Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Filled with a brown sugar, cinnamon filling and toasted pecans, and topped with a maple glaze these Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls are perfect for fall!

Can you make these buns in advance?

These are really best fresh so, if you want to shorten your work time in the morning, you can make the dough the night before. Then, wrap it in plastic on a quarter sized baking sheet and immediately place it in the fridge to proof overnight. In the morning shape the rolls and then bake them!

What type of pan is best for making cinnamon rolls?

I strongly recommend using a metal plan for baking cinnamon rolls, glass pans tend to take too long to heat up and then don’t create a great puff and the center roll struggles to bake through. Ceramic or glass pans can work too just watch the rolls to make sure they are baked through even if it’s longer than the baking time. You can also use a cast iron skillet as long as the sides are tall enough. I love to use this 9″ x 9″ square metal pan.

How to get super fluffy cinnamon rolls?

There are a lot of things that go into creating a fluffy cinnamon roll but two of my favorite tips are using bread flour which gives them a little extra fluff and drizzling the buns with heavy cream just before baking!

You may also like…

• Cinnamon Roll Wreath
• Lemon Brioche Buns
• Apple Fritter Coffee Cake

Tips for making Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

• Make sure the egg and butter for the dough are both at room temperature and make sure the salt doesn’t directly touch the yeast.
• I love using bread flour for these but if you only have all purpose flour that will work too!
• To cut down on time in the morning, you can make the dough the night before. Once the dough is fully kneaded and wrapped up on the quarter sized baking sheet, it can be kept in the fridge for anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. In the morning take the dough out of the fridge and continue with assembling!
• This dough comes together quickly but allow it to keep kneading for the full time.
• When making yeasted dough, ensure that you allow your mixer to fully knead the dough, until it forms a smooth ball and the sides of the bowl are cleaned.
• When rolling out the dough, try to make it as rectangular as possible. This will help when it comes shaping and cutting the twist. I use a bench scraper to keep reshaping into a rectangle as I roll it because it can be tricky to reshape at the end.
• Place the rolls into the pan with the ends facing into the center of the pan so that they keep a more regular shape when baking.
• Make sure to bake the buns until golden brown on top, all ovens and pans are different so always go based on look with these!

Ingredients

• Bread Flour: Unbleached bread flour makes these cinnamon rolls extra fluffy but all purpose flour will work too!
• Sugar: This recipe uses granulated sugar in the dough, brown sugar in the filling, and powdered sugar in the glaze.
• Yeast: In this recipe, instant yeast is used. However, if you are using active dry, simply whisk it in with the warm milk and let it sit for 10 minutes first and then add in the remaining ingredients.
• Salt: Fine sea salt is used to balance out the sweetness and enhance the flavors.
• Milk: The dough use milk as the liquid in the dough; however, it will also work with non-dairy milks such as almond milk.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store. There is one whole egg in the dough.
• Butter: The butter is used in the dough and the filling and the glaze! I recommend Kerrygold salted butter for this.
• Vanilla: A little vanilla extract is used in the dough, the filling, and the glaze, to enhance the flavors.
• Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon gives these cinnamon rolls their classic warmth and flavor.
• Pecans: Make sure you are using un-roasted, unsalted pecans for this recipe!
• Maple Syrup: Maple syrup is used in the glaze to give these their maple flavor!

How to make Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Brioche

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in the flour, sugar, and yeast – whisk to combine.
• Sprinkle in the salt. Then add in the egg, butter, warm milk, and vanilla.
• Use a dough hook to knead everything together on medium low speed for 15 minutes until the dough has smooth edges and the bowl is clean.
• If baking same day, keep the dough in the bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap and place somewhere warm to rise.
• If prepping the dough the night before, line a quarter sized baking sheet with a sheet of plastic wrap. Shape the dough into a rough rectangle that is about an inch thick. Top the dough with another sheet of plastic wrap.
• Place the dough on the sheet pan immediately into the fridge to proof overnight.

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Filling

• Pour the pecans into a large shallow pan, place over low heat, tossing regularly.
• Toast until the pecans feel quite warm to the touch, make sure you don’t burn them – their color shouldn’t change at all.
• Immediately remove them from the heat and chop finely – think 1/8″-1/4″ in size.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add in the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and vanilla. Use a fork or spoon to mix them together into a smooth butter spread.

Assemble

• Preheat the oven to 350 F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Or just below if the heat comes from the top of the oven.
• If not using a nonstick pan, line your pan with a sheet of parchment paper.
• Once the dough has doubled in size, or the next morning, knock any air out of the dough. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about 15″ x 12″.
• Spread the cinnamon brown sugar filling over the entire surface of the dough. Then sprinkle with 90% of the chopped pecans and gently press them into the surface so that they stay in place.
• Starting with one long side, roll the dough up, keeping the ends as even as possible.
• Give the roll a slight squeeze until it is about 18″ long.
• Trim about 1/2″ off of each end then use a ruler to mark 8 marks. They should be between 1 3/4″ and 2″ wide.
• Place the rolls into a 9″ x 9″ pan, they should be arranged in a 3×3 grid.
• Place the pan somewhere warm until the rolls are puffy, this can take anywhere between 30 mins and an hour depending on the temperature of your home.
• Once puffy, drizzle the top of the rolls with the heavy cream.
• Bake for 15 minutes in the hot oven. Then rotate 180 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes.
• 5 minutes before they are done baking, make the glaze.
• Once golden brown, remove the pan from the oven and set on a rack to cool for 5 minutes before glazing.

Glaze

• To make the glaze, whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt to make a thick glaze.
• Spoon the glaze over the top of the rolls and use the back of a spoon to spread it out. Sprinkle with the leftover chopped pecans and flaky sea salt.
• Serve warm! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

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