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A plate of apple cinnamon rolls on burlap with fall leaves and flowers in the background.
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Apple Cinnamon Rolls With Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

Give your fall breakfast a decadent touch with these apple cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese glaze! Loaded with warm apples caramelized in real maple syrup, these fall-themed cinnamon rolls feature the softest, fluffiest interior and a perfectly gooey cinnamon-sugar filling that everyone is sure to love.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 12 cinnamon rolls
Calories 485kcal

Equipment

  • Mixing bowl
  • Rolling Pin
  • Large baking pan

Ingredients

Dough

  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast about 1 packet
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ cup butter
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract optional

Caramelized Apple Filling

  • 2 tablespoons tablespoons butter
  • 4-5 apples peeled, cored and diced
  • ½ cup real maple syrup
  • ¼ cup butter softened
  • 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • ½ cup heavy cream

Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

  • 4 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup real maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk

Instructions

Dough

  • In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. 
  • Melt butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. Stir in milk and heat to 105-115 degrees. 
  • Add the milk and butter mixture, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract to the flour mixture. If kneading by hand, use a wooden spoon to stir into one cohesive mixture and then turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough turns smooth and elastic. If kneading with a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment on low speed to make one cohesive mixture. Switch to the dough hook and knead until smooth and elastic, about five minutes. The dough will be a bit sticky.
  • Remove the dough and scrape off any that sticks to the bottom or side and place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until it's doubled in size, about an hour. Your ambient home temperature may not be warm enough for proper rising, so please see notes about how to create a warm atmosphere. 

Caramelized Apple Filling

  • As the dough rises, start on the caramelized apple filling by melting butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add apples and maple syrup and stir to coat. Cook mostly undisturbed until the apples soften, about seven to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain in a fine-mesh sieve and set aside to cool.
  • Punch down risen dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the  dough so that it's approximately 15 inches by 18 inches. Spread softened butter all over the dough. In a small bowl, mix together the dark brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the butter. Add the apples on top of the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture. 
  • Tightly roll up the dough to make a log. The two ends will likely not have much -- if any -- filling. Cut off the excess dough and discard. Cut the cinnamon rolls into 12 slices. Place the cinnamon rolls in a 9-inch-by-13-inch or 10-inch-by-14-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray, leaving space in between the cinnamon rolls for them to expand. Cover with plastic wrap and allow them to turn puffy for 20 minutes.
  • Pour heavy cream all over cinnamon rolls. Bake in a 375-degree oven until lightly brown on top, about 25 minutes. 

Maple Cream Cheese Glaze

  • As the cinnamon rolls bake, make the maple cream cheese glaze. Start by beating the softened cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar a little bit at a time. Then, beat in the maple syrup and whole milk. 
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool for about five minutes. Drizzle warm cinnamon rolls with maple cream cheese glaze and serve. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • The easiest way to ensure your environment is warm enough for rising is to turn the oven to 200 degrees while you prepare the dough ingredients. When ready to knead, the oven should be at 200 degrees. Turn off the oven with the door remained closed, knead, and then place the covered dough in the oven with the door cracked. A sunny spot also generally does the trick, or if you have a fireplace, you can turn it on while preparing the dough ingredients to heat the area, and then place the covered dough about 3 feet away from the fire to rise. 
  • For the apples, I like to use a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith for a sweet and tart combo. 
  • For full tips, including make-ahead directions, please see blog post.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cinnamon roll | Calories: 485kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 426mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 36g