My Mom's cinnamon rolls revamped to make apple pie breakfast food! Classic cinnamon rolls with sautéed apples, topped with a cinnamon browned butter glaze.
Combine yeast with warm milk (see note). Set aside for five minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine sugar, melted butter, eggs, and flour. Add milk mixture and mix until combined.
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a covered bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour. While dough is rising, prepare apple mixture.
For Apple Mixture:
Combine butter, diced apples, sugar, and lemon juice in a medium fry pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until apples are softened and liquid is nearly evaporated. Set aside to cool.
Rolling/Shaping/Baking:
Grease a 9" x 13" pan or baking dish. Set aside.
After the dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 16" x 21" rectangle (about ¼" thick).
Spread softened butter over entire surface of the dough using an offset spatula. Top with brown sugar and cinnamon. Spread cooled apple mixture evenly over the top.
Roll dough from its long edge. Cut into 12 rolls (see note) and place, cut side up, in prepared baking dish. Cover and let rest 30 minutes. The cinnamon rolls will not rise much during this time.
Preheat oven to 400F. Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.(If you're interested in freezing the cinnamon rolls, now is the time! See note.)
For Glaze:
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Once melted, increase the heat to medium-high, stirring occasionally, until butter is golden brown. Do not walk away from the pan at any time, as the butter will burn very easily! Pour browned butter into a medium heatproof bowl to cool slightly.
Once the butter has cooled, add sifted powdered sugar, cinnamon, and milk. If glaze is too thin, add additional powdered sugar. If glaze is too thick, add additional milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.
Pour glaze over cinnamon rolls. Try not to drool while doing so.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on milk temperature: Make sure your milk isn't too hot, or you'll kill your yeast! If you don't have a thermometer to ensure your milk is 105-110F, the milk should be just warm to the touch; not hot.Note on cutting cinnamon rolls: You want a thin, serrated knife to cut these babies (I use a bread knife). You want to saw back and forth to cut through. If you press down, you'll squish all your cinnamon rolls and lose precious apple filling.Note on freezing: If you like, baked and cooled cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer until you need them. Just thaw and glaze after thawing.