Monday, November 9, 2009

Apple Cinnamon Rolls

While I was at my parents house last weekend I grabbed some apples off of their tree and was set on a mission to make something delicious with them. I debated over all of the possibilities; turnovers, cinnamon rolls, pie, muffins, bread, strudel and finally decided that apple cinnamon rolls sounded quite good. Although diced apple could easily be snuck into any cinnamon roll recipe I figured that I might as well try a new recipe while I was at it.


This dough came together quickly and nicely and turned into a dough that was smooth and perfect to work with. The vanilla glaze adds just enough sweetness to the rolls that a heavy cream cheese frosting is just not needed. I opted for the making and baking the rolls in the same day but there are instructions on spanning it out over two days. These rolls were a hit with my family and also with my co-workers. I will definitely be making these again in the near future.



Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, pg 144-145

Ingredients
4 1/4 to 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose four
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter
1 cup finely chopped, peeled apple
half and half or light cream
1 recipe vanilla glaze (below)

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast. In a saucepan heat and stir milk, 1/3 cup of butter, granulated sugar, and salt just until warm (120-130 degrees F) and butter almost melts; add to flour mixture along with eggs. Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl. Beat on high speed 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3-5 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).
3. Punch dough down. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 9 x 1 1/2 inch round baking pans or 2 baking sheets ; set aside. For filling, stir together brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon; cut in 1/3 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
4. Roll each half of dough into a 12x8 inch rectangle. Sprinkle filling and apple over dough rectangles. Roll up each rectangle starting from a long side. Seal seams. Slice each roll into 12 pieces. Place cut sides down in prepared pans or baking sheets.
5. To bake the rolls right away; cover the dough loosely and let it rise in a warm place until nearly double, about 30 minutes. To bake the rolls later; cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap and chill for 2 to 24 hours. When ready to bake the rolls uncover and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Break any surface bubbles with a greased toothpick. Brush dough with half-and-half. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until light brown (if necessary, cover rolls with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking to prevent overbrowning). Remove from oven. Brush again with half-and-half. Cool for 1 minute. Carefully invert rolls onto a wire rack. Cool slightly. Invert once again onto a serving platter. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze (recipe below).Vanilla GlazeIn a small bowl stir together 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon light-colored corn syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Add enough half and half or light cream (1-2 tablespoons) to reach drizzling consistency.

Vanilla Glaze
In a small bowl stir together 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon light-colored corn syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Add enough half and half or light cream (1-2 tablespoons) to reach drizzling consistency.

17 comments:

Carrie said...

I need to make some cinnamon rolls, I have some diced apples I froze too. YUM!

Vanessa said...

wow, this looks yummy! so great for a wintery afternoon, I'll have to make them... maybe even today. Thanks!

ashley said...

oh these sound really good!

K said...

OH my goodness! Those look and sound sooo amazing!! I love a good cinnamon roll!

Mata Family said...

These look awesome! My son has been asking to make cinnamon rolls so I think we will make these this week! Thanks!

Cassi said...

These were Amazing.... Mom, Dad and Myself all agree!

I can't wait for the second batch!

Just the right amount of Apple... not too much, not too little!

MMMMMMMMMMMM

Very easy to zap in the morning for a quick breakfast snack too!

That Girl said...

I'm making something very similar this week - but with sausage in it too, so we can have it for breakfast and not feel guilty about the lack of protein.

Katy ~ said...

Oh my. These look bakery good!

elly said...

These look delicious! I love anything with apples. Mmm.

Shauna said...

Those look fabulous! I love cinnamon rolls and I can only imagine how much yummier the apples make them.

Donna-FFW said...

These sound wonderful. Id love to try these with my morning coffee. MMMMM!

Anonymous said...

What a great way to use up apples! They look delicious!

Multi-tasking Mommy said...

Yummy! Sounds so good.

You know what I have a hard time doing? Rolling the dough into a rectangle!

Any suggestions?

Lynn said...

It's almost as though you knew I had a basket full of apples on my kitchen table that I was wondering what to do with :) Thanks for sharing this recipe. It looks delightful.

Anonymous said...

It is very interesting for me to read the post. Thank author for it. I like such themes and everything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read a bit more on that blog soon.

A Cooking Bookworm said...

MMM! I've never thought to add apples into my cinnamon rolls before, but YUMMM!

These look delicious!

tanya does cooking said...

wow love the twist of adding apple - must give it a go - I recently made the below but yours looks much nicer! :)

http://tanyadoescooking.blogspot.com/2010/12/cinnamon-swirls.html