Breads, Rolls + Donuts Archives | The Vanilla Bean Blog

Soft Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:13:31 +0000

These Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls are adapted from a recipe in my book, 100 Morning Treats. The recipe found there is for a Giant Carrot Cake Cinnamon Roll, which is a fun project, but I went with individual buns using the sweet dough base from my soft and gooey Cinnamon Rolls for a great Easter morning breakfast. I was so happy with the results: the buns bake up tender, with a faint carrot flavor that my kids declared to be delicious. A pinch of cloves in the filling gives extra warmth, the icing makes each cinnamon roll center perfectly gooey, and a scattering of candied pecans gave a little crunch to each bite. I like my cinnamon rolls super soft and gooey, so I put a thin layer of the icing over them while they are still warm. The icing melts into the just baked rolls, eliminating any hard corners or edges. If you prefer a little crispy crunch to your cinnamon rolls, you can wait until they have cooled and then top them with all the icing. Things You Should Know About This Recipe: 1. What if I don’t have instant yeast? You can still use active yeast. Active dry yeast […]

The post Soft Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Mini Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 00:25:37 +0000

Orange buns: so unassuming at first glance! But don’t let them fool you. These small buns are light and sweet throughout, with some caramelization on their bottoms from the orange-sugar filling. Then they are topped with even more orange in the form of icing that makes for a perfect, mini-sized bite. I still use my Sweet Dough recipe for mini cinnamon rolls, and after many tries, found splitting the dough into three pieces, then rolling each piece out into separate logs (which are then cut into twelve pieces each) made for the perfect dough-to-filling ratio. I like my cinnamon rolls super soft and gooey, so I put a thin layer of the icing over them while they are warm. The icing melts into the just baked rolls, eliminating any hard corners or edges. Important Tips for Making Mini Cinnamon Rolls I have found these mini buns bake best in a 10 by 15 in [25 by 38 cm] jelly roll pan, but you can see the notes below in the recipe for using a 9 by 13 in [23 by 33 cm] baking pan. Can I Make These Ahead of Time? Yes! Prepare the rolls: roll out dough, fill them, roll them up, cut […]

The post Mini Orange Cinnamon Rolls appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Flaky Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 17:09:50 +0000

I am a big fan of anything apple in the Fall months, and while I love something elaborate like my Apple Morning Buns and Apple Pull-Apart Bread, a flaky apple turnover might be number one on my list of favorites. This recipe does involve a few steps, but it comes together easily. The turnovers can also be assembled ahead of time and frozen for up to two weeks, which comes in handy for crisp Autumn Sunday mornings. Storebought vs. Homemade Puff Pastry: I prefer to use my homemade Rough Puff Pastry for these turnovers; the dough is rich and flaky, and I always have some ready to go in my freezer. However, you can make these with store-bought puff pastry and they will still turn out well. If you are going to use store-bought puff pastry, use a brand that uses butter instead of oil if possible. The Apple Turnover Filling The filling here is based it on the Apple Flip recipe from my cookbook, 100 Morning Treats. I spend a few minutes cooking the apples until they are just tender, creating a quick “pie filling” which insures that the turnovers will have perfectly cooked apples in their centers. I […]

The post Flaky Puff Pastry Apple Turnovers appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Flaky Homemade Croissant Twists

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 01 May 2024 18:33:33 +0000

I love my Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough and use it for many applications (including these Apple Morning Buns), but I have to say that these fried Croissant Twists are insanely good, and may be my new favorite thing to make with it. Frying anything is not my favorite past time, but the process was worth it. These twists are simple to form (especially if you have some croissant dough already made and stashed in your freezer), and the fry up rich, flaky and light. I loved them with a simple glaze, which added some sweetness and kept the middles tender. Each bite reminded me of a cross between a croissant and an old-fashioned doughnut, which is a perfect mash-up in my mind. I am imaging a rhubarb-glazed version as soon as my stalks are ready to pick. Important Tips for Making This Recipe Make sure your kitchen isn’t too hot! This will affect how your dough rolls out. The yeast will began to release gas as the dough warms up, so a cool environment is important. If at any point your butter begins to melt or your dough begins to warm and stick to your work space, you can move the […]

The post Flaky Homemade Croissant Twists appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Homemade Mini Cinnamon Rolls

Sarah Kieffer — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 19:14:31 +0000

Both of my children have cold weather birthdays, one in the later days of Autumn, and the other very close to Christmas. While in their early years they begged for chocolate cakes covered in sprinkles, middle school brought on new requests for birthday celebrating, in the form of either Maple Oatmeal Scones or Pillowy Soft Cinnamon Rolls (that are also a reader favorite). But as our family has grown, both with more people and also in size (growing teenagers + grocery shopping = wow), we have discovered that one pan of cinnamon rolls doesn’t cover everyone equally. At our family birthday gatherings, my little nieces eat a couple bites of that giant roll and move on to something else, while uncles and grandpas can eat three giant cinnamon rolls with no problem. Why You’ll Love Mini Cinnamon Rolls So mini cinnamon rolls have now entered the picture. Thirty-six small buns all tucked into a pan, their tender base baking into each other to create pillow-like dough, and their cinnamon centers expanding into beautiful golden-brown spirals. Little ones can grab one and be satisfied, and growing teenagers and grandparents can sneak back and take seconds and thirds with plenty to spare. […]

The post Homemade Mini Cinnamon Rolls appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread

Sarah Kieffer — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:47:33 +0000

A lot of you have been making my Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread, so I decided to come up with a pumpkin flavored one since we have now moved into November. I use a Pumpkin Caramel recipe from my book, 100 Morning Treats, which is incredible paired with the fluffy, soft bread that’s also fun to eat, pulling apart each delicious slice. The sugar filling for the dough has cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg giving it warm flavor throughout. Easy Pumpkin Caramel This caramel topping for the pull-apart bread is easy to make, and there is no thermometer involved! Most of the ingredients are combined together and cooked on the stovetop, including the pumpkin (which is in the caramel, not the dough). I think this caramel tastes best with a nice splash of bourbon, but if you don’t want to use alcohol you can omit it. How To Make Pull-Apart Bread: Although this bread is a little time consuming to make, it is always worth the effort. What can I do to make this recipe ahead? For overnight Pull-Apart bread: Assemble the pull-apart bread in the Pullman pan, but do not let it rise at room temperature. Cover the pan loosely with […]

The post Pumpkin Caramel Pull-Apart Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Apple Morning Buns

Sarah Kieffer — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 13:24:04 +0000

These buns are (of course) inspired by the famous morning buns created at Tartine. On my only visit to San Francisco, I was able to try one of these perfect buns – orange and cinnamon and sugar and butter all wrapped up in flaky dough. I’ve tried to re-create something similar; in my book 100 Morning Treats, I have the classic version of this bun using my Cheater Croissant Dough. Here I have an apple version, perfect for both chilly Autumn mornings and afternoons. One thing to note: The recipe for the Morning Buns in 100 Morning Treats has a typo in it (but the same recipe in Baking For the Holidays does not). The recipe calls for 1 cup [200 g] of granulated sugar, which is correct, but the sugar needs to be divided. The filling for the Morning Buns uses 1/2 cup [100 g], not the 1 cup stated, and the remaining 1/2 cup [100 g] is used to toss the warm buns in. I am so sorry for the mistake! Baking with Apples Apples take a long time to break down during baking, so often I like to give them a head start. I found steaming the […]

The post Apple Morning Buns appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough

Sarah Kieffer — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 16:48:19 +0000

Of all the recipes I’ve developed between my cookbooks, working in bakeries, and this website, this Cheater Croissant Dough might be the one I spent the longest working on. It is one of my favorite recipes, as it gives everyone the chance to make and experience the magic of flaky, delicate croissants and so many other treats in a simplified, easier technique. It wasn’t until I read Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery that I accepted that home croissants were never going to be perfectly on par with bakery ones. He writes: “Croissant dough is the most difficult of the enriched doughs to get right…[y]ou can never master it completely. Every time you attempt it, it’s new. The temperature of your kitchen, the humidity in the air, the absorbency of the flour, the activity of the yeast – all these factors affect the dough.” When I understood that this professional pastry chef who had made thousands of croissants could never master the croissant, I knew I had to take a different approach for my own kitchen. I wanted a dough that mimicked the flaky, butter layers of a croissant, but gave a little more space to imperfection. This dough is inspired by many different recipes, […]

The post Foolproof Cheater Croissant Dough appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing

Sarah Kieffer — Tue, 09 May 2023 12:06:01 +0000

I couldn’t leave cinnamon rolls out of my new breakfast book, 100 Morning Treats; they are my go-to for any type of special occasion that may (or may not) involve breakfast. I have a favorite recipe for my Soft and Gooey Cinnamon Rolls that so many of you love, but I decided to change things up with a buttermilk dough and slightly different filling. I love both versions equally, but these buns are special. They’re made with buttermilk in the dough and a rich cinnamon filling. The rolls bake up soft and fluffy, and are finished with a cream cheese icing. I like my cinnamon rolls super soft and gooey, so I put a thin layer of the icing over them while they are still warm. The icing melts into the just baked rolls, eliminating any hard corners or edges. Corrected Recipe As with all things in life, nothing is perfect, and in the book , this recipe has a couple of errors that were missed before it went to press. It is always extremely disappointing when this happens, and I feel like I let my readers down when I don’t catch a mistake. But, four books in, I’m here […]

The post Buttermilk Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.

Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread

Sarah Kieffer — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 22:35:15 +0000

This fluffy, soft pull-apart bread is just as the name suggests; you simply pull it apart to eat a slice! Infused with apple cider and cinnamon, it’s a variation on my Apple Cider Cinnamon Rolls. You’ll also find a Lemon Pull-Apart Bread in my Baking for the Holidays cookbook. I’ve used apple cider in both the dough and the icing for this bread, rather than apple chunks or bits or shreds. I find the pieces very distracting in my breads or buns; they tend to just fall out on the plate and need to be eaten with a fork at a later time. Apple cider takes care of this problem nicely. The apple flavor is light but bright, and does shine through especially with a hit of apple brandy in the icing. It’s as fun to eat as it is delicious, and makes a great Autumn weekend breakfast, especially if you’ve just been to the apple orchard and came home with cider. How to Make Pull-Apart Bread: Although this bread is a little time consuming to make, it is always worth the effort. Make the sweet dough. It will have a rise time of 2 hours. It is recommended to […]

The post Apple Cider Pull-Apart Bread appeared first on The Vanilla Bean Blog.