These buns taste like an apple fritter and a cinnamon bun collided together in an ooey-gooey mess of deliciousness. Seriously, they’re kind of a big deal. Make this for your family. Make this for your friends – just find a way to make them, and quick. And remember, tis’ the season for sharing.
Recipe updated 10/19/13
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 packet of active yeast
Filling
2 medium apples, chopped into small cubes (about 1 1/2 cups chopped)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup ground cinnamon
1 cup of butter, melted (2 sticks)
Frosting
1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure maple extract (or pure vanilla extract)
1/4 cup milk
To prepare the dough, heat milk, oil and cane sugar for 5-8 minutes (do not boil). Pour milk into a large mixing bowl and let it reach lukewarm temperatures (to the touch) for about 10 minutes.
Once milk is lukewarm to the touch, sprinkle packet of yeast on top and let it set for one minute. After a minute has passed, pour in four cups of flour and mix until incorporated nicely. Cover bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let dough rise for one hour in a relatively warm area.
After one hour, mix in last 1/2 cup of flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
For the filling, heat up 1 cup of butter and brown it. Be watchful not to burn the butter by looking out for the center of the boiling butter. When the center forms a caramel color quickly remove it from the stove-top and set aside. Then in a small bowl mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and have chopped apples in a separate bowl.
Place dough onto a well floured surface and begin to roll it into a thin, long rectangle.
Once filling components are ready, spoon 1/2 of melted browned butter onto rolled out dough and spread evenly with spoon. Then evenly sprinkle on brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, followed by chopped apples. Take long end, closest to you, and start to tightly roll dough with filling (try to keep the roll as tight as possible). Once dough and filling has been rolled into a log, pinch the seams shut. Using a sharp knife, slice 1 1/2 inch slices and place into a greased baking pan. Try not to overcrowd. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for at least 20 more minutes. Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup of melted browned butter evenly over the cinnamon rolls.
While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until lightly golden.
For the frosting, melt 1/2 cup of butter and pour into a medium bowl. Mix in powdered sugar, salt, milk and maple extract until smooth.
Pour frosting evenly over cinnamon rolls.
Serve warm.
http://www.elizadomestica.com/recipes/breakfast-recipes/apple-cinnamon-rolls-recipe

30 Comments
These are the best ever! Forget Cinnabon!
I halved the recipe, and but they are so rich with butter and sugar that any minor dough shortcomings are masked. Yum.
I should not be reading this so late at night! It looks delicious, great entry!
-Brandon
http://www.theyummybits.com
Twitter: @theyummybits
Thanks, Brandon:)
Eliza
Gorgeous cinnamon rolls. Found you via stumble upon. Great sit!
wow those look really good!
Hello, my daughter is home from college for Thanksgiving requested the apple cinnamon rolls but I could not find the evaporated cane sugar juice. Any direction on how/what to substitute would be appreciated.
Hi Beth,
it’s just sugar, except organic and unrefined. Regular white sugar works just the same. Happy Thanksgiving!:)
-Eliza
Hi Eliza,
I just started to make this recipe and noticed that the dough seemed a little dry. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of milk but your earlier recipe for browned butter pecan cinnamon rolls calls for 2 cups of milk. Is this correct?
-Tal
Hi Tal,
Thanks for catching that! Yes, it calls for 2 cups of milk. I updated the recipe.
Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving.
-Eliza
Just gorgeous! I have thought about doing an apple cinnamon roll, sounds sooooo good:-) I just made a pumpkin cinnamon roll yesterday, that was soooo fun! Take care, Terra
Thanks Terra,
Pumpkin cinnamon rolls actually sound amazing! Will have to give those a try:)
-Eliza
Hi – this sounds delicious. I’m teaching my 10 year old daughter to cook and thought this recipe would be a hit but wondered if you can tell me what quantity is in a packet of active yeast? Either in teaspoons or weight wise would be good. We buy ours by the container full. Thanks
Hi Sarah,
One packet of active dry yeast is 2 1/4 teaspoons (1/4 ounce). This will be a fun recipe to make with your daughter.
Holy ridiculousness. These look ah-maaaa-zing. Adding apple bits bring the whole concept of cinn-rolls to a new level. :) Must try for the holidays!
Hey
I love the fotos of your apple cinnamon roll, but somehow I didn’t managed to have the same result.. After the dough should have rised (my dough was pretty the same size as before) I added the last ingredients but the dough was so sticky and wet so i added more flour.. but it wasn’t good.
what should have been my problem?
(I don’t bake at all, but for this cinnamon rolls I tried my best, without success :( )
I will have another try when you help me to solve my problem :) because they look so delicious!!!
Hi Christian,
I’m so sorry these didn’t turn out right for you. They are delicious, I promise you. Let’s troubleshoot a bit – did you sprinkle the packet of yeast on top of the lukewarm milk/sugar/oil and let it set for a minute (not mixing it in)? If you did, then the dough should have risen at least a little bit after mixing in the flour and letting the dough sit, covered for an hour.
Also, if the dough seemed too sticky, it is always okay to add more flour to it so that it is manageable to roll out.
Please let me know if this helps.
Eliza:)
These look divine!
Wow these look delicious and I love the pictures that you took. Definitely going to have to try this recipe!
These are amazing! I made them this weekend… they’re so rich and gooey. I have featured them on my blog as well– http://princessinthekitchen.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/gooey-apple-cinnamon-rolls/
Please feel free to check it out! Thanks for sharing this great recipe :)
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oh my gosh, i just gargled when i saw this. it’s just too perfect for fall!
Taste like an apple fritter? I am so in. This looks too good!
can you use pre made dough, i’m not too confident in making homemade
Yeah that should be okay. It might not taste the same but I think it will work. Maybe a puff pastry or simple pillsbury dough would work. Just use the baking directions of the premade dough.
Let me know how they come out!
Cinnamon rolls are my absolute favorite thing to eat. Apples are a close second. I love the flavor of apples as they bake down and the sweetness comes out!
These look scrumptious! I want to make them for an early morning meeting. How do you think it would turn out if I made them all the night before and then baked them in the morning? Or would I be better off baking the night before and storing in an airtight container? Thanks!
Kelsey, You can prep them (the dough) ahead the night before baking. Then the following morning let them do their final rise, then bake. You can also prep the icing the night before too. If it’s too hard to pour or spread, warm it for 30 seconds in a microwave.
Do you have to knead it at all? Did you mix by hand or with dough hook? thanks
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