Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls | Artist Crooked Garden
If I were to have tea with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare and Alice, it would look a bit like this. A garden setting filled with apple butter cinnamon rolls accompanied by tea or coffee, nostalgic dried flowers and lush greenery, fruit and antique books, and frankly all the things that make you reminisce to a different era.
The Mad Hatter, being mad you see, might argue with me that apple butter doesn’t belong in cinnamon rolls. Or he might agree that it’s a stroke of brilliance. I’d like to believe he’d think the latter because I certainly do. It makes the usual scrumptiousness of cinnamon rolls seem just perfect for autumn.
No tea time would be complete without said apple butter cinnamon rolls served on the most beautiful of serving ware. A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of discovering a talented artist through Instagram named Christina. She is a potter who hands builds all of her work and runs pottery workshops through her business Crooked Garden.
When we decided to collaborate, I knew that I wanted to do an outdoor photoshoot and create, much like her business name, a beautiful garden scene. Her stunning glazed pieces made their way all the way from Europe to me here in the US. I couldn’t be more amazed at just how unique and beautiful these pieces truly are. To see more of her work, visit Christina’s Crooked Garden over on Instagram.
As for these apple butter cinnamon rolls, they are the perfect tea time treat. The dough for this recipe comes from a baker who I couldn’t adore more for her witty and endearing writing style. She is Joy the Baker, and her cream cheese cinnamon roll recipe is one of the best. With cream cheese laminated into the layers of soft dough, it’s no wonder I find it especially scrumptious.
We switch things up with the filling, adding apple butter and brown sugar to the interior versus a traditional cinnamon filling. I’m adding my recipe for apple butter below but don’t feel as though you have to make the apple butter. If you do make your own, I’d highly recommend making it a day (or even week!) in advance. It will need a solid 6-8 hours in the crockpot.
Lastly, we slather on cream cheese frosting. Had I had a vanilla bean on add, I most definitely would have added it for an extra flavor boost. It’s delectable as is though.
Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3/4 cup lukewarm milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
For my chai-spiced apple butter:
- 8-9 medium-sized apples, peeled and cored
- 1 cup water (or apple cider for more sweetness)
- 3/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
For the filling:
- 1/2-3/4 cup chai-spiced apple butter (or any other store-bought variety)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean
Instructions
For my chai-spiced apple butter:
- ***Please note that I recommend making this apple butter at least a day in advance due to cooking time. It will also make more than you need for the cinnamon rolls. You can keep the remaining apple butter refridgerated to use as you would a jam or jelly. 1) Place all apple butter ingredients in a crockpot on medium-high. Apples can be whole. 2) After 1-2 hours, check to see that apples are very soft. Use a hand blender or regular blender to puree the mixture. 3) Place the pureed mixture back into the crockpot and continue cooking on low for another 4-6 hours until velvety, thick and darker brown. 4) Transfer mixture to jars and keep refrigerated.
For the dough:
- 1) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, place all dough ingredients into the mixing bowl and combine until dough begins to come together. After several minutes of mixing, the dough should come together into a soft yet not too sticky ball. 2) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until it's almost doubled in size, approximately 2 hours. 3) Once the dough has doubled, lightly flour your work surface. Pour out the dough onto the surface and roll into a 14×12 rectangle. Gently spread the softened cream cheese evenly on the surface of the dough. Then fold the top and bottom edges of the dough over 1 inch. 4) As you would with a letter, fold one short end into the center and fold the other short end over the first. Carefully roll back into a 14×12 inch rectangle. Be cautious not to tear the dough and reveal the cream cheese. 5) Fold it into a letter again. Then roll the dough into a 12×18 inch rectangle. If some cream cheese starts to peek through, flour the dough slightly and continue working.
Assembly:
- 1) Once your dough is rolled into a 12×18 rectangle, spread out your apple butter onto the surface of the dough. Add or take away apple butter depending on preference. Once you have your desired amount of apple butter spread, sprinkle on the brown sugar evenly over the top. 2) Beginning with one long edge, roll the dough into a log. It's fine if the apple butter starts to peek out of the edges. Then cut into 8 or 9 equal slices. Place the slices into a greased 9 or 10 inch square baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap. 3) If planning to bake the cinnamon rolls that day, let the rolls rise for 1 hour more at room temperature. If planning to bake the next day, place the rolls in the refrigerator to rise overnight and let them come to room temperature for 30 minutes- 1 hour before baking. 4) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for 30-35 minutes until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven. 5) Combine all the icing ingredients by hand or in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and spread over the warm rolls. Please note that this makes a generous amount of icing. If you prefer less icing, cut the ingredients in half.
Need more autumn recipe inspiration? See my other posts below:
- Black Cocoa Double Nutty Brownies
- Chai Apple Tart
- Autumn Cake Recipe Collection | Baby #2 Update
- Baking with Ginger
