Caramel Rolls with Apples and Walnuts Recipe - Pinch of Yum
icon-arrowicon-chevron-whiteicon-chevronicon-commenticon-facebookicon-hearticon-instagramicon-instant-poticon-listicon-lockicon-meal-prepicon-nexticon-pinteresticon-popularicon-quoteicon-searchicon-staricon-sugar-freeicon-tiktokicon-twittericon-veganicon-videomenu-closemenu-open
Our recipes, your inbox. Sign up

Caramel Rolls with Apples and Walnuts

9 reviews / 4.9 average

I blinked and it was Monday.

I’m a little sad.

This weekend was filled with some wonderful things, including babysitting 30 kids on a Friday night, and maybe wonderful isn’t the right word for that, but whatever, hosting a Matilda movie night with my girls, and filling our lives to the brim with these heavenly caramel rolls. Somehow treadmills and green veggies and rational portion sizes didn’t make their way into the weekend mix, but Mondays are good for that thing called a fresh start. On second thought, so are Tuesdays.

Homemade caramel rolls in a pan.

Before you run into the kitchen to get these babies started, there’s one thing that you need to know. It’s going to take some sweat. Oh, wait, you live in a normal climate? Ok then. It’s just going to take some time.

It’s time well spent, my friends. Well. Spent.

First you’re going to let the dough rise. It’s going to smell amazing and feel even more amazing in your hands and you’re going to ask yourself why you don’t do this more often.

Dough in a mixing bowl.

Then you’re going to roll it out

Dough rolled out on a countertop.

and fill it with sweet caramel apple filling

Apples cooking in a pan with a wooden spoon.

and drown your soft, fluffy rolls in more caramel apple sauce.

Caramel rolls drizzled with sticky apples and walnuts.

And then,

This.

Caramel roll on a white plate with a fork.

Is going in your mouth.

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
caramel rolls

Caramel Rolls with Apples and Walnuts


Description

These homemade caramel rolls are soft and fluffy and loaded with sweet, sticky apples and walnuts. So perfect for a Saturday breakfast!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (more or less depending on dough consistency)
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk, lukewarm
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
  • 3 apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the lukewarm milk, egg, and butter. Mix with a bread mixing attachment until moist ingredients are incorporated and mixture is beginning to clump together. Scrape down the sides and add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing again until dough is sticking together. Use your hands to knead the dough together – it should be workable and have some elasticity.
  2. Place the dough in a large buttered or greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Let rest in a warm spot for one hour. When dough has rested for one hour and risen to about double it’s original size, punch it down and fold the corners back into the middle, making it a compact ball once again. Cover again, with corner side down, and let rest for 30 minutes.
  3. While dough is rising, saute the apples, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a saucepan over low heat. Let the mixture gently simmer together for about 10-15 minutes, until apples are tender and mixture has thickened slightly. Add chopped walnuts and set aside.
  4. Roll the dough into a 9×15 rectangle. Pour 1/3 of the apple mixture onto the dough and spread it evenly. Starting at the wide end, roll up the dough with the apple mixture inside. When the dough has been rolled up, use a large knife to cut the dough into 12-15 spiraled rolls and place each of them in a large buttered ovenproof skillet. Leave some room between each roll for the dough to rise.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover the rolls and let rise again for 30 minutes. When risen, pour 1/3 of apple mixture over the top. Bake for 15-25 minutes, or until lightly browned and baked through. Pour remaining 1/3 of sauce over the hot rolls before serving.

Notes

To make these ahead of time, go through all the steps, stopping after you cut the rolls and place them in the pan. Cover them and store in the fridge. Leave some extra time for them to come back to room temperature and rise again on the day that you want to bake them (it took me at least 2 hours to get them warm and risen again after refrigerating).

As you make the dough, adjust the consistency with a tablespoon of flour to thicken or a tablespoon of milk to soften if necessary.

You can also use a 9×13 baking dish.

  • Prep Time: 2 hours
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: caramel rolls, apple caramel rolls, walnut caramel rolls

PS. Thank you Dulce Dough for helping me be a successful baker. You rock.

PSS. Wanna take 15 seconds to vote for Chicken Tamale Pie so I can give away a free vacation?

And you’re like, come on. Just gimme the soft white bread and caramel sauce.

Fair enough.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

43 Comments

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      Apples are sometimes in short supply… I only really had one variety to choose from… but other than that it was ok!

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I definitely want that in my mouth. I love the apples in it! Wonderful!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wonderful fall treat! I guess the “chocolate cake scene” in Matilda is a bit too yucky for you to have made something chocolatey 😉

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      I just did this and it is amazing!! I wish I can send you a picture! Thank you so much for the recipe. I wanted one where I make my own dough vs. Buying it frozen from a grocery chain. I used Cortland apples (upstate NY apples) and it is delicious!!

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Wow that looks like a perfect christmas morning recipe!.:.i know its a little early to think of that but i cant help it!!

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Oh boy. I made caramel apple cinnamon rolls a week or two ago and they’re AMAZING! The only problem I have is that I made so many at once, got sick, and now I have a cinnamon roll aversion. And I didn’t get pictures. Wah! But these, these look awesome. 🙂

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    how did I miss this post? Just saw it on FG but maybe it never made it into my Reader? The important thing is I saw it now, and wow, what rolls! they look amazing, Lindsay!

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Made these rolls this weekend with apples fresh from the farmer’s market. They were divine!

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I simply can’t resist rolls smothering in caramel and nuts. I just can’t. And these have to be the most tempting rolls with the most perfect balance of nuts and caramel to dough… Love these! I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thanks for continuing to inspire me with your creations…