Feeling all the fall vibes today! It’s that time of the year again when calories don’t count! HA. If only that were true! Today, I’m bringing you apple cinnamon rolls drizzled all over with cider caramel sauce! I‘m telling you, if you’re looking for a weekend baking project, you’ve found it. Gooey caramel apple filling all wrapped around pillowy soft bakery-style cinnamon roll dough. You could totally frost these with cream cheese frosting like I do my 1-hour cinnamon rolls, but I like to go in with that leftover apple cider caramel or salted caramel sauce, and it’s golden brown fall perfection. It’s totally giving sticky buns meets caramel apple pieces. Caramel apples give you that bobbing-for-apples autumnal feels. If you’ve gone apple picking recently, first of all, you need to make yourself a batch of homemade cider. And then, you need to make these caramel apple rolls. The center is filled with brown sugar, pecans, apples, and cinnamon. It totally tastes like a slice of apple pie but in breakfast form. So basically, it’s a swirled version of my apple pie french toast bake topped with caramel sauce. If it doesn’t feel like fall where you live (it definitely doesn’t feel like fall where I live) then these extra indulgent, feels-like-fall, all hugs and smiles caramel apple cinnamon rolls are exactly what the doc ordered.
Ingredients for caramel apple cinnamon rolls:
Flour: The protein content of all-purpose flour is ideal for making cinnamon rolls. You’ll also need a little extra flour for the surface.Milk: warm whole milk is added to the dough. This adds hydration, structure, and strengthens the dough. Instant Yeast: ferments the sugar that we use in the rolls. It also helps the dough to rise by releasing carbon dioxide.Sugar: You’ll need both granulated sugar and brown sugar for this recipe. I like to use white sugar in the dough and brown sugar for the cinnamon swirl in the center.Powdered Milk: This is my secret ingredient in making bakery-quality cinnamon buns at home! Most grocery stores carry this in the baking aisle; you can also purchase it online here. An Egg: helps strengthen the structure of the final baked product.Butter: adds flavor, tenderness, and moisture to the rolls. When we add melted butter to the rolls, the fat coats the flour and ensures that less gluten is formed, so the rolls are melt-in-your-mouth delicious!Spices: You’ll need ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and kosher salt for the dough. These add flavor.Diced apples: I love using a nice and tart green apple for this recipe because it balances out all the sweet ingredients in the recipe. You can swap that with any other apples that are suitable for baking.Pecans: Chopped toasted pecans pair beautifully with the tart apples and the sweet caramel sauce.
How to make apple cinnamon rolls:
Other apple recipes to try:
Quick Warm Cinnamon ApplesHomemade Apple CiderApple Crumble BarsEasy Maple Honeycrisp Apple FrittersHoneycrisp Kale Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
Original recipe shared Oct 2014, updated with new images, post, and minor recipe edits, Sept 2022.
Alternate pans: If you bake these cinnamon rolls in a 9-inch round pie dish, you’ll only be able to fit 11 rolls. You can also bake these in a muffin pan to get individual cinnamon rolls.
Update 9/22: recipe updated with minor edits and easier to follow directions.
