Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough

1. Bloom the yeast in the warm milk for ten minutes. If the yeast foams up and smells 'yeasty' then it's alive and you can continue the recipe. If nothing happens your yeast is dead and you need fresh yeast.
2. In the bowl of your standing mixer, whisk together 3 cups of all purpose flour, granulated sugar, apple pie spice, orange zest, and kosher salt.
3. Pour the yeast and milk, the melted butter, vanilla, and egg into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir together with the dough hook attachment on low speed until a soft, sticky dough forms.
4. Add in the last ¼ cup of flour a spoonful at a time, letting the stand mixer knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes, using a rubber baking spatula to help scrape the sides and incorporate any unmixed flour as needed. The fully kneaded dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl, not be sticky, should feel soft and elastic, and easily pull off the dough hook to form into a smooth ball of dough.
5. Grease up a large mixing bowl with a little neutral flavored oil or cooking spray and put your dough in there, covered with plastic wrap, to rest for about 15 minutes.
6. Use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender, to pulse the canned apple pie filling into smaller pieces. It's okay if it gets a little too small, we only want small chunks of apple and a more blended filling.

Fill and Roll

1. After 15 minutes, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14 inch-by-8 inch (36 cm x 20 cm) rectangle. Smooth the apple pie filling onto the dough with a spoon or an offset spatula, leaving about an inch gap at the edges.
2. Roll up the dough to make a 14 inch long log. Wiggle unflavored dental floss under the center of the log and wrap it around the dough tightly to slice the dough in half. Repeat with the other halves of the dough log to create 8 equal-sized cinnamon rolls (discard the small unfilled edge pieces if you have them) and place into a greased metal 9 inch round baking pan.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and let the cinnamon rolls rise in a warm place (like a turned off oven) for 90 minutes or until they double in size. (Make the browned butter during this step so it can cool before using)

Bake the Apple Cinnamon Rolls

1. After the rolls have doubled, preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃). Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

Make the Frosting

1. Do this step while the rolls rise: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Occasionally swirl the pan and watch the pan so the milk solids brown and don't burn. The browning will take about 6-8 minutes, you're looking for brown specks and a toasty smell. Once browned, pour the butter into a heat-safe bowl and set aside until it's cooled to room temperature.
2. Beat the cream cheese on medium high in the clean stand mixer using the paddle attachment until the cream cheese is very loose with no lumps.
3. Beat in the room temperature browned butter, vanilla, maple syrup, and kosher salt on medium high until completely incorporated.
4. Slowly mix in ⅓ of the powdered sugar at a time, waiting until each amount is incorporated before adding the next ⅓.
5. Mix in the heavy cream to loosen up the frosting. Add more if you want a very loose frosting!
6. Cover the warm cinnamon rolls in as much frosting as you want and serve!