Cinnamon Rolls are good any time. But these bacon maple cinnamon rolls make fall mornings a little more cozy!
Cinnamon rolls were a Sunday morning treat for me and my brother when we were growing up. They weren’t homemade. They were the kind you buy from a tube at the grocery store and put in the oven. I wasn’t one who loved to eat a lot of sweets when I was young but I loved cinnamon rolls for whatever reason.
Typically, I also do not like to mix sweet and savory together. I approve of this combination, however. Maple and bacon is such a classic mixture of flavors. The only other sweet and savory combination I like is pepper jelly. Over cream cheese. On a cracker. Thanks to my sister-in-law for introducing me to that. But, I digress.
Ingredients for Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls
Cinnamon Rolls
- Warm (not hot) water
- Active dry yeast
- Cane Sugar
- Egg
- Salt
- Flour
Filling
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Maple sugar
- Cinnamon
- Bacon
Icing
- Powdered sugar
- Maple syrup
- Whole milk
Topping
- Bacon
Alternative Options for Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls
- These cinnamon rolls are WONDERFUL made as sourdough as well. I prefer sourdough to using active dry yeast but this is a faster recipe. The sourdough cinnamon roll recipe is like to us is here. All you would do is use the sourdough recipe up to the point of adding the cinnamon sugar filling. The sourdough recipe does not require any additional rise time after placing the rolls in your baking dish.
- For the filling, I like to use 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple sugar. This adds a maple flavor to the cinnamon roll. Otherwise, you only get a bit of maple flavor from the syrup in the icing. If you do not have maple sugar, because it can be on the pricy side, you can easily sub out the 1/4 cup maple sugar with brown sugar. This will total 1/2 cup of brown sugar only. Also, very delicious without the maple sugar.
- Ok this is going to be wild, but, I have seen another variation to the icing on these bacon maple cinnamon rolls. Add bacon fat to the icing. Hang with me here. I have tried it. It is delicious. If you raise your own pigs or know the source of your bacon well, I would absolutely suggest you try it. I personally would not do this with bacon grease from grocery store bacon so I do not include it here. It’s a personal preference.
Instructions to make Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls
In a large bowl, combine the warm (not hot) water and cane sugar. Stir it until the sugar has mostly dissolved. Then, add the packet of active dry yeast to the sugar water and give it a quick, gently stir. Let this mixture sit until it becomes foamy. This will take approximately 5 minutes. Don’t be afraid to let it sit longer if it needs to. The sugar and warmth creates a great environment for the yeast to get active.
To the foamy, sugary mixture, add the salt, egg, and flour. Stir until it starts to combine. At this point, I like to add the dough to a stand mixer and let it do the work for me. You can definitely just use your hands but if you have a stand mixer, I suggest utilizing it!
Use a dough hook to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Depending on the consistency of the dough, you can add more flour in small increments at a time if needed. The consistency should be “gooey” but not sticky. Once the dough can pass the window pane test, you can stop kneading it.
Cover your bowl with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, a damp cloth, or another fabric that will keep the dough from drying out. I have a cover made for bowls with dough rising in them. You can find similar ones on Amazon. Let the dough rise about an hour, or until it has at least doubled in size. If your home is cooler, this will take longer than an hour. If your home is warmer, it may double in less than an hour. Just keep an eye on it. NOTE: now is a good time to sit out your butter to get to room temperature.
Dice the raw bacon and fry it in a pan until crispy over medium-high temperature. Remove the bacon pieces from the pan, dab grease off with a paper towel, and set aside.
Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out your dough into a rectangle until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
Take your softened butter and spread it all over the top of your dough rectangle until it is completely covered. I use my fingers because it’s the easiest for me but you can use a spoon or knife if you wish. Mix together the brown sugar, maple sugar, and cinnamon. With a spoon, or again your fingers, sprinkle the sugar mixture all over the top of the butter, making sure to include the edges. Finally, sprinkle half of your bacon pieces on top of the sugar mixture.
Starting with the long end, roll as tightly as you can until you have a long “log” with a spiral of cinnamon sugar on each end. Now, lets cut the rolls out. Dental floss or thread works best here, but you can also use a knife. I like to drag about 6 inch piece of floss between the “log” and counter to the middle. Pull each end of the floss up until its in a “U” shape. Cross them over themselves and pull until the floss cuts through the dough.
We are going to cut twelve rolls. My method is to cut the dough with floss in the middle. This will leave 6 for each half. Then, I cut each half into another half, creating 4 equal portions. Lastly, I cut each of the 4 portions into 3 rolls. This should give you 12 relatively equal rolls. Place each roll into a lightly oiled, buttered, or greased 9×12 casserole dish.
Cover the casserole dish with a dish towel and let it sit again until it doubles. This will be about one hour. Again, the temperature of your home will alter this time frame. I have had to let them sit for 2 hours before.
After the rolls have doubled in size, heat your oven to 350 degrees and cook for 20-25 minutes until they are just getting brown on top.
While the cinnamon rolls are in the oven, you can make the icing for the top. In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk. Stir until they are all combined well. If your icing seems runny, add more powdered sugar. If it seems too thick, add extremely small amounts of milk. The consistency is up to your personal preference.
After the cinnamon rolls have been removed from the oven, place one on a plate, cover with the icing, and sprinkle some of the left over bacon pieces on top. ENJOY!
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