Ingredients
Scale
Sweet roll dough
- 6–7 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 packages of yeast (4.5 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 cup of water
- 1 cup of milk
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
- 1 egg
Cinnamon roll filling
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1 cup of apple butter
- Optional: 1 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans
Cream cheese frosting
- 2 packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick of butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- 5–6 cups of powdered sugar
- Milk, if needed
Instructions
Apple butter cinnamon rolls
- Combine 2 cups of the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, and cinnamon. Heat up the water, milk, and butter until very warm.
- Add the milk mixture and the egg to the flour mixture. Mix until combined. The dough will probably be very wet. Slowly add 3 more cups of flour. Stir on medium until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Once the dough is mixed, knead the dough for 5-8 minutes (with a stand mixer) or 8-10 minutes (by hand). Add the remaining cup of flour into the dough. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise for 30-60 minutes until doubled in size.
- Lightly flour your work service. Divide the dough into two pieces. Roll each piece of dough out to a 12×18 rectangle. It may be easier to work with one piece of dough at a time. These directions are for one piece of dough at a time. Brush half of the melted butter (approximately two tablespoons) over the dough. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the butter. Spread a half-cup of the apple butter over the cinnamon sugar mix, leaving about a half inch border of the dough. Optional: top the apple butter with the cup of chopped nuts.
- Roll up the dough along the long edge of the dough. You’ll want to fold the dough over a bit to keep the apple butter inside the roll. Pinch the seam of the dough and place the dough seam-side down. Slice each log into 12-18 rolls. Grease two 9×13 pans. Divide your rolls between the two pans. Let rise for 30-45 more minutes until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the rolls for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool about 5 minutes before frosting.
Cream cheese frosting
- Combine the cream cheese, butter, and the vanilla. Beat until smooth.
- Stir in the powdered sugar a few tablespoons at a time. Beat until fully combined. The frosting should spread pretty easily. If you want a thinner consistency, add a few tablespoons of milk and mix until combined.
- Spread the cream cheese over the cinnamon rolls.
Notes
- You can also sprinkle nuts like walnuts or pecans over the apple butter.
- You can slice the rolled up dough into 12 or 18 rolls. 12 rolls will be larger, and 18 rolls will be smaller.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes