Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls
I think Cinnamon Rolls are one of my favorite things. They have been since I was a child and my Mom used to make them weekly when she baked homemade bread. Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are so similar to the Cinnamon Rolls my Mom made – but with the addition of apple pieces along with the raisins. Oh my, they are so, so drool-worthy. 🙂
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Our church’s Empty Nesters group had a “breakfast for dinner” one Saturday in September. I made Baked Oreo Donuts and these luscious Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls. We organized the casserole dishes into the “main dish” category, stuff like sausage balls or pigs ‘n a blanket in the “appetizer” category. But these Cinnamon Rolls and the donuts were put with the “dessert” category. You can see why. Even though most people cut the donuts and the cinnamon rolls in half, every bite was devoured. Yes, a lot of folks still have a sweet tooth. And, the Baked Oreo Donuts and the Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls sure satisfied those cravings!
The nice thing about these cinnamon rolls is you don’t have to mix up or knead the dough. That’s all done in a breadmaker. Toss the ingredients into the breadmaker on the “dough” setting and it does all the work. You end up with a fluffy, airy dough that lifts well and isn’t hard and dense like hockey pucks! I slather on butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, apples and raisins and then raise the dough. After that I bake the rolls and spread the thick, buttercream icing on top as the hot rolls come out of the oven. Yes, they are awesome, indeed.
Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are perfect for a weekend, company or holiday breakfast or brunch like Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day or Easter! Even your kids will love these luscious Cinnamon Rolls. Yes, they are sugar on steroids, but they’re also so irresistible you won’t be able to stay out of them. Mom would always make these on Wednesday before Thanksgiving (along with homemade bread and pies) and we would nibble on them all day for Thanksgiving–until the very last one was gone. 🙂
If you enjoy Cinnamon Rolls, these are a must-make for those in your family with a sweet tooth. Enjoy.
Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are so drool worthy!
These Cinnamon Rolls have lots of delicious apple pieces and plump, juicy raisins in every bite.
We enjoy the light, airy, fluffy texture of Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls.
These Cinnamon Rolls are delightful with a cup of coffee or hot tea!
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the cinnamon roll dough.
Either soften butter or cut it into slivers and place in the bread canister.
Add warmed half-and-half. I usually warm it in the microwave at 50% power for 1 minute 45 seconds.
Add bread flour and granulated sugar.
Add sea salt and Bread Machine yeast.
Select the “dough” setting on your breadmaker and allow the bread dough to mix and raise in your breadmaker. This will usually take about 1 hour 45 minutes.
I used these ingredients for the filling.
Roll out the dough on a clean counter top. (DO NOT USE flour).
Spread the dough very generously with salted butter.
Spread brown sugar evenly over top. I use the palm of my hand to spread it across the dough and fill in all the crevices.
Sprinkle very generously with cinnamon. This will usually be about 5 tablespoons! Sprinkle evenly with diced, peeled apples. I prefer using Gala or Fuji apples because they’re sweeter.
Evenly sprinkle raisins over top.
Roll up the dough as tightly but as gently as you can so it doesn’t tear apart. You may have to tuck in the apple pieces and raisins as you go as they fall out of the ends.
Roll up the dough. Transfer dough to a large cutting board, and cut with a sharp knife into one-inch sections.
Grease a 9×13″ baking dish. (You’ll actually need another dish too). I prefer to grease the dish with Crisco shortening because it has a higher temperature tolerance than butter.
TO RAISE THE DOUGH: Place baking dish in oven and turn on the heat for exactly one minute. Turn off heat. Allow the rolls to raise for 20 minutes. Repeat the process every 20 minutes for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes to two hours, or until rolls are doubled in bulk and almost to the height of the baking dish.
Bake at 350 degrees approximately 17-20 minutes. Check the inner rolls to see if they’re done or still too soft. Cook a few additional minutes if necessary. Remove from oven.
I used these ingredients for the icing.
Place softened butter, vanilla and sea salt in a mixing bowl. (I used pink Himalayan sea salt so it’s not white). 🙂
Add powdered sugar and half-and-half.
Mix with an electric mixer until smooth. The mixture will be thick, but it dissolves slightly when it’s spread over the hot cinnamon rolls.
As soon as the hot, Cinnamon Rolls come out of the oven, begin spreading with icing. Try to get as much coverage over the rolls as possible.
These ooey, gooey Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are the best!
I love the fact that I don’t have to knead the bread dough by hand any more. It’s all done in the breadmaker.
Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are fantastic for breakfast or brunch.
We love Cinnamon Rolls for a holiday breakfast, uh, brunch, uh lunch, uh snack, uh dessert!
Here’s the recipe.
APPLE RAISIN CINNAMON ROLLS
(My own concoction)
Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
- 1 2-pound loaf breadmaker
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 sharp knife to cut roll dough
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 9×13" glass measuring dish
- 1 7×11" or 9×9" glass measuring dish
- 1 rubber spatula to (gob) spread icing over top of hot rolls
Ingredients
DOUGH:
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened or cut in slivers (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half warmed (see note below)
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 2 tsp. bread machine yeast
FILLING:
- 1/4 cup salted butter (1/2 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 5 tbsp. cinnamon
- 2 cups Gala apples peeled, cored and diced
- 1 cup raisins
ICING:
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened (1 stick)
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 5 tbsp. half-and-half
- dash sea salt
- 3 cups powdered sugar or as desired
Instructions
DOUGH:
- Layer ingredients in order listed.
- Cut butter into slivers and place on bottom of bread canister. (Or, if butter is softened, place in canister in one piece).
- Measure half-and-half into a measuring cup.
- Microwave at 50% power for 1 minute 45 seconds or up to 2 minutes until warmed.
- Pour warm cream over top of butter.
- Spread bread flour over top of cream.
- Then sprinkle with granulated sugar, salt and yeast.
- Place in breadmaker and put on “dough” setting.
- This will take approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Remove dough from bread canister and roll out into a very large rectangle.
- Spread softened butter over top, then sprinkle with brown sugar.
- With your hand, spread the brown sugar so that it fills in all the crevices.
- Sprinkle with cinnamon, then apples, then raisins.
- Roll up tightly jelly-roll style.
- Cut into one to two-inch pieces and place in a greased baking dish.
- See notes below for raising dough.
FILLING:
- Soften unsalted butter.
- Spread butter as evenly as possible over the large rectangular piece of dough.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over top.
- Carefully with your hand, spread the brown sugar across the dough so that all the crevices are filled in to the edges.
- Sprinkle cinnamon evenly over top of the brown sugar.
- Then spread the diced apples over top.
- Sprinkle evenly with raisins.
- Roll up carefully and cut into even one to two-inch sections with a sharp knife.
- Place cut side up in a greased rectangular baking dish. (I use Crisco shortening as it as a higher burn temperature than butter).
- Allow to rise in a warm place about an hour and a half to two hours or until the rolls come up almost to the top of the baking dish. (See note below).
- Bake at 350° approximately 17-20 minutes or until rolls test done. (See note below).
- Add icing and serve.
ICING:
- Place ingredients in a mixer and beat for several minutes.
- Dollop over top of hot cinnamon rolls as soon as they come out of the oven.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
Need a fantastic crowd-pleasing recipe for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s Day? Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls will soon become everyone’s favorite!
I am very generous with the cinnamon and think the Cinnamon Rolls turn out better that way!
Apples and raisins pair wonderfully with cinnamon. This is a treat you won’t want to miss out on!
These rich, decadent Apple Raisin Cinnamon Rolls are outrageously good!
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5 Comments
slope unblocked
November 23, 2022 at 8:29 am
These brought back memories of the not-too-sweet Dutch raisin rolls my family used to eat (except that they are basically just a roll and have no cinnamon). Yes, I find that glazes make breakfast or tea rolls taste more like dessert than savory fare. Having the recipe is great.
Teresa
November 24, 2022 at 7:36 am
Hope you enjoy them!
Ginger
November 20, 2022 at 5:55 pm
Absolutely amazing cinnamon rolls! These are so delicious… a real hit with my family and a recipe that will be a regular for our home!
Teresa
November 21, 2022 at 6:58 am
Hi Ginger. So thrilled that your family enjoyed these luscious cinnamon rolls!
Ginger
November 26, 2022 at 6:15 pm
Teresa, these go to Sunday school tomorrow along with the usual pigs-in-a-blanket that I do for my “treat day.” I have a feeling our friends no longer will be asking me if I’m bringing the pigs when they taste these!! I’m going to try making the rolls a bit smaller than I do for breakfast at home to stretch them a bit farther, but I’ll be careful not to short change them on the delicious apple/raisin filling! It will be so much fun to make these with the grandchildren next time we see them.