Homemade Apple Streusel Cinnamon Rolls
These Apple Streusel Cinnamon Rolls are soft, fluffy, sweet rolls with a creamy brown sugar cinnamon apple filling, topped with cinnamon streusel and a warm caramel glaze. They're an absolute must-bake breakfast or brunch treat that’s perfect for the fall season!
Servings: 12 servings
Equipment
- Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer with dough roller and dough scraper attachments
Ingredients
Dough
- 3/4 cup Water
- 3/4 cup Whole Milk
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 1/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
- 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Apple Filling
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 3 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 3 cups Granny Smith Apples diced very small, divided
Streusel Topping
- 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter cold and cut into small cubes
Heavy Cream Topping
- 1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Caramel Apple Glaze (optional)
- 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar sifted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- 4 oz Full Fat Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar sifted
Instructions
Dough
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the butter, egg, sugar, and salt. Set aside.1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, 1 large Egg, 1 teaspoon Salt
- In a saucepan, warm the milk and water together over low-medium heat until the temperature reaches 105ºF-115ºF. If you accidentally overheat the mixture, let it cool down for a few minutes.3/4 cup Water, 3/4 cup Whole Milk
- To your mixing bowl or stand mixer bowl, add the warmed water-and-milk mixture, instant dry yeast, and butter/sugar/egg mixture. Whisk briefly to combine the ingredients. Add the flour, then let the mixer knead the dough on medium speed for 5-7 minutes until it's smooth and slightly tacky to the touch. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball.2 1/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast, 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
- Place the dough in a greased bowl (or a greased 9 x 13 pan), making sure the dough and all sides of the bowl/pan are coated. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and/or a clean kitchen towel, then set in a warm, draft-free spot for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
If you're using your Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer, you will need the 7-liter stainless steel bowl, dough roller, and dough knife attachments.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Apple Filling
- In a small bowl, combine the light brown sugar, unsalted butter, and cinnamon. The mixture should be paste-like. This will be spread over the top of the rolled-out dough in a little bit. Set to the side.1 cup Light Brown Sugar, ½ cup Unsalted Butter, 3 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- Peel the Granny Smith apples, then cut them into small cubes and add them to a medium saucepan with 1 teaspoon of water. Stir over low to medium heat until the apples soften (about 5-7 minutes). Set to the side to cool.3 cups Granny Smith Apples
Streusel Topping
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour, 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- With a pastry cutter or forks, blend the mixture together with the cold unsalted butter cubes until you have small streusel crumbles. A few larger crumbles are perfectly fine too. While you prepare the rest of the recipe, you can keep the streusel topping in the refrigerator.1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
Assembling the Cinnamon Rolls
- Remove the cover from the bowl/pan, and punch the dough down once with your fist. Then place the dough onto a clean, lightly floured surface or a silicone mat.
- Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into an 18” x 12” rectangle. With an offset spatula, spread the brown sugar cinnamon filling, leaving a 1/2-inch edge of dough. Spoon 2 cups of the diced apples on top.
- Starting with the long side, roll up the dough like you would for a jelly roll, pinching the seams to seal.
- Cut the roll into approximately 12 equally sized pieces (1 1/2 inches) and place them into the greased 9 x 13 pan, cut side down, leaving about a 1" space between each roll. If you already used your pan to proof the dough, you won't need to grease it again. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and/or a clean kitchen towel and set in a warm spot for about 1 hour, or until the cinnamon rolls have doubled in size.
- Toward the end of the second proofing time, adjust your oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375ºF. Brush the tops of each cinnamon roll with heavy cream, then generously sprinkle on the streusel. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.1/4 cup Heavy Cream
- Let the cinnamon rolls cool for 5-10 minutes, then top with the optional caramel glaze or cream cheese frosting.
Caramel Apple Glaze (optional)
- Whisk together the brown sugar, butter, and heavy cream over medium-high heat until the mixture boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of diced Granny Smith apples.1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional)
- In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and unsalted butter together until smooth and creamy. Add in the vanilla extract and powdered sugar, and mix until well blended.4 oz Full Fat Cream Cheese, 1/4 cup Unsalted Butter, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, 1 cup Powdered Sugar
Notes
3 cups of Granny Smith apples is about 2 medium-large apples.
Instead of doing the initial rise in a mixing bowl, you can also do it in the 9 x 13 pan you plan to bake the cinnamon rolls in which helps form the shape you want to roll them out in. Plus, the pan will already be greased for the second rise.
If your dough keeps shrinking back after rolling it out, let it sit at room temperature for 10-15 minutes.
I recommend using a digital thermometer when warming the milk-and-water mixture and when checking the internal temperature of the baked cinnamon rolls. The internal temp should be 190ºF-200ºF, or until the center bounces back when you gently press it.
I highly recommend using a serrated knife to cut the cinnamon rolls.
Nutrition
Calories: 636kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 224mg | Potassium: 210mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 767IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 3mg