsure.
Basic tips for rolls-
Do not overheat your liquid- It should be no more than 110 F. If its hotter than that, it will kill yeast, and the rolls will not rise at all while baking. It would waste your time and energy and rolls too. If you warmed it up too hot, wait for it cool down slightly. Finger tests it, it should be warm like bath water or baby’s milk.
All the ingredients for this recipe should be room temperature. Specially butter. We do not want melted butter or firm butter to work with.
I mixed the butter sugar and cinnamon mix so that it is well incorporated before spreading it on the dough. Butter should not be melted, but soft at room temperature. If you prepared this in advance , let it come to room temperate or if you use microwave o soften it up, do not pour warm or hot cinnamon sugar on the dough. Let it be cold but spreadable.
The dough can be sticky to work with, so lightly flour the surface before rolling it out. Make sure to remove excess flour once they are rolled with the help of the brush.
Do not use whole wheat flour please. Use bread flour or all-purpose flour. Whole wheat would make them denser. I haven’t tried them with whole wheat.
Cream cheese frosting should be made with soften/ room temperature ingredients and there should be no lumps left.
Watch video of making these rolls.
Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 large apples skin peeled and chopped in small
- 1 tbsp butter room temperature
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
Yeasted Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp milk powder
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast
- 6 tbsp butter room temperature
- 1 cup warm milk
- ½ tsp salt
Cinnamon Butter
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 oz. Cream Cheese room temperature
- 4 tbsp butter room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp cream
Instructions
Apple Filling
- In a pan take all the ingredient for apple filling and cook it for 10-15 minutes until apples soften up and everything looks jammy and thick. There should be no water. (This can be prepared in advance and stored in fridge)
Yeasted Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients; all-purpose or bread flour (whatever you are using), sugar, instant yeast, salt and milk powder. Set it aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together lukewarm 110 F milk, (the milk should not be too hot, it will kill the yeast, and your buns will not rise. Add butter. Whisk it very well. If you are using dry active yeast, then please dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk before adding to the flour. Read tips.
- Add this milk mixture, to the flour mix with the help of dough attachment of kitchen aid mixer, let it form dough. Once the dough is formed, remove it on lightly floured surface, knead it for few minutes 5-6 approximately. Do not use too much flour though.
- Transfer the dough to clean greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and put it in warm place in the kitchen for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the dough is doubled in size. At this stage you can also keep the dough in the refrigerator for a slow overnight rise.
- After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it a lightly floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll out a rectangle about 12 X 20 inches. We need 6-7 rolls from it. So, it’s important to roll it longer.
Cinnamon Butter
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the filling ingredients – butter, sugar, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon powder. Butter should be at room temperature, otherwise you will not be able to spread it. (This can be prepared in advance too)
- Using an offset spatula, spread the cinnamon mixture over the rolled-out dough. Don’t be shy, spread it all over to the edges.
- Roll the dough gently, in a log (widthwise) and pinch the edges to seal. Cut the roll into 6 pieces. If you are using a round pan, you can cut it in 7 pieces too. The pieces should be equal in size, approximately 2 inches.
- Place the cut sides down on a lightly greased deep dish or baking pan. (it’s important to use slightly deep dish as these will rise while proofing and baking) Leave some space in between them to rise.
- Cover them with a plastic wrap and let them rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours. You can visibly see, they would have doubled, would look puffy and the space in between them will be filled up.
- After the rolls have risen, pre-heat the oven to 350 F. Place the buns in the preheated oven and bake them until they have golden edges and top, for 30 minutes. Every oven is different, so you might need few extra minutes or few minutes less.
- Once baked, remove them from oven. Let the pan cool on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make cream cheese frosting, while the buns are cooling. Combine all the ingredients for cream cheese frosting and whisk together to mix properly. There should not be any lumps. It should be smooth looking.
- Immediately, scoop it on top of each cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. Drizzle some caramel sauce if you like. I used storebought caramel sauce from Ghirardelli.
- Serve them warm at room temperature. They can be stored in cool place at room temperature for 2 days, after 2 days they need to be refrigerated in a container. Just remove them from fridge and warm them in a microwave for 15 seconds.
