Apple Pickin Time...

I was at the Cherry Creek Farmer's Market yesterday and it dawned on me that the season is very soon going to be over.. I had one of those quick moments where I felt like I needed to "get while the gettin is good" and load up with every possible fresh vegetable I wanted so that I could some how prolong the season and not say good buy to summer. The reality of my schedule is that I'm not home enough to enjoy all that produce so I bought with some sense of restraint. I picked up some eggplants, some sweet italian peppers, some zucchini and some honey crisp apples. I read that the honeycrisp apple could keep up to 8 months in the refrigerator, so it probably shouldn't have been the one ingredient I decided I HAD to make something with today, but I threw some in the crisper to use later. I generally don't have a sweet tooth when it comes to breakfast, but for some reason this week gooey cinnamon rolls had planted their seed in my brain and I had successfully fought them off until today. I decided to make some apple cinnamon rolls with my freshly purchased apples. I made a quick brioche dough, chopped up some apples, cooked them with a little sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and oh...the house was filled with that smell of fall. As much as I hate to let go of summer, Fall is my favorite time of year...the crisp days, the sense of change in the air...I love it. Tomorrow is supposed to be a cloudy, rainy 60 degree day...the kind of day I love to stay home and cook. I'll be on my way to Yuma, Arizona where the temperature will probably be in the 100's...I guess I won't bid summer farewell just yet.

Apple Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

For the Brioche

4 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter

1/2 cup milk

5 eggs

In a large mixer bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a saucepan, heat butter and milk until it reaches 120 degrees. Add milk to dry ingredients and beat until combined. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the remaining flour (you may not need the whole amount, just combine until the dough isn't too sticky). Transfer dough into a greased bowl and let rise for about an hour. While the dough is resting, make filling.

Apple Filling

3 1/2 cups diced apples

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until apples are softened and mixture is thickened.

Roll the rested dough out on a lightly floured surface. Spoon apple mixture over and spread evenly. Roll the dough up into a roll and cut into 8 equal pieces. Arrange cut rolls in a round, buttered baking dish. Let rise for about 1 hour in a warm place. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

When rolls are cool, make a glaze from confectioner's sugar and milk. Pour over rolls.