Prepare yourself for the most delicious cinnamon rolls of the season! These Caramel Apple Cinnamon rolls are filled with cinnamon, brown sugar, apple chunks, and a generous drizzle of homemade caramel sauce. Soft, buttery, and so tasteful!
Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices and I use it in my kitchen all the time, especially when baking desserts. It gives so much aroma to my meals, so when the recipe calls for a generous cinnamon sugar layer, I am definitely in! And where there is cinnamon, there are also cinnamon rolls. Soft, fluffy and buttery, who can resist them?
The first time I tried a cinnamon roll was back in high school. As a senior high school student, I used to live in Ohio for a year, where my host mom would often make cinnamon rolls. I hadn't tried them before that, so imagine how in love I was when taking the first bite of this delicious, fluffy treat. From then on, I could eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Ten years later, I find myself in the kitchen, kneading the dough for the most delicious Fall recipe there is. Soft buttery dough, covered with a cinnamony brown sugar layer, green apple chunks, and a drizzle of homemade caramel sauce to make it more exciting. The house feels like a little bakery and beautiful cinnamon aroma is everywhere. I take a sip of my coffee and patiently wait that they rise, just enough for the baking.
Making homemade cinnamon rolls is actually pretty easy. This dough has essential ingredients that you all have at home, and all you need to do is follow the recipe and let it rest for some time. I know, resting time can be pretty difficult as all you think is the final result - that gorgeous, fluffy cinnamon roll filled with apples and caramel.
However, as we are using dry, instant yeast for this recipe, the rising process is pretty quick, and you can make these cinnamon rolls the same morning for your breakfast or brunch with friends. Trust me, once you bake them, they will be all gone in 10 minutes!
You can keep your stuffing simple and only go for cinnamon and brown sugar, but I highly recommend to add apple chunks and caramel to it. These ingredients go so well together and are worth a try! You can make your own caramel sauce (I am sharing the recipe in the instructions) or you can use the store-bought version, the choice is yours. I prefer making my own and using it throughout the fall for many recipes.
These soft, cinnamon rolls have made it to the top of our favorite Fall breakfast list, and now is your turn to try them and share this recipe with your family and friends. If you have time, take a picture before they are all gone and tag me on Instagram or use #thehungryapron so I can find you! I would love to see how they turned out!
Let’s be honest, is there a better way than starting your morning with these buttery, fluffy rolls?
Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Marija Gvozdenovic
INGREDIENTS
Serves 12
Prep. time: 40 Minutes
Cooking time: 20 Minutes
For the dough
4 tablespoons salted butter
180 ml of milk
60 ml water
390 - 450g all-purpose flour
50g granulated sugar
A pinch of salt
7g dry instant yeast
1 egg, room temperature
FOR THE filling
125g brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 tablespoons salted butter, softened
1 large granny smith, cored and finely chopped
5 tbsp caramel sauce (homemade or store-bought)
FOR HOMEMADE CARAMEL SAUCE
Makes 1 small jar
240 g granulated Sugar
115ml water
225ml Heavy Whipping Cream or Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Salt
METHOD
In a small cooking pan, combine the milk, water, and butter. Heat on low for 1 minute, remove and stir. The butter should be melted and the milk warm. If the mixture is too hot, let it sit for a few minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, add 360g flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the warm milk mixture and the egg. With a hand or stand mixer, beat on medium-low speed to combine. When the dough starts sticking to the sides of the bowl, start adding the remaining flour, 30g at a time until the dough stops sticking and forms a nice ball. I needed all the 450 grams of flour for my dough. Knead the dough with your hands for another 5 minutes, then cover with the plastic wrap and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare cinnamon brown sugar by whisking together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg until combined.
When the dough has risen nicely (at least doubled in size), put it on a lightly floured work surface, and with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle (approx. 35 by 25cm).
Using a small spatula, spread the softened butter out evenly over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon brown sugar mixture. Top with apple chunks and drizzle caramel sauce on top. Roll up the dough tightly, cut it into 12 even pieces, and place it in a lightly greased round pan (I used a 28 cm round pan, but you can also use a rectangular one).
Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise in a warm, dark place for 40 minutes or an hour. If you don't have this time, you can also preheat the oven to 100 degrees Celsius, turned it off, and place the rolls to rise there. The warm oven will make them rise in 20 minutes or so.
When the dough has risen, uncover the dish. Bake, the caramel apple cinnamon rolls for 15-18 minutes or until the rolls are golden and cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire cooling rack for 5 – 10 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining caramel sauce and serve warm.
How to make your homemade caramel sauce
If you are making homemade caramel, combine water, sugar, and salt into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, continually stirring as this will help the sugar dissolve faster. When the syrup comes to a boil, stop stirring until syrup is honey-colored, about 6-7 minutes. Continue cooking until syrup is light to medium amber, a minute more. Immediately add cream and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir constantly until you get a creamy caramel texture, another 3 minutes or so. Leave to cool before transferring it to a jar. Caramel will be runny while warm, but thicken as it cools. Keep it in the fridge for up to 1 month.
