Apple Cinnamon Rolls Baked Until the Tops Set

Apple Cinnamon Rolls Baked Until the Tops Set is filed under Apples and built around g Warm milk a little warmer than body temperature. 105°F if you want a number, Dry active yeast 1 packet NOT instant, and Egg. Plan on 12 cinnamon rolls.

Count on 30 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of cooking, 1 hour of resting, about 2 hours from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Dough

• 172 g Warm milk a little warmer than body temperature. 105°F if you want a number
• 2 ¼ teaspoons Dry active yeast 1 packet NOT instant
• 1 Egg
• 56 g Butter softened
• 310 g All-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• 28 g Sugar

For the Cinnamon Sugar Filling

• 105 g Butter so soft that it is almost melted and will spread easily with a spatula
• 195 g Dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 2 cups Cinnamon Apple Compote cooled

For the Cream Cheese Icing

• 220 g Confectioner’s Sugar
• 2 oz Cream Cheese softened in microwave
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon Milk or more as needed to thin it out

How the cooking goes

Make the Dough

1. In the bowl of a electric mixer add the warm milk then sprinkle the yeast over the surface. Whisk to break up any clumps. Allow to bloom (sit unperturbed) for 10 minutes or until bubbly.
2. Put the remaining ingredients for the dough to the bowl. All at once! Just dump it in there!
3. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment then mix until incorporated and no lumps remain. Switch to the dough hook. Mix on medium for 3-4 minutes. The dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl and you will be able to pull a window pane. It is a stickier dough but don’t be dissuaded.
4. Turn out into a bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Give the dough one series of folds. Starting on one side, pull the dough up and fold it halfway towards the center. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat with each side until you have a little dough packet. Turn it seam-side down. The top should be smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and bulk proof in a warm spot for 30-45 minutes. the oven has a proof setting that you use at 85°F. When it has doubled, it is done!
5. You can also proof the dough in the refrigerator. This is called “retarding” the dough. It will make it proof slower but the cold dough will be easier to work with.

Make the Filling

1. While the dough proofs, make the filling. In a bowl, mix together butter, sugar and cinnamon. Mix until a paste forms. Keep it to one side.

Roll Dough Out

1. Cover your counter generously with flour and turn out your dough onto the counter. A bowl scraper or flexible spatula helps here because the dough is sticky. Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on top of the dough and flour a rolling pin.
2. Roll the dough out into a rectangle 12 inches long by 10 inches high. (Try to keep those sharp corners! It’s harder than it looks but it’s good to have goals, right?) Once you have your rectangle, spread your filling with an offset spatula. Sometimes it is necessary to let your fingers join the party to help spread/hold the dough. You purposefully keep a border on the top and the bottom edge. Distribute the cooled apple compote over the cinnamon sugar paste.
3. Starting at the bottom edge (12 inches across) start to roll away from you. Seal the top edge. Cut approximately 1 inch pieces with a knife (or your bench scraper). This makes 12 rolls. You can also cut the log into 8 equal pieces for larger rolls.
4. Spray a 9“x 11” baking dish with cooking spray and then place the cinnamon rolls about 2 inches apart. You offset them so you have a row with 2 and then one in the center followed by another row of 2 and so on. This gives them space to proof and grow without crowding.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and place back in your warm spot to proof an additional 20-40 minutes. You proofed 20 and then remove the dish to another spot and preheat the oven to 350°F convection. The smaller rolls will proof and bake faster than 8 larger ones.
6. Remove the plastic wrap and bake 350°F for approximately 15-20 minutes. Mine baked in 18 minutes. They will be deep gold around the edges and a bit on top and the centers will no longer look or feel doughy. You can also test with a cake tester. It should come out clean.
7. Allow to cool before icing.

Assemble

1. Stir all the ingredients for the icing together. You find a spatula easier to use than a whisk to incorporate the cream cheese. You kept mine a bit thicker so that you could spread it on the cinnamon rolls still warm from the oven. A little bit of heaven on earth to be sure!

After it comes off the heat

Wait until the loaf is cool before slicing. Wrap it at room temperature, and freeze slices you will not eat in a couple of days.

If you want another plate from Apples, open Apple Compote for the Home Table and Applesauce Cake with a Soft Crumb.