Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

These Maple Pecan Cinnamon Rolls are covered in a gooey maple caramel and pecans. The perfect make ahead recipe for the holidays or a long weekend.

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Total Time 4

Servings 3 dozen cinnamon rolls

Put your milk and water into a sauce pan. Heat it up until it's a touch warmer than luke warm. You don't want it too hot or else your yeast will die. And you don't want it too cold or else your yeast will not grow.
Sprinkle in your yeast and a teaspoon of sugar. The sugar will feed the yeast as it grows. Set your bowl aside for at least 5 minutes to make sure that your yeast has activated. After 5 minutes you should have a growing layer of yeast at the top of your bowl. If not, start over and try again. This step is crucial in having cinnamon rolls that rise.
Once you have activated your yeast, you'll add in your sugar, softened butter, salt and eggs. Mix until it's fairly combined (it's okay if your butter isn't incorporated all the way).
Slowly mix in 6 cups of flour one at a time. The dough will appear sticky. Your seventh cup of flour will be the one you use to get rid of some of that stickiness. I usually add in a quarter of a cup at a time. The dough will be somewhat sticky to the touch, but not so sticky that you can't get it off your finger.
Cover your dough with a clean dish towel and set aside. The longer you let your dough rise, the better it will be! I prefer letting it double in size in the bowl.

While your dough is rising, you can begin your Maple Pecan Caramel. This recipe makes enough Maple Pecan Caramel for one dozen cinnamon rolls (a 9x13 pan). I prefer to do one batch of pecan caramel rolls, then making the rest of my cinnamon rolls into butter cream (you can find that recipe in another post).
In a sauce pan, combine the brown sugar, maple syrup and butter. Stir well and bring to a gentle boil. Once it starts boiling, take the mixture off the heat.
In the bottom of your pan, sprinkle a layer of pecans. Then pour the caramel mixture over the pecans. Set aside and start assembling your cinnamon rolls.

Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a rectangle.
Spread 1/3 of your softened butter onto the dough rectangle (remember, you're making 3 dozen). You can add more or less butter. I typically add a bit more than the recommended amount of butter.
Top evenly with 1/3 of your brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon. Feel free to add more or less of each ingredient. I prefer adding a bit more cinnamon. There isn't a right or wrong way to add the cinnamon and sugars. Just make sure they're sprinkled somewhat evenly.
Tightly roll up the dough to form a log. Cut 1-2 inch even rolls and place them on top of your pecan caramel topping.
Cover with a clean towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes to an hour. The longer you let them rise, the fluffier they'll be!
Preheat your oven to 350°. Bake your cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes. You'll want to check the center cinnamon roll to make sure it's completely done. That center one tends to take a bit longer to bake.
Once your cinnamon rolls are baked through, take them out of the oven. Now for the tricky part! You'll want to flip them over into another pan or onto a serving platter. Take care when doing this step because the caramel topping will be burning hot.

If you are planning on freezing your cinnamon rolls for later, you can bake them first. Let them cool completely and then cover with several layers of plastic wrap. When you're ready to eat them, pull them out of the freezer a few hours before serving to thaw. Then pop into a 350° oven for around 10 minutes or until they're warmed up.