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Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls

These sweet and scrumptious apple butter cinnamon rolls are perfect for a chilly autumn weekend. You can make my chai-spiced apple butter ahead of time or use any store-bought variety. These can also be made a day ahead of time and left to rise in the fridge overnight.

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 14x12 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 14x12 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 12x18 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 12x18 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.