Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Its fall and for me that means baking and great treats, these caramel apple cinnamon rolls are exactly what this time of year calls for.

Apples are in season and caramel apples are very popular this time of year add the warm delicious flavor of fluffy cinnamon rolls we have a winner.

Ingredients you will need

• Warm milk – you want the milk warm so that it will help to activate the yeast, too cold it wont work, too hot it will burn the yeast.
• Yeast – keep your yeast in the fridge to keep it fresh.
• Sugar – to feed the yeast and activate it
• Flour – all purpose flour or pastry flour will work
• Salt – always add salt even to your sweet dishes because it brings out the flavor of just about everything.
• Eggs – holds everything together

Filling

• Butter – melts to mix with the rest to create a sauce inside the rolls
• Sugar – adds sweetness
• Brown sugar – creates a more sticky sweet flavor and texture
• Cinnamon – a must have for cinnamon rolls obviously, always use with caution
• Apples – use your favorite kind of apple, for this sweet dish a more tart less sweet cooking apple would be ideal
• Heavy cream – to cover bottom of the pan, adds moisture and richness to the buns

Frosting

• Butter – the base of the butter cream frosting
• Caramel sauce – can be homemade or
• Icing sugar – confectioner sugar, always have extra on hand for adjusting consistency
• Salt – brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.

How to make Caramel Apple Cinnamon Buns

1. Proof the yeast

In the bowl of a stand mixer add yeast, sugar, and warm milk. milk should be around 100°f which takes about 30 sec in the microwave. do not use milk that is hotter than this or you will burn your yeast. Milk that is cold also will not work.

Stir and allow ingredients to sit for about 5 min, you should see bubbles begin to form. if you don’t your yeast is no good and the recipe will not work. if you don’t see the bubbles start to form do not continue to make the rolls. start again with fresh yeast.

2. Add the ingredients

To the bowl add flour, salt, and eggs. mix slowly with the dough hook attachment of the stand mixer until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. start off slow and keep a steady pace, you don’t want to use a high speed and whip the dough.

3. Kneed

Turn the dough out onto a clean dry surface and knead for a few minutes until the dough is very smooth and stiffens up a bit. you don’t want to over work the dough but also at the same time you don’t want to under work it either. The dough is good when it is nice and smooth, and starts to get harder to kneed. Press your finger into the top and it should bounce back and smooth righ out.

4. Rise

Place dough into a grease-prepared bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. If your oven has a rise setting this is the kind of recipe that benefits from the warmth of the oven.

5. Prepare the filling

Peel and cut apples into ½” cubes place them into a large bowl and add the brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon. stir until everything is combined and the apples are covered. Making this right after you are done with the dough and waiting for it to rise will allow the apples to create some juices with the sugars.

6. Roll out the dough

Once the dough has risen turn it out onto a floured surface and roll out thin to a rectangle about 12″ x 24″. use your rolling pin and be patient with it. don’t force it too much let the rolling pin do the work. be mindful of the same and try your best to roll out int o a rectangle for easy rolling.

7. Add the filling

Cover the dough with the softened butter then sprinkle the apple cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough. leave a bit of space along the one long edge that will be the outside of the roll. Spread out the filling as evenly as possible.

8. On a roll

starting on one of the longer sides roll the dough loosely so you have a log. Move back and forth while rolling making sure your roll is as even as possible and not to tight.

9. Cut

Cut into 12 equal rolls using a sharp knife or a piece of dental floss. If you are using a sharp knife let the knife do the work, move slowly with a light back and forth movement. Do not squish the roll while you are cutting.

10. Prepare the pan

prepare a 12″ x 9″ baking pan with cooking spray and lay the rolls with the swirl side up evenly spaced. When arranging the rolls put the two end pieces in the middle with the non cut side down. This will help to create a more consistent look for all the rolls.

11. Allow to rise again

Cover and allow to rise for 30 min, use plastic wrap or a clean towel to cover, and if you have that setting on your oven for rising use it again. a nice warm dry space will allow the rolls to rise very well.

12. Bake

pre heat oven to 350°f

Pour heavy cream into the pan to cover up to 1″ of the bottom of the rolls. This step can be skipped if you don’t have any heavy cream. Adding the cream will make the rolls so much more moist and add a rich flavor you can only get from the cream.

bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and fully cooked through.

13. Make the frosting

Add butter to a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter until it has lightened in color.

Add caramel, and salt then whip again to combine. Caramel sauce can be home made or store bought.

Add icing sugar and start on a very low speed incorporating everything together increasing the speed to whip the icing till it is nice and fluffy.

14. Frost

When the cinnamon rolls are fully baked and a nice golden brown, remove them from the oven and spread icing on while the rolls are still hot. the frosting will melt and sink into all the nooks and crannies.

Serve warm with a drizzle of extra caramel on top, you can also add some flakes of kosher salt for that sweet and salty taste.