mascarpone & maple caramel apple butter cinnamon rolls.

hello from the 5th or 6th day of cinnamon roll consumption, and the last day of 2 0 2 0 .

i’m sure everyone is tired of hearing about “this weird year,” but - once more for the people in the back ——— this year has been so weird.

if you’re reading this far in the future when we are all able to gather around a large pan of cinnamon rolls again - just know what a luxury it is to share space and meals with several other people.

also, cinnamon rolls are meant to be shared by like 8-12 people - not eaten by the same person for days on end 😂 that’s my 2020 for ya - pigging out on so many cooking projects designed for a family. luckily we had a couple other people around us this year to share everything with. i really can’t complain. so many hard circumstances took place this year for every single person i know, including myself - but i am so fortunate & lucky to be exactly where i am in life.

something great to come out of 2020 were all the creative pivots people made to create a business, a project, learn a new skill, or dive into a huge career change.

my lovely friend jeff, who’s an extremely talented chef and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, has always made delicious homemade jams, jellies, apple butters, etc - this year, he launched his own etsy shop where you can buy his incredible homemade apple cider butters in several flavors!

so proud of any friend who takes a chance on a business endeavor. yay, jeff!!! a foodie business endeavor was one that i was quite attracted to. 😊

not only are jeff’s apple butters sooo delicious and lovingly made from locally grown washington apples right in his home kitchen, but the attention to detail in the product shipment was so so sweet. it being december now, each jar was carefully wrapped (in eco-friendly wrapping - a huge plus for me with the zillions of boxes and paper waste coming to our doorstep these days) and came adorned with a jingle bell on each jar, along with recipe cards, and a personalized & typed note for me! i was very impressed with all the details, thought and effort put into his packaging. bonus was that shipping was super fast!

gorgeous apple butter color, too.

the flavors i got were regular, vanilla, smokehouse, and maple caramel apple - which is what went into these incredible cinnamon rolls on christmas morning!

taking food photos in the darkness of winter at like 9am is not ideal, but heyyy make it work, ya know.

the bulk of this recipe comes from JOY THE BAKER!!!

this is a life-changing cinnamon roll method that keeps your cinnamon rolls tender for SO many days. she spreads cream cheese across her rolled-out dough and folds it in, rolling out and folding a couple more times to create these amazing flaky & moist layers.

here i used mascarpone instead of cream cheese, and mascarpone in the icing on top. i love the bit of tartness that it brings to the sweetness of the apples. and the way it keeps the dough moist for seriously a week - not exaggerating - is so amazing. usually after a couple days of reheating regular cinnamon rolls, the dough is hard as a brick. but nooo, not the genius of joy the baker - tenderness for days. they continue to be as soft and fluffy as the day you baked them.

i used the whole jar of jeff’s maple caramel apple butter and a bit of the regular apple butter to supplement - about 10-12 oz in total. you don’t need walnuts, but i like em for the extra texture in there.

layerrrrrrrs.

these cinnamon rolls were sooo incredible and enjoyed by everyone living in our household on christmas morning - which is very special. cinnamon rolls are a christmas tradition for me - and i can safely say this version was perhaps the best i’ve made.

the apple butter is so so flavorful but not too sweet - and the mascarpone folded into the dough - fuhgetabouddit. so delicious. i sprinkled some extra brown sugar and cinnamon over the apple butter before rolling up the dough into a log and slicing.

and the smell of them, too! fantastic.

thanks so much, jeff, for sending me the maple caramel apple to try out in a recipe - it couldn’t have gone better, and i can’t wait to make these again next christmas. 😊

jeff’s etsy shoppe is found here in this link, and on instagram, here!

Mascarpone & Maple Caramel Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls

Makes 8-12 Cinnamon Rolls, depending how you slice them

Active Time: 30 minutes // Bake Time: 30 minutes // Total Time: 3 hours

• Read & Follow JOY THE BAKER’S incredible cinnamon roll method here!

  Full recipe credit to Joy! Changes that I made:

• Use 8 oz. Mascarpone cheese instead of cream cheese to spread and fold into your dough.

• Spread 8 oz. Lovage Homemade Maple Caramel Apple Cider Butter over the rolled out dough (in lieu of the regular filling). Sprinkle a handful of brown sugar and add chopped walnuts, if desired.

• Once the rolls are sliced and placed into baking sheet, sprinkle with additional cinnamon over top.

• Use 3-5 TB. of Mascarpone in Joy’s icing recipe - being careful not to use too much milk, or the icing will be a bit grainy.

• Bake for about 28 minutes for tender & soft cinnamon rolls.

• ENJOY!

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