Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

You will need a handful of standard ingredients for this recipe. Nothing overly fancy or complicated. Here is what you will need:

• Apples: Peeled and diced small so they soften evenly in the filling. Choose a firm baking apple like Granny Smith apples.
• Bread Flour: Bread flour creates the chewy yet incredibly soft texture that makes these rolls so fluffy. All-purpose flour can work, though the rolls will be slightly less fluffy. It’s what I use in my Strawberry Cinnamon Rolls and Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls recipes.
• Milk: You will need to use milk in both the tangzhong and the final dough. I recommend using whole milk, but 2% also works.
• Instant Yeast: You will find that most of my yeast-leavened Baking Recipes use Instant Yeast. It’s so much easier to work with, in my opinion. Active dry yeast can be substituted but will need to be bloomed first.
• Spices: We’re going for all the cozy fall vibes here. You will need ground cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Try to use all three, but if you don’t have cardamom or nutmeg, cinnamon on its own will work just fine.
• Pecans: Toasted and divided between the filling and topping; walnuts are a good substitute.

Refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

How to Make Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe does have quite a few steps, so I would recommend that you take a look at everything and get your bearings before starting. It’ll be worth it in the end!

Brown the Butter and Make the Tangzhong

Step 1: Brown the Butter. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally (Image 1). When it foams, stir constantly and watch for the milk solids to turn golden brown (Image 2). Pour the butter into a heat-safe bowl right away so it doesn’t keep cooking in the hot pan (Image 3). Cool, stir to distribute the brown flecks, then cover and refrigerate until firm (Image 4). If you’re making it the same day, chill it in the freezer until solid.

Step 2: Make the Tangzhong. Whisk the bread flour, water, and milk together in a small saucepan until smooth (Image 5). Set it over medium heat and stir continuously until a thick paste forms, about 4–5 minutes (Image 6). Transfer it to a heat-safe bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

Step 3: Mix the Dough. Warm the milk to about 110°F. Add it and the cooled tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Add the yeast, eggs, vanilla, bread flour, sugar, and salt (Image 7). Mix on low until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
Step 4: Knead and Add the Butter. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead for 7–10 minutes, until a sticky dough forms. Add 75 grams of softened brown butter, one tablespoon at a time (Image 8). Continue mixing until it’s incorporated and the dough begins to pull away from the bowl, about 5 minutes more (Image 9).
Step 5: Let the dough rise. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with a towel or plastic wrap (Image 10). Let it rise in a warm place for 60–90 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.
Step 6: Toast the pecans. While the dough rises, heat the oven to 350°F. Spread the pecans on a small baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes, until fragrant. Let them cool completely, then chop them. Divide them in half.

Step 7: Cook the Apple Filling. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat (Image 11). Add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt (Image 12). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have released some juices and are crisp-tender.
Step 8: Thicken the Filling. Mix the cornstarch with one tablespoon of water to make a slurry. Stir it into the apples and cook, stirring constantly, until the juices thicken (Images 13-14). Set aside to cool completely.

Step 9: Make the Cinnamon Filling. Mix the softened brown butter with the brown sugar and cinnamon until it forms a spreadable paste.
Step 10: Prepare the Pan and Roll Out the Dough. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. The dough should now have almost doubled in size (Image 15). Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface and roll it into a 12-by-18-inch large rectangle using a rolling pin (Image 16).
Step 11: Fill the Dough. Spread the cinnamon butter mixture evenly over the dough, leaving about a ½-inch border along one long edge. Spread the cooled apple filling over top, then sprinkle with half of the toasted pecans (Image 17).
Step 12: Shape the Rolls. Trim the ends to make a neat rectangle, then cut the dough into 12 equal strips, about 1½ inches wide, with a sharp knife (Image 18). Roll each strip up individually into a tight roll.

Step 13: Transfer to Pan and Let the rolls rise again. Place the rolls in the prepared baking dish (Image 19). Cover the pan and let the rolls rise until quite puffy, at least 60 minutes (Image 20). Heat the oven to 350°F while they rise.
Step 14: Bake. Bake for 28–29 minutes, or until the rolls are cooked through and their centers register 185–190°F. If the tops brown before the centers are ready, loosely cover the pan with foil (Image 21).

Step 15: Make the Brown Butter Maple Icing. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes. Beat the cream cheese and remaining softened brown butter until smooth. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and beat again (Image 22). Mix in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, on low speed (Images 23-24).
Step 16: Frost and Serve. Spread the frosting over the warm rolls and sprinkle with the remaining toasted pecans (Image 25).

Expert Tips

• Brown the butter ahead. It needs time to chill and firm up before you can portion it for the dough and filling. Stir it before chilling so the browned milk solids are distributed throughout.
• Let the tangzhong cool. Adding hot tangzhong directly to the dough can make it too warm. Let it cool to room temperature before mixing.
• Keep the dough slightly sticky. Resist adding a lot of extra flour while kneading. A soft, slightly sticky dough helps give the rolls a tender texture.
• Cool the apple filling completely. Warm filling can soften the dough and make it harder to shape. Cooking the apples first also gives them a head start toward tenderness in the oven.
• Let the rolls rise until puffy. Rise times depend on the temperature of your kitchen, so use the dough’s appearance as your guide as well as the clock.
• Use parchment paper for easier cleanup. You could line the pan with parchment paper if you like, but it’s not necessary. Don’t use aluminum foil to line, as the rolls will stick to it.
• Use the temperature as your doneness cue. Check a roll near the center of the pan; the recipe’s target is 185–190°F. Cover loosely with foil if the tops are browning too quickly.

Brown Butter Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe FAQs