Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

  •  1 cup Whole Milk
  • 2/3 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Yeast (2 packets)
  • 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature cut into 4 pieces
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 4 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

Filling

  • 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
  • 2 cups Chopped Apples, peeled or not (your desire)

Icing

  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 tablespoons Milk
  • 2 tablespoons Warmed Salted Caramel

Directions

  1. Dough: heat milk to 95F, microwave or stovetop; pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough attachment; with a whisk, whisk in the sugar and yeast; cover with a towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, 5-10 minutes; if it doesn’t dissolve and foam, start over with fresh yeast
  2. On low speed, mix in the softened butter until slightly broken up; add the eggs, one at a time; add salt; if the butter stays in pieces, it is ok
  3. On low speed, slowly add the flour; once it is all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms; increase speed to medium-high; beat until the dough is soft, 6 minutes
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface; knead it with your hands for 1 minute; form the dough into a ball; transfer to a lightly greased bowl; loosely cover the dough with plastic wrap until it is doubled in size, 1-2 hours
  5. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish; place the risen dough onto a lightly floured work surface; punch it down and roll it out with a rolling pin until it reaches 12×18 inch; dough should be smooth and have even thickness
  6. Rolls: spread the softened butter all over the dough; in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon; evenly sprinkle over the dough; top evenly with chopped apples
  7. Tightly roll up the dough to form an 18 inch log; cut into 12 equal rolls; place rolls on baking pan; tightly  cover the rolls with aluminum foil
  8. Allow rolls to rise for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size
  9. Preheat the oven to 375F; bake rolls for 25 minutes until golden brown; halfway through cover rolls with aluminum foil so tops won’t get too dark
  10. Remove rolls from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, don’t cool completely
  11. Whisk together the icing ingredients; drizzle over warm rolls