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Caramel apple cinnamon rolls stuffed with cinnamon, brown sugar, granny smith apples and drizzled with homemade apple cider caramel sauce. My cinnamon rolls have the most wonderful, bakery-style, buttery flavor! The perfect fall treat!
Feeling all the fall vibes today!
Today, I’m bringing you apple cinnamon rolls drizzled all over with cider caramel sauce!
Each bite has a gooey caramel apple filling all wrapped around pillowy soft bakery-style cinnamon roll dough.
You could totally frost these with cream cheese frosting like I do my 1-hour cinnamon rolls, but I like to go in with that leftover apple cider caramel or salted caramel sauce, and it’s golden brown fall perfection. It’s totally giving sticky buns meets caramel apple pieces.
Serve for brunch alongside some eggs and watch these disappear.
Ingredients for apple cinnamon rolls
- Flour: The protein content of all-purpose flour is ideal for making cinnamon rolls.
- Milk: warm whole milk is added to the dough. This adds hydration, structure, and strengthens the dough.
- Instant Yeast: ferments the sugar and helps the dough to rise by releasing carbon dioxide. Active dry yeast works too, just be sure to activate it first.
- Sugar: You’ll need both granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe. I like to use white sugar in the dough and brown sugar for the cinnamon swirl in the center.
- Powdered Milk: This is my secret ingredient in making bakery-quality cinnamon buns at home! You can find this in the baking aisle or online here.
- An Egg: helps strengthen the structure of the final baked product.
- Butter: When we add melted butter to the rolls, the fat coats the flour and ensures that less gluten is formed, so the rolls are melt-in-your-mouth tender.
- Spices: You’ll need ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt for the dough. These add flavor.
- Diced apples: I love using a nice and tart green apple for this recipe because it balances out all the sweet ingredients in the recipe. Swap with any other apples that are suitable for baking.
- Pecans: Adds nutty crunch.
How to make apple cinnamon rolls
- Yeast likes things warm to get it going. Combine the milk and water. Then heat it for 30 seconds until warm. Add melted butter to the mixture, then check the temperature using a food thermometer. It shouldn’t be any hotter than 105ºF; if it is, just let it cool a bit.
- Make the dough. Add the flour, sugar, salt, powder milk, and yeast to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the milk mixture and the egg. Mix together until a soft dough forms. Remove it from the stand mixer, cover it, and let sit for 10-15 minutes. This allows the gluten to relax. If you were to roll this right away, the dough wouldn’t stretch the way we need it to!
- Make the cinnamon brown sugar filling. Add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a bowl; set it aside for later. This would also be a good time to dice up a granny smith or Honeycrisp apple.
- Make rolls. Place the dough on a lightly floured surfaced roll into a large rectangle. Then spread the surface with softened butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Drop apple chunks and drizzle with salted caramel or apple cider caramel sauce on top. Roll the dough into a tight log. Make sure to tuck and pinch the ends. Cut the ends off to make clean pieces. Cut into 12 equal pieces. Place the rolls in a lightly greased baking dish.
- Let the dough rest and rise. For the second rise, I like to warm the oven to 200ºF, turn it off and then place the rolls inside covered with a damp tea towel. The warm oven is an optimum atmosphere for the dough to rise.
- Preheat the oven and bake. When the dough has risen, remove it from the oven and preheat the oven. Bake the rolls for 16-22 minutes or until the center roll is cooked through and no longer raw. Let the rolls cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then drizzle with more apple cider caramel or salted caramel. Serve warm!
FAQs about caramel cinnamon rolls:
Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant?
Yes, you can. The only difference is you’ll have to proof the yeast.
Do I have to use powdered milk?
I do recommend it.
What caramel do you use?
I’ve used a homemade apple cider caramel, a homemade salted caramel with vanilla, and I’ve even used several brands of store-bought caramel sauce. If I go the store-bought route, this one has been my favorite!
How do you store these cinnamon rolls?
I usually prefer to pop them in an airtight container and refrigerate them until ready to serve.
Do I have to bake them in a 13×9 pan?
You can bake them in 9-inch round pie dish but it only holds 11 rolls – not 12. You can also make these in a muffin pan to get individual cinnamon rolls.
Other apple recipes to try:
- Quick Warm Cinnamon Apples
- Homemade Apple Cider
- Apple Crumble Bars
- Easy Maple Honeycrisp Apple Fritters
- Honeycrisp Kale Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Caramel apple cinnamon rolls stuffed with cinnamon, brown sugar, granny smith apples and drizzled with homemade apple cider caramel sauce. My cinnamon rolls have the most wonderful, bakery-style, buttery flavor! The perfect fall treat!
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough:
- 4 tablespoons melted salted butter or ghee
- ¾ cup milk such as dairy, almond,etc
- ¼ cup water
- 3¼ -3¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 tablespoons powdered milk
- 1 egg room temperature
Caramel Apple Filling:
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar packed
- 5 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 tablespoons salted butter softened
- 1 large Granny Smith apple cored and chopped
- ¼ cup toasted chopped pecans optional
- ¾ cup caramel sauce homemade or store-bought
Instructions
- WARM: In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the milk and water for 30-45 seconds. Check the temperature, it should be about 105-108ºF. If it’s hotter, you’ll need to allow it to cool at room temp until it reaches that range. Add the melted cooled butter to the milk mixture.
- DOUGH: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook (or hand mixer with dough hook) combine 3 cups flour, sugar, salt, powdered milk, and yeast. Mix for a few seconds, then pour in the milk mixture and egg. Beat on medium-low speed until the flour is incorporated; about 5 minutes. If the dough is sticky, add ¼ cup of flour at a time until it pulls away and forms a ball. Run the mixture for another 5 minutes on medium speed. Remove dough from hook, spray dough with oil spray, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
- CINNAMON BROWN SUGAR: In a small now, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and ground nutmeg; set aside.
- MAKE ROLLS: Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. With a floured rolling pin, roll it out into a 14×10 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter over the surface using a butter knife. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Top with apple and pecan pieces. Drizzle ½ of the caramel sauce on top. Roll the dough tightly, tuck and pinch the ends and cut into 12 even pieces, using a sharp knife or dental floss. Place rolls in a lightly greased or parchment-lined 13×9 baking pan.
- REST: Loosely cover with a towel and allow the rolls to rise in a warm, dark place for 20-35 minutes. TIP: heat a 200ºF oven, turn the oven OFF and place rolls inside.
- BAKE: Remove the dish from the oven. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the rolls for 16-22 minutes or until golden. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Drizzle with remaining caramel sauce and serve warm.
Notes
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Alternate pans: If you bake these cinnamon rolls in a 9-inch round pie dish, you’ll only be able to fit 11 rolls. You can also bake these in a muffin pan to get individual cinnamon rolls.
Nutrition
Calories: 232kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 27g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi question can o make the rolls ahead of time and not bake till the next day?
Hi Kari! Unfortunately, I can’t recommend preparing these a day ahead and baking later. I think the caramel and the apple together would release a lot of liquid! For best results, I would bake them and then reheat as needed if you wanted to prepare these ahead of time 🙂
can I make this recipe without using a big mixer (I don’t have one ;( )
The best apple cinnamon rolls I’ve tried!
I made these and they’re ahhmazing!! Not too sweet the caramel / apples/ cinnamon Filling is so delicious , do you think I could make them in mass could I freeze them and bake at a later date ?