Is this my third "cinnamon roll" recipe on the blog? Yes. Is this my second "apple pie" styled roll? Yep. Is this deserving of a spot and totally tasty and unique on its own right? Absolutely! It's sticky, sweet, caramely, soft, and sooooo good. It was a hit this Christmas day when I made it for the family.
Pro tip: use a rimmed board like this one to catch all of the juice and run off stickiness otherwise you'll be left with a big mess on your counters and the floor.
INGREDIENTS
For the rolls:
Single batch of dough from my Special Occasion Cinnamon Roll recipe
For the sticky caramel topping:
1/2 cup room temperature salted butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup, maple syrup, or golden syrup
2 T whipping cream
For the apple pie filling:
For this recipe, I used all granny smith apples (in my Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll recipe, you'll see I use a variety of apples like I do in my pies). Since this sticky bun recipe is extra sweet with the caramel layer, I like the contrast of the tart granny smith.
6 Granny Smith (green) apples peeled, cored, and diced into dime sized chunks
2 T unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 T flour
For the cinnamon sugar filling:
1/4 cup softened butter or margarine
1/4 cup packed light & brown sugar each or 1/2 cup of just light brown sugar (secret #1: a mixture of light and dark muscovado brown sugars puts an even more superior, delicious taste to your rolls)
1 ½ T cinnamon (secret #2: I use 2 different, high quality cinnamons-1 at least MUST be Saigon/Vietnamese)
1 T flour (secret #3: keeps the filling from liquifying and running out too much)
DIRECTIONS
First, make sure you have your dough prepared and ready to go from the original, Special Occasion Cinnamon Roll recipe linked above. While the dough is rising, you can make the apple pie filling. Using a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the diced apples. Sprinkle the sugar over the apples to begin a little caramelization process. Allow the apples to cook, stirring often, just until they begin to soften, approximately 5 minutes. Add in the cinnamon and sprinkle the flour over the top. Cook for another minute or two. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Strain and divide the apples into 2 bowls: 1/3 of the apples into one and 2/3 of the apples into another.
Whip together all of the sticky caramel topping ingredients using a handheld or stand mixer until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Spread the caramel topping evenly into a 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle the 1/3 of the apples over the top.
To assemble the rolls, follow the same method as in my regular cinnamon roll recipe: on a lightly floured surface (I usually use a large roll pat) roll the dough out to approximately 16 x 21 inches laying horizontally.
With a fork, mix together the cinnamon sugar filling sugar, cinnamon, and flour. With your hands, evenly spread out the softened butter across the entire rectangle as the recipe calls for. Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over the butter. Then, evenly spread the apple pie filling over the cinnamon sugar mixture, leaving about 1" from all of the edges.
Working carefully from the long edge, roll it up to the other side into one long roll. Using a bread knife or unflavored floss, cut off the uneven ends (about 1/2 inch each end). Also using a bread knife or the floss method, divide the dough in half, then 1/3rds for each half. Cut each ⅓ in half, so that you end with 12 even slices.
Place the rolls into the pan on top of the caramel topping. Allow buns to rise at room temperature for a couple of ours or overnight with a layer of plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel over top.
When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap. Preheat oven to 375 and place a large, foil lined baking sheet under the glass pan to catch all of the drippings so that your oven stays protected (otherwise you'll have a sticky, burnt mess on the bottom). Bake until golden brown on the edges but baked through in the middle (it will still be very soft), approximately 18-20 minutes. Take out of oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Then, using a large, rimmed cutting board, lay the rimmed side down on top of the baking pan/rolls. While holding the pan and board tightly in place (you may still need to use oven mitts), quickly flip over the pan so what was the bottom of the buns become the top with all of that sticky caramel you made over all of it. Enjoy with a big glass of milk r some pressed apple cider!
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