I’m so glad you’re here, because I made some Hawaiian Roll French Toast Muffins. And apple cider syrup to pour on them. And streusel! Let’s get baking, y’all!
You may also want to give my stuffed French toast or my deep fried French toast recipes a try.
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If you are a fan of King’s Hawaiian Bread and French Toast and streusel and syrup, you are going to love these little Hawaiian Roll French Toast Muffins. I don’t often allow myself to buy Hawaiian rolls, because when I do, I end up making Poppy Seed Party Ham Biscuits and eating all of them. And now, I find myself in a Quandary, because I’ve got another reason not to buy them: Hawaiian Roll Baked French Toast. Have mercy, but they are too good. On the other hand, they are meant to be. Because muffin tins have 12 cavities and Hawaiian Rolls come in packs of 12. Kismet.
Let’s break down the components, shall we? If there’s anything that elevates a breakfast bread into dessert territory, it’s streusel. Buttery, crumbly, apple pie-spiced streusel. Check. You can “hearty” up the streusel with some oats if you want, but as written, these little crumbs bake up into delicate, buttery crunchiness.
The syrup. Apple cider syrup. It contains only four ingredients: apple cider, salt, apple pie spice, and some Cloister Honey Bourbon-infused honey. You can use regular honey, of course, but Cloister is magic. Toss everything in a pot and reduce it by about 2/3. Strain. Done.
I mean, just look at that. Autumnal amber deliciousness.
And then, the muffin itself. Dried sweet bread is a sponge for the apple pie-spiced custard, and the muffins bake up into creamy, custard perfection in only about 20 minutes. Wait for them to cool just enough so you don’t burn your tongue. If you can wait that long.
Enough talk friends. It’s time to eat.
Here’s a long pin for you, too!
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Hawaiian Roll French Toast Muffins
Hawaiian Roll French Toast Muffins with Apple Cider Syrup
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 1 package King’s Hawaiian Rolls (12 rolls)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3-1/2 cup granulated sugar brown sugar or palm sugar (I used palm sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon apple pie spice (or pumpkin spice or cinnamon)
For the Streusel (See Note)
- 2 oz softened butter
- 3 oz powdered/confectioner’s sugar
- 3 oz cake flour (or all purpose)
- pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice
For the Apple Cider Syrup
- 2 cups apple cider
- 2 Tablespoons Cloister Bourbon-infused honey (or plain honey)
- ¼ teaspoon apple pie spice (or pumpkin spice or cinnamon)
- pinch salt
Instructions
For the Muffins
- Separate the rolls and place them on a rack. Bake at 200F for about 45 minutes, or until dry.
- Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Set a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350F.
- In a large bowl, combine milk, buttermilk, sugar, eggs, salt and spice. Whisk until well-combined.
- Poke the rolls all over with a skewer then put them all in the bowl with the custard. Make sure all are well-coated, and then leave them to soak for 45 minutes, moving them around every few minutes to make sure they all get some time under the custard.
- Spray a 12-cavity muffin tin lightly with pan spray. Place one soaked roll in each cavity. There will be some custard left in the bowl. Evenly distribute that among the cavities and allow the rolls to soak an additional 15 minutes.
- Top each roll with 1 Tablespoon of streusel. (See Note)
- Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake an additional 10 minutes until the rolls are puffed and the streusel is a light golden-brown.
- Remove to a rack to cool (leave muffins in the tin until they have cooled significantly to warm)
For the Apple Cider Syrup
- Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Adjust the heat to maintain a low boil, and reduce by about 2/3. The syrup will seem thin but will thicken as it cools.
- If you reduce the syrup so much it turns to jelly once cool, just add a touch more apple cider and reheat to melt.
- Serve warm and store extras in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat to serve.
Did You Make Any Changes?
Notes
Friends, if I haven’t convinced you by now you need to make these, I haven’t done my job. Please make these guys. Serve them for brunch or as a dessert–either way, you and your guests win!
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There are a couple of things you might want to pick up if you are planning on making these French toast muffins. First, I am a huge fan of the OXO muffin tin you see in the photo of the streusel up there. Here’s another shot, though.
The cavities in the OXO Good Grips Non-Stick Muffin Tin are larger than the standard tins I have from the grocery store. Plus you can see the wide margins between the cavities and the short edge. This makes it much easier to pick them up with oven mitts without accidentally smooshing your muffins (or cupcakes or what-have-you). Click the photo for an affiliate link to go read more about them.
Here’s a link to read more about Cloister Honey. Their honeys are some of the best I’ve ever tried, and the bourbon-infused one also made an appearance in my Bourbon Honeycomb Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Enjoy these Hawaiian Roll French Toast muffins, you guys. And then let me know how you liked them. I love to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to get in touch!
PS I debated and debated about whether to call these Hawaiian Roll French Toast Muffins or Hawaiian Roll Bread Pudding Muffins. What would you call them. Let me know in the comments.
Thanks for spending some time with me today. Take care, and have a lovely day.
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Jennifer could these be frozen? Better before or after baking? Sound yummy!
Yes, Dottie, either way. I think I would bake first and the freeze. Let them ccol completely before freezing. Thaw at least overnight and then reheat in a slow oven to heat through. I think I’d orinanly wrap them in foil to reheat, but you might want to hold off on adding the streusel until the reheating stage so it will be crisp. In that case, take the foil off for that last few minutes to crisp the streusel. Hope that helps. Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! So perfect for busy Saturday’s that still call for a sweet morning treat. I’ve gotta try these soon!
And really–12 rolls? It’s like it was meant to be! Thanks so much for stopping in, Karly, and please let me know what you think of these little morsels when you make them! =)