Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

By The Cooking World, Editorial Staff

November 25, 2022

A Flavorful Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

In this week's recipe, we decided to bring you our take on the classic Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe.

We use the dough of Joshua Weissman's cinnamon rolls recipe in this recipe. This is our favorite dough from all the recipes we have tried over the years.

For the filling, we decided to give it a boost in flavor with freeze-dried apple powder. You won't be able to get such flavor by just using fresh apples.

PREP TIME

3 hours

COOK TIME

15 to 20 minutes

serves

Ingredients

For the Tangzhong

18 g (2 tablespoons) unbleached all-purpose flour
30 g (2 tablespoons) filtered water
60 g (¼ cup)whole milk

For the Dough

250 g (1 cup) whole milk, heated to about 37 ºC (98 °F)
7 g (2 ¼ teaspoon) instant dry yeast
600 g (4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
5 g (3/4 teaspoon) fine sea salt
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
56 g (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
30 g (2 tablespoons) neutral-tasting oil

For the Filling

75 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, softened
215 g (1 cup) firmly packed dark brown sugar
24 g (2 tablespoons) muscovado sugar
17 g (2 ½ tablespoons) ground cinnamon
45 g (1 ½ cups) freeze-dried apples
2 medium apples, about 370 g (13 oz), such as Braeburn, Granny Smith, and/or Honey Crisp

For the Glaze

110 g (4 oz) cream cheese, softened
125 g (1 cup) powdered sugar
10 g (2 teaspoons) pure vanilla extract
40 g (2 ½ tablespoon) whole milk

Special Equipment

Small Saucepan
Small Bowl
Stand Mixer
Medium Bowl
Standard 12-cup muffin tin
Rolling Pin
Serrated Knife
‍Handheld Mixer
‍‍‍‍Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups
Digital Scale

Instructions

Make the tangzhong. In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour, water, and milk until completely dissolved. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens into a thick paste. Transfer to a small bowl, and set aside to cool.
Start the dough. In a small bowl, add the milk. Stir in the yeast, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 10 minutes. The mixture should get lightly foamy, and the yeast should dissolve.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Fit the mixer with the dough hook, and begin mixing the dry ingredients on medium-low speed. While the motor is running, one at a time, add the yeast mixture, the thickened and fully cooled tangzhong, the eggs (one egg at a time), and finally the egg yolk. Continue mixing on medium-low speed for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Increase the speed to medium, and mix in the butter 1 tablespoon (14 g) at a time, allowing each addition to fully incorporate before adding the next. Add the oil 1 tablespoon (15 g) at a time in the same way. The dough will slide around a bit, so turn the machine off as needed to scrape down the sides as you mix until all of the oi is incorporated and you have a smooth, lovely dough.
Remove the dough from the bowl, and gently shape it into a loose ball. Lightly grease a medium bowl with cooking spray, and add the dough. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in size. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin with cooking oil, and set aside.
Punch down the dough to release the gas and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Dust the dough with flour and roll into a 33 cm (13-inch) long rectangle about 0.5 cm (1/4 inch) thick.
For the filling, place the freeze-dried in the bowl of a food processor. Cover with a sheet of plastic to contain the dust, and grind until powdery and fine, about 1 minute. Brush the entire surface of the dough with the softened butter. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, muscovado sugar, freeze-dried apple, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle all of the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly across the entire surface of the dough.
Peel the apples, and using a mandolin, cut thin and uniform slices. To use the most you can from the apple, cut off its “cheeks” in thirds from the core of the apple, so you have three even lobes to work with. Place the apple slices onto the dough,starting from the top to bottom.
From the long edge, roll the dough into a lovely 33 cm (13-inch) long log. Using a serrated knife, cut the dough into 12 equally sized rounds.
Arrange the rounds in the muffin tin. Cover the dish with a damp towel and let proof at room temperature for 35 to 45 minutes. Once nearly done rising, preheat the oven to 190 ºC (375 °F).
Bake the apple cinnamon rolls for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown.
While the rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. In a medium bowl, using a handheld mixer or whisk, beat the cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Then beat in the powdered sugar until you get a shaggy paste. Add the vanilla and whole milk, and whisk together until you get a nice drizzly consistency. Add more milk if the glaze is too thick.
Let the rolls cool for about 8 minutes and then drizzle all of the glaze over the top. Enjoy while still warm.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

A Flavorful Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Ingredients

For the Tangzhong

For the Dough

For the Filling

For the Glaze

Special Equipment

Check out these products

Oxo Bench Knife

OXO Good Grips Measuring Cups

OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowl Set

OXO Good Grips Measuring Spoons

Instructions

Tags

Check our other recipes

Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Apple and Blackberry Hand Pie Recipe

Fennel Pollen Pistachio Cake Recipe

Joshua Weissman Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

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