Caramel Rolls

It’s tough to describe exactly what a caramel roll is, yet every Midwesterner seems to know. It’s not a sticky bun, and it’s not just a cinnamon roll either. A caramel roll is a large cinnamon bun that is soft, plush, buttery, cinnamon-y, drenched in caramel, and sometimes includes nuts. It’s distinctively pronounced car-mull (not keh-ruh-mell) and originally hails from North Dakota (they’re often referred to as Dakota rolls). They can be found in diners, bakeries (notable mention to Tobies in Hinckley, MN), church basements, and Grandma’s house. I certainly grew up with a commonly found rendition of them made by my Grandma Dorothy, which involved Rhodes frozen dinner rolls and a caramel made of butterscotch pudding mix. We’d have them for special occasions and holidays, where it wasn’t uncommon for me to polish off four to five in one sitting.

With great respect to classic caramel rolls, I developed a recipe that stays true to what I know and love. They’re simple enough to make using common ingredients and have the perfect amount of caramel. (Because there’s nothing worse than a caramel roll with not enough caramel—if you know, you know.) You’ll notice that the caramel sauce is not actually made from caramelized sugar but something closer to butterscotch sauce. Classic recipes don’t call for caramelizing the sugar, and although that does offer a deeper flavor, I don’t find it necessary. Also to note: There’s no honey in sight here—that ingredient is only for sticky buns. You will notice a generous amount of salt in the caramel; it provides balance, keeping the caramel from being overly sweet. The dough will be perfectly light if you take care to properly develop the gluten. During testing I saw a huge difference in the final texture when I mixed the dough before adding the butter, a technique found in brioche recipes.

If you want to get a head start on baking to have these ready in the morning for a brunch party or a Christmas breakfast, make the dough the night before (up to step 3), tightly cover and store in the fridge, then shape and bake the caramel rolls in the morning. Although it really doesn’t need it, butter can always be served alongside the buns, as my father would say.