Peach Pie Cinnamon Rolls

In my humble opinion, peaches are the apple of Spring baking. They’re super versatile and flavorful, perfectly pairing with warm spices like cinnamon and cardamom. Anywhere you would use an apple during the Fall and Winter, a peach works just as well in the Spring and Summer. Pie? Check. Turnovers? Check. Crisp? Fritters? Oatmeal? Check, check, and check.

With that in mind, I’ve thought about how people have been baking with apples in recent years, outside of the standard array. Thus, my peach pie cinnamon rolls were born! These rolls are soft and dense in the best way, with the perfect level of sweetness and fragrance from the spices. The streusel topping offers a delightful crunch, balancing out the softness in the rolls. The glaze crusts over beautifully, almost making the outer rings on these rolls like a donut. If you’re a lover of peaches, these are a must-bake.

FAQs and Science

Do I need to use jarred peaches in syrup? Could I substitute for fresh or frozen, or use peaches in water?

I developed this recipe not only using the peaches in syrup, but utilizing the syrup itself. If you were to use fresh peaches or peaches in water, you could try replacing that syrup in the dough with store bought peach syrup or homemade simple syrup, but I can’t guarantee how the rolls would turn out in the end.

Why use evaporated milk?

Evaporated milk offers more depth of flavor than plain whole milk. If all you’ve got is whole milk, though, it wont ruin the rolls to use that instead.

My dough seems dry, what should I do?

Add 1 Tablespoon of milk at a time, until the right consistency is reached. Wait to knead the extra milk in entirely before adding more.

My dough seems wet, what should I do?

Add 2 Tablespoons of bread flour at a time, until the right consistency is reached. Wait to knead the added flour in entirely before adding more.

Can these rolls be made ahead of time?

Yes it can! Follow the recipe as written until step 5 in the Assembly Section, then rather than completing the second proof with the covered rolls in the pans, place them in the refrigerator up to a day ahead of time to stall the proofing process. Remove them from the fridge and proof for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size, and continue on with the recipe as written.

What You’ll Need

• 9×13 inch baking dish
• 9×5 inch loaf pan
• Baking sheet
• Plastic wrap
• Stand mixer fitted with dough hook
• Medium mixing bowl
• 2 small mixing bowls, one microwave safe
• 4-quart saucepan
• Dry measuring cups
• Wet measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Fork
• Sieve
• High-heat safe rubber spatula
• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board
• Rolling pin

The Process

Start by bringing the dough together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set this bowl aside.

Measure out the peach syrup in a liquid measuring cup. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter until it’s just melted but not hot. If need be, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool down. Pour the evaporated milk, cooled melted butter, peach syrup, and vanilla extract into the dry goods and turn your mixer on to level 2. 

Allow the dough to knead for 5-10 minutes. It should be soft, smooth, and tacky but not sticky. If the consistency of the dough seems too wet or too dry, see the FAQs and Science section for guidance on what to do.

Turn the mixer off, remove the bowl from the mixer, and take the hook out of the dough. Bring the dough together into a ball, as shown above. Lightly oil the bowl that the dough was just mixed in and place the dough back inside, turning it several times to coat in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so it’s airtight and place it in a warm area to proof for 1-2 hours, or until about doubled in size.

While the dough proofs, prepare the filling. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and set it aside. Cut the drained peaches into 1/2 inch chunks, set them aside.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Set the dry goods aside.

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the peaches to the hot, melted butter and, using a high-heat safe rubber spatula, stir to coat. Once the peaches begin to heat up, add in the dry goods. Stir the peach mixture continuously until the filling comes to a boil and thickens, about 10-15 minutes. 

Pour the finished filling onto the lined baking sheet, spreading it out as much as possible to allow for faster cooling. Set the filling aside until the dough has finished proofing.

Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish along with a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray, set them aside. Lightly flour a clean counter and place the proofed dough in the center of it. Lightly flour the top of the dough and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 15×16 inch rectangle.

Spread the cooled filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 inch gap at the top. This gap helps prevent the filling from squishing out of the rolls.

Starting at the bottom, gently roll the dough and filling into a cylinder. The filling will likely try to escape, just push it back into the cylinder as best as you can.

Using either a chef’s knife or a long string, cut the cylinder into 8 equal rolls. If using a chef’s knife, gently saw back and forth until you’ve sliced all the way through, so as to help keep the circular shape. 

If using a string, carefully place it underneath the cylinder of dough so the dough is centered and there are two long tails on either side. Pick up the two tails, wrap them over the cylinder and switch them. Gently pull the now swapped tails so the string cuts through the cylinder.

Place two rolls into the loaf pan, and the other 6 rolls into the 9×13 baking dish, all spaced 1-2 inches apart. If any filling spills out, just shove it back inside of the rolls once they’ve been placed inside the pans. Cover the tops of both pans with plastic wrap and place them in a warm area to proof for another 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

While the rolls proof, prepare the streusel. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set the dry goods aside. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Pour the melted butter over the dry goods and, using a fork, toss them together to create large and small chunks of streusel. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap until the rolls have proofed and set the streusel aside. This way, it won’t dry out while the rolls finish proofing.

About an hour or so into proofing the rolls, when they’ve almost finished, make sure the racks are set up so the 9×13 dish can fit on the center rack and the 9×5 can fit on the bottom rack, and heat the oven to 350F.

Once the rolls have fully proofed, remove the plastic and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the tops of each roll. Place the 9×13 on the center rack and the 9×5 on the bottom rack. Bake the rolls for 45-50 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned and the filling is bubbling. Once finished, allow the rolls to cool to room temperature.

Once the rolls have cooled down to room temperature, prepare the glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the salt, water, and vanilla extract and whisk them all together. The glaze should be fairly thick.

Using a large spoon, drizzle the glaze evenly over the rolls until it’s all used. 

Allow the glaze to set for an hour or so, then serve and enjoy! Place any leftover peach pie cinnamon rolls into an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Peach Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Bake Time: 350F for 45-50 minutes
Servings: 8 large rolls
Total Time: 5 hours
Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dough:

• 5 cups bread flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12-oz can evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup syrup from jarred peaches
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

• 48 oz of peaches in syrup, drained
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Streusel:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Dough:

1. Start by bringing the dough together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set this bowl aside.
2. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter until it’s just melted but not hot. If need be, allow it to sit for a few minutes to cool down.
3. Pour the evaporated milk, cooled melted butter, peach syrup, and vanilla extract into the dry goods and turn your mixer on to level 2. Allow the dough to knead for 5-10 minutes. It should be soft, smooth, and tacky but not sticky. If the consistency of the dough seems too wet or too dry, see the FAQs and Science section for guidance on what to do.
4. Turn the mixer off, remove the bowl from the mixer, and take the hook out of the dough. Bring the dough together into a ball, as shown above. Lightly oil the bowl that the dough was just mixed in and place the dough back inside, turning it several times to coat in the oil. 
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so it’s airtight and place it in a warm area to proof for 1-2 hours, or until about doubled in size.

Filling:

1. While the dough proofs, prepare the filling. Cut the drained peaches into 1/2 inch chunks, set them aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt. Set the dry goods aside.
3. In a 4-quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the peaches to the hot, melted butter and, using a high-heat safe rubber spatula, stir to coat. 
4. Once the peaches begin to heat up, add in the dry goods. Stir the peach mixture continuously until the filling comes to a boil and thickens, about 10-15 minutes.
5. Pour the finished filling onto the lined baking sheet, spreading it out as much as possible to allow for faster cooling. Set the filling aside until the dough has finished proofing.

Assembly:

1. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish along with a 9×5 inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray, set them aside.
2. Lightly flour a clean counter and place the proofed dough in the center of it. Lightly flour the top of the dough and, using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 15×16 inch rectangle.
3. Spread the cooled filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 inch gap at the top as shown above. Starting at the bottom, gently roll the dough and filling into a cylinder. The filling will likely try to escape, just push it back into the cylinder as best as you can.
4. Using either a chef’s knife or a long string, cut the cylinder into 8 equal rolls. If using a chef’s knife, gently saw back and forth until you’ve sliced all the way through, so as to help keep the circular shape. If using a string, carefully place it underneath the cylinder of dough so the dough is centered and there are two long tails on either side. Pick up the two tails, wrap them over the cylinder and switch them. Gently pull the now swapped tails so the string cuts through the cylinder.
5. Place two rolls into the loaf pan, and the other 6 rolls into the 9×13 baking dish, all spaced 1-2 inches apart. If any filling spills out, just shove it back inside of the rolls once they’ve been placed inside the pans. Cover the tops of both pans with plastic wrap and place them in a warm area to proof for another 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Streusel:

1. While the rolls proof, prepare the streusel. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Set the dry goods aside.
2. In a small microwave safe bowl, melt the butter. Pour the melted butter over the dry goods and, using a fork, toss them together to create large and small chunks of streusel. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap until the rolls have proofed and set the streusel aside.

Bake:

1. About an hour or so into proofing the rolls, when they’ve almost finished, make sure the racks are set up so the 9×13 dish can fit on the center rack and the 9×5 can fit on the bottom rack, and heat the oven to 350F.
2. Once the rolls have fully proofed, remove the plastic and sprinkle the streusel evenly over the tops of each roll. Place the 9×13 on the center rack and the 9×5 on the bottom rack. Bake the rolls for 45-50 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned and the filling is bubbling. Once finished, allow the rolls to cool to room temperature.

Glaze:

1. Once the rolls have cooled down to room temperature, prepare the glaze. In a medium mixing bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the salt, water, and vanilla extract and whisk them all together. The glaze should be fairly thick.
2. Using a large spoon, drizzle the glaze evenly over the rolls until it’s all used. Allow the glaze to set for an hour or so, then serve and enjoy! Place any leftover peach pie cinnamon rolls into an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Tips

• Start making your Peach Pie Cinnamon Rolls ahead of time! Follow the recipe as written until step 5 in the Assembly Section, then rather than completing the second proof with the covered rolls in the pans, place them in the refrigerator up to a day ahead of time to stall the proofing process. Remove them from the fridge and proof for 1-2 hours or until they’ve doubled in size, and continue on with the recipe as written.