Apple Cinnamon Buns
Cinnamon buns are always great, but the addition of apples - and some extra spices - makes these apple cinnamon buns a special fall treat!
Today’s post is kind of a matter of an idea starting somewhere, taking a few turns and eventually ending up kind of close to where it started.
Earlier this week, a friend of mine - Karine Charlebois (The FABULOUS, IMHO) - tagged me in a post. She - and her kids - have long been a fan of my savoury lunch buns: Buffalo Chicken Buns & Reuben Buns.
Both of these recipes were - obviously - inspired by traditional cinnamon buns*, but done up as a savoury version. They're great as a sandwich alternative!
Anyway, she'd taken the basic idea and made a pulled pork version that looked AMAZING. *Drool*
* Note: I don't actually have a normal cinnamon bun recipe posted, as it's something I eyeball (after making my base dough recipe). I DO have & Chai Cinnamon Rolls posted, though!
SO, last night as I was discussing my husband’s breakfast plans for the next few days with him, “Cinnamon buns” was among the choices I’d offered him.
At that moment, I happened to glance at the bag of Mutsu apples that we picked up at Ottawa St Farmer's Market last week, and I had an idea: Cinnamon buns, but with apples chopped up into the filling. YES.
The "What would you like me to make for your breakfasts?" question was immediately revoked, and I informed him that I would be making a bastardized cinnamon bun for him.
... there were no objections lodged, LOL.
SO yes. Cinnamon buns -> my savoury buns -> my friend’s savoury buns -> cinnamon buns. Sort of.
Designing These Apple Cinnamon Buns
I started out with my base dough recipe, which has been my go-to recipe for all of my “cinnamon bun” type recipes, just with tweaks applied, as necessary.
In this case, I only made a few small changes:
The Dough
We didn’t have enough all-purpose flour up in the kitchen, and I didn’t want to wake him up to go get some more from wherever he has it all stored in the basement, so the last ½ cup of our batch was whole wheat flour.
You can do the same, if you’d like - I wrote the recipe without that change made. It’s great either way, and it’s a small enough amount of whole wheat that it can be used interchangeably.
Additionally, I added a VERY small amount of cinnamon to the dough. I didn’t want the dough to be noticeably spicy, I just wanted to give it a subtle flavour boost.
The Filling
Cinnamon buns use cinnamon, obviously. My Chai buns used cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and nutmeg, and my buffalo chicken ones used... hot sauce. So, you know, lots of room to play 🙂
In this case, I settled on using a mix of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. I debated using some ground ginger in there, but decided to stick with these 3.
Beyond that, there’s the apples. I used 2 medium apples (well, small for Mutsu apples... but about an average “medium” for apples in general), unpeeled.
Feel free to peel the apples if you like, though.
The Maple Glaze
I’d considered a few possibilities: Traditional vanilla, something caramel based - maybe a brown sugar glaze. Spice or no spice?
When it comes down to it, though, if there’s an opportunity to use maple syrup, I - basically an illustration of what would happen if a national stereotype gained sentience - will absolutely go with the maple syrup.
I don’t even know how many varieties of maple syrup I have in the house right now (it’s more than 5 for syrup alone, not counting butter, sugar, candy, etc!), but I ended up going with a basic maple syrup.
Actual maple syrup, please - the boiled sap that dripped out of maple trees. No extra sugars, corn syrup, flavourings, etc.
I’m still SHOOK from learning that some people use “maple syrup” as a generic for “any syrup that goes on pancakes”, so... sorry for the specifying. I feel I have a duty to, now!
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Buns
SO I’ve gotten some feedback about putting photos in the recipe card - that they mess it up for printing - so I’m going to put them here, for those interested.
This will just be an overview of the recipe, scroll through for the full recipe with ingredients, etc!
1. Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine. Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
Note: OR: mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes or so - That's how I do it!
3. Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
4. Once dough has doubled in size, mix together the sugar, and spices, finely chop the apples.
5. Roll dough out on a floured surface. Aim to make it a large rectangle, say 15 x 20″ or so.
6. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter all over the dough – you might not use it all, that’s ok.
7. Sprinkle about ⅔ of the sugar mix evenly over the melted butter, arrange apple pieces over the spiced sugar mixture. Sprinkle most of the remaining sugar mixture over the apples, reserving 1-2 Tbsp of sugar.
8. Starting with one of the longer edges, tightly roll the dough up.
9. Generously grease or spray a 9x 13″ baking pan. Pour any remaining butter in the bottom, spreading evenly before sprinkling with remaining sugar mixture.
10. Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into 12 even rounds. Carefully place each roll into the pan, spacing them evenly.
11. Cover pan with plastic wrap, allow to rise one more time – about 45 minutes. While waiting for the buns to rise, heat oven to 350F.
12. Once final rise is over, pop the pan in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and perfect.
13. Allow to cool for a few minutes while you make the glaze:
- Mix together softened butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and salt, until smooth.
- Add about ½ cup of powdered sugar, whisking until smooth.
- Add remaining powdered sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, until you have a thick, paste. If it's not smooth, microwave for 15 seconds and stir well.
14. Drizzle or spread over hot Apple Cinnamon buns, allowing it to melt and ooze a little.
Note: If glaze has thickened, microwave for 15 seconds and stir again, immediately before drizzling.
More “Capital B” Baking Recipes
Did the photo of the yeast growing in the measuring cup get to you? Oh, I love the smell of it. Anyway, if you’re looking for more excuses to bake something that involves waiting for rise times, here are a few more recipes!
Basil, Roasted Red Pepper, & Asiago Bread Braid
Beer Pretzels & Jalapeno Jack Dip
Buffalo Chicken Buns
Chai Cinnamon Rolls
How to Make Bagels
Jalapeno Cheddar Beer Bagels
Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzel Bites
Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Persians Recipe
Porter House Grainy Rye Bread
Pumpernickel Everything Bagels
Reuben Buns
Sauerkraut Balls - Pyrizhky
Spinach Hand Pies
Share the Love!
Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!
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Well, the published nonsense, anyway!
Anyway, on to that Apple Cinnamon Buns recipe!
Apple Cinnamon Buns Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Buns:
- 1 ½ cups warm – NOT hot! - water
- 4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 3 Tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 3 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 6 Tbsp Melted Butter cooled
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 3 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 2 Apples
Glaze:
- 2 Tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ cup Maple Syrup
- Pinch Salt
- ~2 cups Confectioners / Icing / Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. (OR: mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes or so - That's how I do it!)
- Once dough is fully kneaded, place in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled in size, roll dough out on a floured surface. Aim to make it a large rectangle, say 15 x 20″ or so.
- Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter all over the dough – you might not use it all, that’s ok.
- Mix together the sugar, and spices, sprinkle about ⅔ of it evenly over the melted butter,
- Finely chop the apples, arrange apple pieces over the spiced sugar mixture. Sprinkle most of the remaining sugar mixture over the apples, reserving 1-2 Tbsp of sugar.
- Starting with one of the longer edges, tightly roll the dough up.
- Generously grease or spray a 9x 13″ baking pan. Pour any remaining butter in the bottom, spreading evenly before sprinkling with remaining sugar mixture.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into 12 even rounds.
- Carefully place each roll into the pan, spacing them evenly.
- Cover pan with plastic wrap, allow to rise one more time – about 45 minutes. While waiting for the buns to rise, heat oven to 350F.
- (This is what they looked like after the final rise!)
- Once final rise is over, pop the pan in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and perfect.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes while you make the glaze:
- Mix together softened butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and salt, until smooth.Add about ½ cup of powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar, about ¼ cup at a time, until you have a thick, paste. If it's not smooth, microwave for 15 seconds and stir well.
- Drizzle or spread over hot Apple Cinnamon buns, allowing it to melt and ooze a little. If glaze has thickened, microwave for 15 seconds and stir again, immediately before drizzling.
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