These peach cobbler cinnamon rolls are made with fresh or frozen peaches that are cooked briefly on the stove with orange zest & juice and a little cinnamon to enhance their flavor. Then they're thickened with cornstarch to ensure there's no excess moisture before being added to the pillowy yeast dough with a butter + brown sugar filling, all topped with crumbly streusel and sweet vanilla glaze.
These Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls Taste Like Summer
There's something about a peach cobbler that feels like summer in its most honest form. Warm fruit, crispy golden crust, and a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the edges, which is exactly the kind of dessert my dad would set on the table at the end of a summer day. We'd eat it while it was still too hot, because no one could wait. So when I came across peach cobbler cinnamon roll recipes online, I knew I wanted to put my own spin on it. I love baking them on a summer weekend for brunch with family, but they're just as great with frozen peaches in the middle of winter, when you need a little reminder of summer's flavors.
While most versions I came across leaned into a heavy cream cheese glaze (which is still totally delicious) I found that it competes with the peach's fruity flavor. So to keep everything closer to the cobbler I grew up eating, I drizzle a simple vanilla glaze on top that gives it that bakery-level finish without stealing the moment from the true star here, Ms. Humble Peach. And to add that crunchy texture that cobblers are known for, I sprinkle on my signature brown sugar streusel just before the cinnamon rolls hit the oven.
Testing Notes from My Kitchen
In testing, adding fresh peaches straight to these rolls released wayyy too much moisture and kept the dough soggy. So as with many of my fruit bakes (like my blueberry coffee cake focaccia which you should definitely try next), I cook the peaches on the stove just long enough to release a lot of their moisture, then thicken it with a little cornstarch. This makes the peaches more flavorful, and the texture stays juicy without turning into a wet mess or leaking out and burning on the pan. Then sprinkling just a tablespoon of flour over the filling once it's spread on the dough absorbs any remaining excess moisture, which I find makes them easier to roll, slice, and transfer to the baking dish.
Let's Bake Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls Together!
For the full step-by-step directions, scroll down to the recipe card.
Make-Ahead, Rise Overnight
I love making the cinnamon roll dough the night prior and letting them proof in the fridge. All I have to do the next morning is let them warm up for an hour or so while I get ready, then pop them in the oven for fresh, hot-and-ready peach cobbler cinnamon rolls!
My Tips for Bakery-Style Cinnamon Rolls
- To get uniform cinnamon rolls, I use a ruler to lightly score where to make each cut with a knife, then I use dental floss to slice them. I know it sounds strange, but floss prevents the spiral from getting squished. And I promise it won't make your rolls taste minty.
- I found that the texture of the filling was much better with peeled peaches, so you don't get a random chewy bite.
- Don't skip dusting the caramelized peach filling with flour before you roll it. This is a small step that makes a big difference to absorb any remaining moisture and acts as a buffer between the wet filling and your dough, so you get clean, defined swirls instead of a gummy mess.
- Cooking the peach filling first with a little cinnamon and orange juice concentrates the flavor, and cornstarch keeps everything cohesive so the filling stays where you put it instead of pooling at the bottom of the pan. It takes a little extra time, but it's so worth it!
Peach Cobbler Cinnamon Rolls
developed & tested by:
Equipment
Ingredients
CINNAMON ROLL DOUGH
- 1¼ cups milk
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (one packet)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon salt (use table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4¾ cups all purpose flour
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
BROWN SUGAR FILLING
- 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
PEACH FILLING
- 2 cups peaches, peeled and chopped (about 4-6 peaches, depending on their size)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- zest from one medium orange
- 1 Tablespoon orange juice, freshly squeezed (from about half an orange)
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour (for sprinkling on top)
STREUSEL TOPPING
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
VANILLA GLAZE
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Peach Filling
- In a saucepan, add the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, orange zest and orange juice. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the peaches soften and release a lot of their juice.
- Bring everything to a boil, add the cornstarch, and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it's thickened. Set aside to cool completely to room temperature.
Mix the Dough & Let it Rise
- Warm the milk in the microwave for 60-90 seconds, until it's between 105°F and 115°F (40°C to 46°C).
- To the warm milk, mix in the active dry yeast and granulated sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes, until it becomes frothy on top.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the milk & yeast mixture with the eggs, salt, and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour and mix with a large spoon just until there are no clumps of dry flour, after a minute.
- Add the softened butter and mix the dough in the mixing bowl until it starts to form a sticky dough, after a minute.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour. Knead the dough by hand for a full 8 minutes, until the dough springs back to its original shape when you indent it with your finger.
- Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball back in a clean mixing bowl, and cover with a kitchen towel or dinner plate. Let it rest and rise in a warm place (like an empty oven with the light turned on) for about 2 hours, until it doubles in size.
Prepare the Filling & Shape the Rolls
- Grease a 9x13 baking dish and/or line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Prepare the brown sugar filling by mixing the softened, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl until it forms a thick, creamy paste. Set aside.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, place it on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a 1 cm-thick rectangle (roughly 30 cm by 45 cm).
- Gently spread the brown sugar filling evenly over the dough, leaving a ½-inch gap along the two long edges.
- Spread the peach filling on top, again leaving a ½ inch gap on the long edges (so the dough doesn't unravel). Sprinkle one tablespoon of flour evenly over the peach filling (to absorb excess moisture).
- Roll the dough into a log, starting from a long edge. Slice the dough log into 12 even pieces using a sharp kitchen knife or dental floss (I prefer using floss to avoid squishing the spiral design.)
- Arrange the rolls in your prepared baking dish. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them proof at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Bake the Rolls & Drizzle with Glaze
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- While the oven preheats, mix the streusel by combining the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter with a fork or your hands until it forms a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over the top of the proofed cinnamon rolls.
- Bake the rolls for 35-40 minutes, until they're puffed up and golden. A wooden skewer inserted into the bread part of the rolls should come out clean. Let the rolls cool for at least 15 minutes before adding the glaze.
- Prepare the glaze by whisking the powdered sugar, salt, 1 teaspoon of milk, and vanilla extract in a bowl until it's smooth. Add another half teaspoon of milk if it's too thick, then drizzle it onto the rolls. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Peaches: For fresh peaches, choose ones that are ripe and not hard, so they add a lot of natural flavor & sweetness. But if they're too mushy, they'll just turn to peach jam on the stove.
- Proof (Second Rise): The most common culprit of dense cinnamon rolls is underproofing the dough. Make sure they noticeably puff up, and pass the "poke test." When you poke the dough with your finger, it should take 2-3 seconds to slowly fill halfway back to its original shape.
- Cool First: Let them cool for about 15 minutes before adding the glaze,, which is just long enough that the glaze won't dissolve into the hot rolls, but they're still warm enough so it can soak in just enough to keep them soft and moist for several extra days.
Nutrition
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