Upgrade your basic cinnamon rolls to summer mode by stuffing them with fresh peach chunks! These spiced Peach Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese frosting will become your new favorite.
Oh, man. I just love cinnamon rolls, you guys. I have a whole category dedicated to them in my recipe index because they are just so.dang.good. So versatile! So yummy! You can stick pretty much anything in a sweet roll and it'll be amazing. The other day, I noticed quite a few peaches on the counter in the bowl were almost over-ripe, and as I thought about the leftover cream cheese from my Banana Split Cheesecakes, the solution became clear. Cinnamon rolls stuffed with peaches, and topped with cream cheese frosting! Let's get on that.
These pretties start off with my basic cinnamon roll dough, which I let rise overnight for maximum fluffiness and deliciousness. I roll out the dough {and I've learned from trial and error that I always, always tend to roll my dough out too thin. GAH! Word to the wise, roll it out smaller and thicker than you think you need it. It'll probably end up being perfect}, slather it with softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and fresh peach chunks, then I roll the whole thing up and cut it into nice, chubby rolls. I stick em in my baking dishes, let them rise a bit longer, then bake them up for complete and utter perfection. Peach cinnamon rolls. Who knew, right?
The cream cheese frosting is super easy, and so good! I just whip up some cream cheese with some butter, add a bit of powdered sugar and some vanilla extract, and it's done. I used some fancy-shmancy vanilla rum extract I recently bought for $2 {on clearance, instead of $18! I'm still so excited!}, and it totally took the frosting to the next level. Of course, plain ol' vanilla extract will work just as well, but I imagine fresh vanilla bean would be similarly gourmet and delicious!
I'll let y'all in on a little secret... these rolls, sans frosting, can be made vegan super easily! Just use almond milk instead of dairy milk, and Earth Balance instead of regular butter. And if you're feeling fancy, I'm sure you could use vegan cream cheese and Earth Balance in the frosting with delicious results. The warm, soft dough, combined with sweet peach chunks and the spiced bite of cinnamon and nutmeg, are a combination made in heaven. I don't think anyone deserves to miss out on that!
If you aren't a huge peach fan, you can pretty much make these peach cinnamon rolls with any other fruit you want! I've done pears and berries and lemon and Nutella so I mean... nothing's stopping you! I'm thinking my next victims will be raspberries and dark chocolate. Yum. In the fall, I also stuffed the dough with pumpkin butter and made a cool braided bread thing which was pretty neat. Again, this dough is so insanely versatile and you can do so much with it!
peach cinnamon rolls
Ingredients
- *for the rolls*
- 1 cup milk {dairy or non-dairy}
- 2 cups white flour {+ ½ cup separated}
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ½ tablespoon instant active dry yeast {about ½ a package}
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- *for the filling*
- 4-5 peaches peeled and diced
- ¼ cup butter {or EarthBalance} softened
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 3-4 teaspoon cinnamon
- *for the frosting*
- 4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- In a large nonstick pot, combine the milk, oil, and ¼ cup of sugar. Heat up to about 120F {warmer than body temperature but NOT burning hot} over medium heat, then remove from burner and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- Afterwards, mix in the 2 cups of flour, cover the pot with a clean tea towel, and let the dough rise for about 1 hour.
- After the first rise, add in the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and additional flour. Knead until all the flour has been absorbed, and add more if needed. You want the dough to be soft and smooth but not too sticky! Using a sharp knife, cut an X on top of your dough {this helps it rise }, cover with a tea towel again, and let rise for an additional 3+ hours. You can let it rise overnight at this point, or you can also wait until the next step!
- After the second rise, lightly flour a clean surface, and dump the dough on top. Knead it for 2-3 minutes, adding more flour as needed. The dough should be smooth and easy to work with, so add flour if it's too sticky!
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough rectangle, making sure you don't roll it out too thin. Spread the softened butter all over the surface, then top with the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and peach chunks.
- Starting on the long side closest to you, roll up the dough, being careful that no filling falls out of the sides.
- Using a large, smooth knife, cut 1½-2 inch slices of dough, and place them in a greased 9x13 pan {or you can use a giant muffin pan + 9x9 baking dish}. Make sure to leave some space between the rolls to allow them to rise more!
- At this point, you can cover the pans with plastic wrap and either let them rise for 30 minutes in a warm place, or place them in the refrigerator overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375F. Bake the rolls 15-18 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and no longer doughy.
- While the rolls cook, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt, and beat until creamy and fluffy.
- Let rolls cool, then spread with frosting. Enjoy!
Sarah @ Sarah Cooks the Books says
Oh, yum! I love differently-flavored cinnamon rolls, and peaches sound amazing!