Some recipes are made once. Others quietly become traditions. We hope this will be added to yours.
There’s something about the first cool mornings of fall that makes turning on the oven feel inviting again. These soft, pillowy cinnamon rolls are filled with brown butter, cinnamon and brown sugar, then finished with a simple honey and apple cider glaze (the perfect farmers market twist).
They’re special enough for a holiday morning but simple enough for a slow Saturday at home. Pick up local honey, farm-fresh eggs, butter and fresh apple cider at the farmers market, and you have the beginnings of a recipe worth keeping.
Brown Butter Cinnamon Rolls with Honey Cider Glaze
Makes 10–12 rolls
For the Dough
- ¾ cup whole milk, warmed
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry or instant yeast (1 packet)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
For the Brown Butter Cinnamon Filling
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Pinch of flaky sea salt
For the Honey Cider Glaze
- 1½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh apple cider
- 1 tablespoon local honey
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt
Make the Dough
In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast and sugar. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the yeast begins to look foamy.
Whisk in the egg, egg yolk and melted butter.
Add the flour and salt and stir until a shaggy dough forms. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 6-8 minutes, until smooth and elastic. The dough should feel soft and slightly tacky but shouldn’t stick heavily to your hands.
Place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and let rise in a warm spot for about 1-1½ hours, or until doubled in size.
Make the Brown Butter Filling
While the dough rises, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling occasionally, until the butter becomes golden and smells wonderfully nutty, about 4-6 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow it to cool until it’s spreadable rather than liquid.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of flaky sea salt.
Roll & Fill
Roll the risen dough into roughly a 14-by-18-inch rectangle.
Spread the cooled brown butter evenly over the dough, then sprinkle generously with the cinnamon-brown sugar mixture.
Starting with the long side, roll the dough into a snug log. Cut into 10–12 rolls and arrange in a buttered 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Cover and allow the rolls to rise again for about 30-45 minutes, until noticeably puffy.
Bake at 350°F for 23-28 minutes, until lightly golden on top and cooked through in the center.
Make the Honey Cider Glaze
Whisk together the powdered sugar, apple cider, honey, vanilla and a tiny pinch of salt until smooth.
Add another splash of cider if you’d like a thinner glaze.
Spoon the glaze over the cinnamon rolls while they’re still slightly warm so it settles into all those cinnamon-swirled layers.
Making Them the Night Before
This is what makes them holiday-morning ready.
Prepare the rolls through the point of placing them in the baking dish. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight instead of doing the second rise.
In the morning, remove them from the refrigerator and let them sit at room temperature for about 45-60 minutes, until slightly puffy. Then bake as directed.
Harvest Notes | From the Market
Local Honey: Every jar tells a little story about where it came from. Different blossoms and seasons can create noticeably different flavors, so use a honey you love rather than treating it as simply another sweetener.
Fresh Apple Cider: Look for fresh-pressed cider as apples come into season. Its natural sweetness and acidity are what give this simple glaze its unmistakable fall flavor.
Farm-Fresh Eggs: A farmers market staple that finds its way into so many of the recipes we keep coming back to.
Make It Your Own
For an extra-autumn variation, scatter ½ cup of very finely diced apple over the cinnamon filling before rolling. Keep the pieces small so the rolls remain light and fluffy rather than becoming overly moist.
And for the holidays, a handful of finely chopped toasted pecans would be wonderful, too.
Jennifer McColm Certified Tip: Brown butter sounds fancy, but it’s simply butter cooked a few minutes longer. Watch for the milk solids at the bottom of the pan to turn golden brown and for the butter to smell nutty…that’s your cue to take it off the heat.