Oh, hey there. Earlier this fall I promised you more variations on cinnamon rolls and I'm not one to take such promises lightly. Cinnamon rolls were promised and cinnamon rolls have been delivered. Boom.
So you guys know I've been mildly freaking over all things apple for the past few months of my life. So it was only a matter of time until I stuffed some into my very favorite baked good, the cinnamon roll. These would be perfect to make for a holiday brunch. If I had a holiday brunch on the books, I would totally bring these. I would show up warm cinnamon rolls in hand, sporting a festive outfit and a perfect hairdo. That's not real life, though. Real life is a cinnamon roll thrown into a Tupperware container and scarfed in my office after teaching. Just saying.
These cinnamon rolls are special for a few reasons. First, there are spices in the actual dough itself. Why is this not always a thing? Cinnamon and nutmeg dough? Yes. Secondly, the apples inside are mixed with more spices and caramelized. Yes, again. And finally, the icing on these bad boys in a caramel cream cheese situation. Oh dear Lord. I'm not even a cream cheese gal and I freaked over this stuff. Like, it's possible that I may have eaten a spoonful of the stuff straight. Yeesh. Moral of the story: make these. Holiday brunch or no, they need to happen.
Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
For the cinnamon rolls:
6½ Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
5½ Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp lemon zest
2½ cups bread flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk or buttermilk, at room temperature
For the filling:
1½ Tbsp unsalted butter
3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices (I used Honeycrisp but Granny Smith would work well, too)
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
For the glaze:
4 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp caramel sauce
1 Tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Mix in the egg and lemon zest until incorporated. Mix in the flours, yeast and milk until a dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 8 minutes or knead by hand until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. (I needed to add a little extra flour at this point to achieve the desired consistency.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the filling. To make the caramelized apples, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix until the apples are evenly coated. Cook 15-18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon to blend; set aside.
Mist a work surface with spray oil. Roll dough out into a roughly 12 x 14" rectangle with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the dough with flour if needed to keep it from sticking. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. Evenly distribute the caramelized apples over the top of the dough. Starting with the wide edge, roll the dough into a cigar-shaped log. Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls. (I did eight rolls but you could do more or less depending on the desired size of the finished rolls.) Transfer the rolls to a greased 9" round pan.
Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 75-90 minutes, until the rolls have grown into each other and have nearly doubled in size. At this point, the rolls can also be covered and retarded in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Pull the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to let the dough proof.
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
To make the glaze, combine the cream cheese and butter in a small heatproof bowl and microwave in 15-20 second intervals until it is warm enough to whisk together. Whisk in the caramel sauce, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Swirl the glaze over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
2 tsp instant (rapid rise) yeast
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk or buttermilk, at room temperature
For the filling:
1½ Tbsp unsalted butter
3 apples, peeled, cored and cut into ¼-inch slices (I used Honeycrisp but Granny Smith would work well, too)
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
For the glaze:
4 oz. cream cheese
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 Tbsp caramel sauce
1 Tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Mix in the egg and lemon zest until incorporated. Mix in the flours, yeast and milk until a dough forms. Switch to the dough hook and knead on low speed, about 8 minutes or knead by hand until the dough is silky and supple, tacky but not sticky. (I needed to add a little extra flour at this point to achieve the desired consistency.) Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, make the filling. To make the caramelized apples, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apple slices, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix until the apples are evenly coated. Cook 15-18 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cinnamon to blend; set aside.
Mist a work surface with spray oil. Roll dough out into a roughly 12 x 14" rectangle with a rolling pin, lightly dusting the dough with flour if needed to keep it from sticking. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the surface of the dough. Evenly distribute the caramelized apples over the top of the dough. Starting with the wide edge, roll the dough into a cigar-shaped log. Pinch the seam shut, and with the seam side down, slice the log into your desired number of rolls. (I did eight rolls but you could do more or less depending on the desired size of the finished rolls.) Transfer the rolls to a greased 9" round pan.
Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature 75-90 minutes, until the rolls have grown into each other and have nearly doubled in size. At this point, the rolls can also be covered and retarded in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Pull the pan out of the refrigerator 3-4 hours before baking to let the dough proof.
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.
To make the glaze, combine the cream cheese and butter in a small heatproof bowl and microwave in 15-20 second intervals until it is warm enough to whisk together. Whisk in the caramel sauce, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Whisk in the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Swirl the glaze over the top of the cinnamon rolls. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
Yield: 8 large cinnamon rolls
Source: adapted from Annie's Eats
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