Brioche Cinnamon Rolls with Apples

Now isn't that a gorgeous little thing!? Yes it is.. I made these last night for my fam so we can actually get something in our bellies before church. So naturally when I was looking for a cinnamon roll recipe I wandered over to pinterest and typed in brioche cinnamon rolls and this recipe was pinned on there probably 100 times! So I gave it a try. I did however put my own spin on it.. Which I do with everything!

 

Sorry I didn't take any pictures of the process but it was pretty darn easy to follow.

You will need:

 

Dough

3/4 cup of shortening or butter melted ( I was out of shortening so I used butter)

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsps. salt

2 eggs

2 pkgs. yeast ( a pkg. of yeast is equivalent to 2 1/4 tsps. I used red star dry active)

2 cups warm water

6 cups of flour ( all purpose is fine)

 

Spread

2/3 cup sugar

1/4  cup Saigon cinnamon

2 pink lady apples 

Mix and set aside

Butter Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp. milk

whisk together

Directions for the dough:

1 In a medium sized bowl proof your yeast by dissolving the 2 pkgs. of yeast in the 2 cups of warm water ( 90 to 110 degrees Farenheit)  and adding a tbsp. of sugar. Let it sit for 10-15 mins. until is frothy on top. (it almost looks like a latte)

2 While the yeast is proofing, in a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar and salt. Mix well and then add the 2 eggs. If your shortening is hot make sure to whisk in the eggs quickly and continuously to avoid scrambling your eggs.

3 Add the proofed yeast mixture to the egg mixture and mix well.

4 Add the 6 cups of flour all at once and combine the wet and dry ingredients well, until a nice sticky dough forms. You'll need to turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it just a bit till it's no longer sticky and gets just a bit elastic

5 The original recipe calls to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and to put in the fridge to rise and double in size for 4 hours or overnight, this is recommended and does make a difference, however, I needed the recipe for a dinner party and didn't have 4 hours, so I covered the bowl with a clean dish towel and left it on the stove top for 2 hours. It doubled in size just fine.

6 Once the dough has doubled in size, punch down and divide the dough in half.

7 On a floured work surface, knead the dough for a minute or two and then form into a ball. Roll out the ball of dough into a large rectangle that is about 1/4 an inch thick. Make sure that the rectangle of dough is lightly floured underneath so that when you roll it later it won't stick to the work surface. Preheat the oven to 350.

8 Using a pastry brush, brush a light layer of melted butter all over the surface of the rectangle. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon and apple mixture over the entire surface of the rectangle. I like to rub it in.

9 Roll up the rectangle starting from the short end and pinch the seam shut all along the length of the roll. Turn the roll seam side down and using a knife or pastry chopper cut the roll into 1-1 1/2 inch rounds. Or if you want them bigger make em bigger! Merica'.

10 Repeat steps 7-9 with other half of dough and proceed to step 11.

11 Transfer the rounds, swirl side up into a greased cake pan or casserole dish. Leave 1/2 an inch between rounds. When they rise they should all be touching. Cover both pans with a dish towel and let rise till doubled ( about 2 hours ). If your yeast is really fresh your dough will rise much faster Just eyeball it.

12 Bake at 350 for 13-20 mins. Mine were ready after 13-14 mins. They should be slightly golden and spring back when touched. Cool off for 20 mins and then ice while still warm.

Directions for icing:

Combine powdered sugar and 1 tsp. of milk at a time until you have a medium thick consistency. Taste the icing and add more powdered sugar and milk alternatively until you have a balanced taste. Use all of it on the rolls...it will seep down into all of the crevices of the swirls and enhance every inch of them!