About
A little bit cinnamon roll, a little bit pretzel, but a whole lot of magical fall taste. Cinnamon Crunch Knots bring all the seasonal flavors wrapped up in one place! A pretzel-like dough knot is topped with a jammy apple butter and a smoky-sweet cinnamon mixture that tastes like autumn through and through! Cinnamon Crunch Knots have just the right amount of everything-fall-flavored. A little crunchy, a little soft, but always big flavor!
Ingredients
- For the knots:
- 1/4 cup water, warmed, plus more, to taste
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider, warmed
- 1/2 cup salted butter, melted
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more, to taste, for the dough and for dusting the work surface
- For the filling:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature, divided
- 3/4 cup apple butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Directions
Step 1 -In the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1/4 cup of the warm water, the honey, and the yeast and stir to combine.
Step 2 -Let the yeast mixture sit until it is bubbly on top, about 5 minutes.
Step 3 -Add the warm apple cider, 1/2 cup of the melted butter, and 4 1/2 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture and mix on medium speed until a smooth dough forms and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl, about 3-4 minutes. If the dough seems too wet, add the extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough seems too dry, add the extra warm water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Step 4 -Cover the bowl and let it sit in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 1-2 hours.
Step 5 -In a small bowl, add the granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of the cinnamon and stir to combine. Set the cinnamon-sugar aside.
Step 6 -Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Step 7 -Line two (18x23-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper.
Step 8 -Using the extra flour, lightly dust a work surface.
Step 9 -Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle about 1/4-inch-thick. Make sure to use more of the extra flour, as needed.
Step 10 -Evenly spread 4 tablespoons of the room temperature butter on top of the rolled-out dough.
Step 11 -Evenly spread the apple butter over the butter layer on the dough.
Step 12 -Evenly sprinkle the reserved cinnamon-sugar over the apple butter layer.
Step 13 -Fold the dough in half, pressing to adhere.
Step 14 -With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 16 strips.
Step 15 -By hand, twist each of the dough strips into a loose knot.
Step 16 -In a single layer, place the knots on the prepared baking sheets.
Step 17 -In a small saucepan over medium heat or in a small microwave-safe bowl with the microwave on high power, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of the room temperature butter.
Step 18 -Add the brown sugar, the remaining 1 tablespoon of the flour, and the remaining cinnamon to the melted butter and stir to combine.
Step 19 -Evenly spoon clumps of the brown sugar mixture over the dough knots.
Step 20 -Bake until the knots are golden-brown, about 15-18 minutes.
Step 21 -Transfer the knots from the oven to a wire rack to cool slightly.
Step 22 -Serve warm or at room temperature.
