Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Caramel apple cinnamon rolls are everything you love about crisp autumn nights at the carnival – in breakfast form. Imagine waking the whole family up to these gorgeous sweet rolls!

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Fall, fall, fall! It’s finally fall, though Ohio can’t seem to decide between crisp fall weather or hot late-summer weather. 

I can’t even with that, so I’m ignoring it entirely and focusing on my favorite fall flavors instead.

Like these caramel apple cinnamon rolls. I first made these when Elle was a toddler, and she was a BIG fan. She loved picking out the sweet, soft baked apple pieces and eating them first.

If you love getting a sweet, sticky caramel apple or a hot caramel apple cider at the fall carnival as much as I do, these caramel apple cinnamon rolls are a MUST for breakfast this weekend!

Sticky and sweet caramel apple cinnamon rolls

I don’t know why it took me so long to put apples in homemade cinnamon rolls, but it was a complete revelation. 

I’ve made tons of sweet roll recipes before. Most of them use yeast, like this recipe. Others, like my puff pastry cinnamon rolls, are a quick and easy version. 

But I gotta tell ya – it’s hard to beat the fluffy texture and flavor of a yeasted cinnamon roll, especially warm out of the oven. 

This recipe has a sweet, perfectly spiced filling with chunks of tart apples. And then the whole thing gets covered in caramel sauce for a pastry that’s part cinnamon roll, part sticky buns, and all delicious. 

If you don’t want to make this entire recipe early in the morning, you’re not alone. I’ll talk you through some options for making these rolls ahead of time for an easier morning.

How to make these caramel apple cinnamon rolls

If you aren’t that familiar with working with yeast, you might find this recipe a bit intimidating. But I promise that the dough isn’t that hard to make, and you’ll be rewarded with warm, gooey cinnamon rolls in no time!

Recipe components

These caramel apple cinnamon rolls have three different components that you have to make:

• The yeast dough
• The apple filling
• The caramel sauce

Once you have made all of these parts, they come together for the final rolls. I know it sounds complicated, but it’s not that bad. 

For the entire recipe, make sure you have:

• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Light brown sugar
• Fine sea salt
• Active dry yeast
• Milk
• Unsalted butter
• Large eggs
• Apple pie spice
• Ground cinnamon
• Tart apples, such as granny smith apples
• Light corn syrup

Prepping these sweet rolls

Start with making the dough for the rolls. In a stand mixer, whisk together 2 cups of the flour with the sugar, salt, and dry yeast.

In a saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave, heat the butter and milk until very warm but not hot. It should read 100˚F to 110˚F on an instant-read thermometer.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture along with the eggs; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in the rest of the flour, 1 cup at a 1, until you get a soft dough.

Knead the dough on a floured surface for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a clean tea towel. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

While the dough rises, make the filling by mixing the sugars, flour, and spices in a bowl. Cut the butter into this mixture with a pastry blender until you have coarse crumbs. Set this aside.

Now you can prep the caramel syrup. Before you make the syrup, lightly grease your pans. You will need a 9×13-inch pan AND a 9×9-inch or 9-inch round pan.

In a saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth.

Divide the caramel between the two pans, putting ⅔ into the larger pan and ⅓ into the smaller pan. Set aside for now.

Assembling the rolls

Now it’s time to actually make the caramel apple cinnamon rolls!

After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide it in half. 

Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough into a 15×10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle half of the filling over the dough, then top with half of the diced apples.

Starting from one of the long sides, roll the dough up tightly. Pinch the edges to seal, then turn the roll so the sealed seam is facing down.

Use a very sharp knife or a dough blade to cut the roll into 9 pieces. Place the pieces, cut-side down, in the prepared pans on top of the caramel syrup.

You’ll end up with 12 rolls in the 9×13-inch pan and 6 rolls in the 9-inch pan. Cover the pans lightly and let them rise for another 30-45 minutes, until the rolls are puffy and nearly doubled.

Bake the rolls at 350˚F for 40-45 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let them cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully invert them onto serving platters or rimmed baking sheets.

Make-ahead options

I get if you don’t want to do all of the work to make these caramel apple cinnamon rolls early in the morning. I usually do the bulk of the work at night, then let them rise in the refrigerator overnight to bake in the morning.

If you want to go this route, assemble the rolls as written in the recipe. Instead of letting the shaped rolls rise at room temperature, cover the pans with plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator.

Let the rolls chill for 8 hours or up to overnight. 

The next morning, remove the pans from the refrigerator to sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes while the oven preheats. Bake as directed.

You could also freeze the rolls instead of placing them in the refrigerator. Cover the pans in a layer of plastic wrap followed by heavy-duty foil. Freeze for up to 1 month.

When ready to enjoy, let the caramel apple cinnamon rolls thaw in the refrigerator overnight. 

You want the rolls to be thawed and to have risen before putting them in the oven. You may need to let them sit at room temperature for an hour or so to finish rising.

Bake as directed and enjoy!

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Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls

By: Jamie

4.72 from 7 ratings

Prep: 30 minutes mins

Cook: 45 minutes mins

Rise Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Total: 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 18 rolls

SaveSaved Pin Print

Caramel apple cinnamon rolls are everything you love about crisp autumn nights at the carnival – in breakfast form. Imagine waking the whole family up to these gorgeous sweet rolls!

Equipment

• Instant-read Thermometer
• Dough blade
• Nordic Ware Metal 9×13 Covered Cake Pan
• 9×9-inch Cake Pan

Ingredients

1x2x3x

US CustomaryMetric

For the dough:

• ▢ 6-1/2 to 7 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 2 envelopes active dry yeast 4 ½ teaspoons
• ▢ 2 cups milk
• ▢ ¼ cup unsalted butter
• ▢ 2 large eggs

For the filling:

• ▢ ½ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ½ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoon apple pie spice
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into chunks
• ▢ 1 ½ cups peeled and small-diced tart apples such as granny smith

For the caramel syrup:

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted butter
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ▢ 1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup light corn syrup

Instructions 

Make the dough:

• Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and dry yeast the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat or in the microwave on high in 30-second increments until warm (100˚F to 110˚F).
• Add milk mixture and eggs to the flour mixture; beat 2 minutes at medium, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in the remaining flour, 1 cup at a time, to make a soft dough.
• Knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a clean towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Make the filling:

• Mix sugars, flour, apple pie spice, and cinnamon in a bowl. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into sugar mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Make the caramel syrup:

• Lightly grease (1) 9×13-inch pan AND (1) 9×9-inch pan OR 9-inch round cake pan.
• Place butter, salt, brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until sugar dissolves and the mixture comes together. Pour about ⅔ of the caramel mixture into the prepared 9×13-inch pan and the remaining ⅓ into the 9-inch pan. Set aside.

Make the rolls:

• Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide in half. Roll out one portion of dough to a rectangle about 15×10 inches. Sprinkle half of the filling over the dough; top with half of the diced apples. Starting from the long side, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the edges to seal, then turn the dough so the sealed side is down.
• Using a very sharp knife or dough blade, cut the dough into 9 pieces. Place pieces, cut-side down, on syrup in pans. 12 rolls will go in the 9×13-inch pan and 6 in the 9-inch pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes, or until nearly doubled.
• While rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350˚F. Bake rolls 40 to 45 minutes, or until lightly browned.
• Cool for about 5 minutes, then carefully invert the rolls onto serving platters or rimmed baking sheets.

Video

Notes

• For overnight rolls, assemble according to the directions, stopping before the second rise. Cover the pans with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, let the rolls sit at room temperature for 30-45 minutes before baking as directed.
• Store rolls at room temperature for 2-3 days. Rolls can be rewarmed in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
• If you prefer to bake the rolls in 3 pans, you can use 3 9×9-inch or 9-inch round cake pans instead of a 9×13-inch and a 9×9-inch pan. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1roll, Calories: 334kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 14g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 190mg, Potassium: 120mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 31g, Vitamin A: 472IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 64mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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