Oh yes, I went there. After playing around with the idea of blueberry cinnamon rolls, I realized that regular cinnamon rolls are a bit like a blank canvas. Sure, they are wonderful all on their own but they also lend themselves well to showcasing other flavors. The idea of caramel apple cinnamon rolls popped into my head and it wasn’t long before I just had to make them.
I added a touch of fall spices to a basic cinnamon roll dough, rolled them with caramelized apples and cinnamon sugar filling the swirls, and drizzled with a caramel cream cheese glaze. The result was exactly what I was hoping for. A tender lightly spiced dough with big chunks of apple, and the glaze was positively to die for. Ben doesn’t normally get overly effusive about the things I bake, but he called these his other true love. They are definitely sweet enough to be a dessert, but I’m sure they would be the hit of any fall brunch. After adding the filling, rolling and slicing the dough log, the filling may seem to be overwhelming the dough but don’t worry. After the rolls proof the dough and filling will be nicely proportioned.