Apple Cider Sticky Buns

The best fall breakfast treat ever – apple cider sticky buns!! They are made with the most perfect brioche dough, filled with apples and cinnamon sugar, and topped with apple cider caramel.

Greetings from the land of completely indulgent but absolutely necessary fall breakfasts!!!

Join me?

You know you wanna.

It has been a HAWT MINUTE since I’ve made cinnamon rolls or sticky buns of any kind.

Like, years.

The longest years of my life.

And honestly, I don’t even know why because these were a snap to throw together.

There are a few different components but most of them can be made ahead of time and actually do better after a stint in the fridge overnight.

Let’s discuss.

First, there’s the brioche dough, which is kind of a dream to work with. You mix up everything in your stand mixer and then let it rest in the fridge overnight.

It is so buttery and delicious. And – BONUS – you only need half of the brioche dough to make these sticky buns so you can make a second brioche recipe at the same time. I made a simple loaf of brioche bread with my extra dough and honestly it was exactly zero extra work. Totally a two for the effort of one situation.

Next – the apple cider sticky goo! (Technical term, obviously.) This is so rich with a deep sultry apple cider flavor. You’ll find yourself licking the pan that you make it in as well as the bottom of the sticky bun pan once they’re inverted. No shame in my game.

The sticky goo gets poured into the bottom of a baking pan and then the apple-and-cinnamon-sugar-stuffed sticky rolls are placed on top to proof for one final time.

Into the oven they go to create the perfect fall breakfast treat.

Though to be fair, we ate them multiple times per day because HOW COULD YOU NOT.

(No, really. How could you not?)

Apple Cider Sticky Buns

 

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The best fall breakfast treat ever - apple cider sticky buns!! They are made with the most perfect brioche dough, filled with apples and cinnamon sugar, and topped with apple cider caramel.

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

For the brioche

• 1¾ cups (245 g) flour
• 2 cups (300 g) bread flour
• 2¼ tsp (7 g) active dry yeast
• ⅓ cup (65 g) sugar
• 2½ tsp kosher salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 18 tbsp (255 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 10-12 pieces

For the apple cider sticky buns

• ½ recipe of brioche dough
• 1 cup (240 g) apple cider
• ¼ tsp grated orange zest
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of ground ginger
• pinch of ground nutmeg
• 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and chopped into ½-inch pieces
• ¾ cup (170 g) unsalted butter
• 1½ cups (330 g) packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup (85 g) honey
• ¼ cup (60 g) heavy cream
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
• ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

For the brioche

1. Combine the all purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, sugar, salt, ½ cup cold water, and the eggs in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix on low for 3-4 minutes, or until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix on low for another 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the butter to the dough one piece at a time, mixing on low for a total of 10 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure all of the butter gets incorporated.
3. Once the butter is completely incorporated, mix on medium speed for another 15 minutes. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and mix for 1 minute. At this point the dough should be slapping against the sides of the mixer bowl.
4. Place the dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly onto the top of the dough. Place in the refrigerator and allow to proof for 6 hours or overnight.

For the apple cider sticky buns

1. Mix the brioche dough and allow it to proof in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.
2. In a small saucepan, heat the cider, orange zest, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg until just about to boil. Decrease heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until reduced to ½ cup. Remove from the heat and add the apples, stirring to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature. Drain the apples, using a bowl to catch the infused cider. Set both aside.
3. Place the butter in a saucepan and add 1¼ cups (275 g) of the brown sugar. Over medium-high heat melt the sugar and butter and bring them to a boil. Whisk in the cider mixture, honey, cream, and salt. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. When ready to bake, dust a work surface lightly with flour. Remove the brioche dough from the fridge and place it on the work surface. Roll the dough into a 12x12-inch square.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining ¼ cup (55 g) brown sugar, regular sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle this evenly over the dough. Scatter the apples on top of the cinnamon sugar.
6. Roll the brioche dough toward you starting from the top of the square as you would a jelly roll, rolling as tightly as possible to form a spiral. Trim ¼-inch from both ends of the roll.
7. Cut the roll crosswise into 8 equal pieces.
8. Pour the apple cider goo into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Place the buns in the pan cut side down and evenly space them apart as much as possible. Cover with plastic wrap and proof for 2 hours, or until the dough is puffy and the buns are touching.
9. Heat oven to 350F. Bake for 30-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until golden on top. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20-30 minutes. Invert the buns onto a serving platter, spooning any extra goo on top.

Notes

Recipe from Pastry Love

3.5.3208