Soft-Baked Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Toasted Pecans and Cream Cheese Frosting
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
60 min
Cook
45 min
Total
105 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Chilling brioche dough slows the yeast and makes the butter firmer and easier to work with. These cinnamon apple rolls with cream cheese frosting include soft apple and pecan filling with brown sugar and cinnamon baked into soft rolls.
The dough ingredients are lukewarm milk, yeast, eggs, flour, and butter. The dough is chilled in the refrigerator for 2 or more hours or overnight. Sauté apples in butter with sugar, cinnamon, salt, and corn starch until soft and well coated with spices. The apple mixture is a good consistency for a pie filling. Slices of dough are spread with a mixture of softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, and filled with apples and chopped pecans.
After rolling a long loaf, you will have dense rolls with fillings. Refrigerating the rolls for 20 minutes is optional but can help solidify the rolls and fillings so they are easier to slice. Look for other signs of proper secondary proofing in the rolls, such as indentation that bounces back when pressed lightly. Inadequate proofing and rolling can cause the rolls to be dense and some fillings to fall out during baking.
Bake rolls until golden brown. Let cool 15 minutes. Frost warm rolls to swirl cream cheese frosting into the rolls. Leftover rolls can be kept at room temperature in airtight containers and reheated in the microwave before serving.
Why we keep this one around
- A cold rise for brioche bread slows yeast fermentation and makes it easier to prepare and roll brioche dough, which has a high butter content, tightly into a roll.
- Cooking diced apples with cornstarch thickens the juices. Thick juices will help keep the filling from running loosely through the crescent rolls.
- The optional freezing step firms up the filled logs to allow for even cutting and production of twelve cinnamon rolls.
- Toasted pecans add a nutty texture to the apple filling. To prepare the pecans, toast them lightly in the oven and stir them into the swirls.
- Lightly pressing the dough during the second rise can show you when the dough is ready to bake, ready-to-bake dough will keep a small indentation when pressed.
- Frosting warm buns helps the cream cheese filling soak into the buns for a sticky consistency in the final product. Avoid frosting the buns too soon.
Ingredients
- •250 g whole milk (lukewarm)
- •50 g granulated sugar
- •2 ¼ tsp active dried yeast
- •2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- •½ tsp kosher salt
- •565 g all-purpose flour
- •100 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- •850 g apples (about 4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced small)
- •30 g unsalted butter
- •80 g granulated sugar
- •½ tsp ground cinnamon or apple pie spice
- •¼ tsp kosher salt
- •1 Tbsp corn starch
- •125 g pecan halves
- •190 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- •280 g brown sugar
- •2 Tbsp ground cinnamon (plus 1 tsp)
- •⅛ tsp kosher salt
- •115 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- •225 g cream cheese (at room temperature)
- •250 g powdered sugar (sifted)
- •1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream (1-2 Tbsp)
- •½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- 1
Place the lukewarm milk, 25g of the sugar, and yeast in a medium bowl, stir to combine, and leave for 10-15 minutes until foamy.
- 2
Place the flour, salt, and remaining sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook and mix briefly.
- 3
Add the milk mixture and eggs to the dry ingredients and mix on low for 2-3 minutes.
- 4
Increase the mixer speed to medium and mix for a further 5 minutes.
- 5
Add the butter a little at a time, waiting until each piece is incorporated before adding the next.
- 6
Mix for a further 7-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and soft.
- 7
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight until doubled in size. Alternatively, place it in a warm spot for 45 minutes to 1 hour until doubled.
- 8
Melt the butter for the apple filling in a large skillet over medium heat.
- 9
Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon or apple pie spice, and salt, then cook while stirring often for 3-5 minutes until the apples are tender.
- 10
Add the corn starch, mix well, and continue cooking until the mixture has thickened and the apples are coated.
- 11
Transfer the apple filling to an airtight container and chill until ready to use.
- 12
Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C for the pecans.
- 13
Line a small sheet pan with parchment paper, spread the pecans on it, and toast for about 10 minutes, shaking occasionally, until lightly browned and toasted throughout.
- 14
Transfer the toasted pecans to an airtight container and store at room temperature until ready to use.
- 15
Place the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the cinnamon filling in a small bowl and mix well to combine.
- 16
Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or line it with parchment paper.
- 17
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a 24-by-16-inch rectangle, squaring the edges often.
- 18
Spread the brown sugar cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough.
- 19
Top with the prepared apple pie filling and spread it evenly.
- 20
Roughly chop the toasted pecans and spread them over the apple filling.
- 21
Starting with a long side, roll the dough into a tight spiral.
- 22
Cut the log into two pieces, place them side by side on a parchment-lined sheet pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for 20 minutes to firm slightly.
- 23
Using a sharp knife, slice each chilled log into 6 equal pieces and arrange them evenly spaced in the prepared baking sheet or baking dish.
- 24
Cover the pan lightly with plastic wrap and leave to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until puffy and a small indentation remains when gently poked.
- 25
While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C.
- 26
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until deeply golden brown.
- 27
Remove the rolls from the oven and let them stand for about 15 minutes before icing.
- 28
For the frosting, mix the butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until well combined.
- 29
Add the powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and salt, then whip until light and fluffy.
- 30
Spread the cream cheese frosting onto the cinnamon rolls while they are still slightly warm.
- 31
Store leftover cinnamon rolls in an airtight container at room temperature and rewarm in the microwave before serving.
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