Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls

The perfect weekend breakfast: Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls! A wonderful buttery cinnamon roll dough filled with maple brown sugar and bacon filling, and topped with a maple glaze!

Have you ever heard of Voodoo Doughnut? It’s a doughnut shop in Portland, Oregon. It’s been on all the food and travel TV shows. Heck, it was even referenced in the 50 Shades of Grey. Every time it came on the Travel Channel I would salivate over the Bacon Maple Bar. Just the thought of the Maple Bar frosting and the salty, crunchy bacon made my mouth water.

A few years ago, we happened to be in Portland after visiting my parents at their house in Mapleton (aptly named for this post, methinks). Of course, I required a stop at Voodoo Doughnut! A few things I learned there:

I’ve never seen a busier doughnut shop. EVER.

If you visit you will have to drive around the block 10 times and fight with your husband about “to park or not to park”.

If you bring a child over the age of four, be prepared to answer questions about some of the doughnut names. Or, the shape of, er, the doughnuts. If you’ve ever been to their website, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Luckily…Jordan was young. She had no clue, other than we were getting doughnuts.

Anyway, I think of that Maple Bacon Bar often. VERY often. I love maple, so, so very much. And I love bacon, so it’s pretty much a match made in heaven.

Recently I was craving cinnamon rolls and wanted to make a “new” version. Being a blogger, that’s hard to find! There are so many great versions out there. Cake Batter, Red Velvet, Chocolate, Carrot Cake. The options are endless.

But I wanted maple. And when I thought of maple…my mind went to bacon. Enter: Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls.

When these popped into my head, I may have been subliminally remembering the cinnamon rolls my friend Cristina from Oven Adventures made. When I did a google search they popped right up and I smacked my forehead and was all, riiiiight I remember those now! I remembered drooling over those as I’m drooling over remembering these as I type.

These cinnamon rolls are probably my favorite flavor so far. The yeast dough is rich and sweet from the sugar, butter, and egg. The filling is butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and I added maple syrup and maple extract for an extra punch of flavor. Then I sprinkled in some cooked bacon, for good measure. The bacon gives the filling a slightly salty taste, with a little bit of crunch. Mixed with the maple, it’s a wonderful combo!

{See? If you look close in that picture, you can see all the bacon goodness!}

And then, the frosting. Is there anything better than maple frosting? I could literally drink it. {Side note: does anyone else think of Laura Ingalls Wilder whenever they think of maple syrup?}

These were so, so good I had to force myself to stop at eating one!

Well…maybe one and a half…

Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls

The perfect weekend breakfast: Bacon Maple Cinnamon Rolls! A wonderful buttery cinnamon roll dough filled with maple brown sugar and bacon filling, and topped with a maple glaze!

Yield 9 -12 rolls

Serving Size

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Ingredients

For the Dough:

• 1 1/8 teaspoons active dry yeast ½ packet
• 1/2 cup warm milk heated 30-40 seconds in the microwave
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter softened
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 cups flour up to 2 ½ cups as needed

For the Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
• 10 slices bacon

For the Frosting:

• 3 tablespoons butter softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/8 teaspoon maple extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Add the yeast to the warm milk and let it sit for five minutes, until it starts to foam.
• Using the paddle attachment, mix the butter, sugar, salt, and eggs in the bowl of a mixer. Add the yeast/milk mixture and stir.
• Switch to the dough hook. Add the flour slowly. Start with one cup and then add an additional cup. I only needed 2 cups, but you can use up to an extra ½ cup if you need, for the dough to come together). The dough will be sticky, but not so much that you can’t handle it.
• Once dough comes together, spray a large bowl with cooking spray, place the dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours. (It helps if you do this in a warm place. My dough didn’t quite double, but it still worked!)
• While the dough is rising, prepare the filling. Dice the raw bacon. Place in a medium sized frying pan and cook about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned or until it’s the doneness you prefer. Transfer to a plate covered with paper towels to drain.
• Add all filling ingredients (except bacon) to a small bowl and stir with a fork. It helps if the butter is soft! Set aside until ready to use.
• Once the dough is ready, roll it into a rectangle (about 10x14 inches). You may need to use a little flour when rolling, that’s okay. Spread the filling evenly in the center and sprinkle with your bacon. Starting at a short end, roll the dough tightly. Slice into thirds and then thirds again, for a total of nine cinnamon rolls. Place in a 9x9” baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. (You can also slice them into 12 pieces and use a 9x13" pan for smaller rolls.)
• Let the rolls rise for 1 hour at room temperature. If you are eating them right away, proceed to baking. Or, you can then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight until you are ready to eat. Remove from the refrigerator and let sit on the stove while it is preheating, then bake.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake about 2-25 minutes until golden.
• While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. Beat together butter and powdered sugar. Mix in maple syrup and both extracts until smooth. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle with extra bacon, if desired.

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Have you checked out my Breakfast Pinboard? Come hungry, leave happy.

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Almond Sweet Rolls

Carrot Cake Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake Pie

Sweets from friends:
Maple Bacon Cinnamon Buns by Oven Adventures
Cake Batter Cinnamon Rolls by Chef in Training
Maple Bacon Muffin Tops by Something Swanky

Last Updated on May 13, 2020

All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.

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Published on: March 20, 2013