There's no better way to celebrate freshly-picked New England apples than with these warm, sticky Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls. They have a sweet, cinnamon-spiced apple pie filling swirled into soft rolls, a cozy treat for an autumn breakfast or dessert.
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Every fall, when the air turns crisp and apple picking season begins, New Englanders are torn between two deliciously tempting choices: should we make a classic apple pie or a pan of warm, gooey cinnamon rolls? This year, you don't have to choose!
I created Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls to capture the best of both of these comfort food favorites. Soft, from-scratch cinnamon rolls hold swirls of tender apples infused with sugar and spice. They're the ultimate New England fall comfort food.
In a nutshell...
- What it is: This is a perfect recipe for crisp autumn days. From-scratch, pillowy sweet rolls hold fresh fall apples and warm spices in every bite.
- You'll love this part: The aroma of the warm, gooey rolls filled with spiced apples is a cozy way to celebrate fall. They're versatile too; serve them for breakfast or dessert.
- How it's made: Simmer a quick apple and spice filling while the yeast dough rises. Then roll the filling into the dough, slice, and bake. Frost them with a caramel icing.
Jump to:
What are Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls?
With Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls, instead of baking apples inside a pie crust, you bake them inside the swirls of soft, from-scratch cinnamon roll dough.
Some videos on social media tout a two-ingredient version of apple pie cinnamon rolls; a sort of dump cake-style dish of cinnamon rolls from a tube and apple pie filling from a can. However, as is usually the case with any recipe that has flashy promises like "two ingredients" or "20-minute dinner", it means a reliance upon processed foods and no control over flavor or texture. We can do so much better than that!
A cinnamon roll bake is so fun to do from scratch, and they are infinitely, just infinitely more delicious. They're soft, pillowy, aromatic, and hold that tasty nugget of pride in knowing that you created all this from your own two hands. Adding some quick-simmered apples and spices to the rolls is straightforward and a perfect way to celebrate the fall season.
More autumn eats!
Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake
Pick up extra cider donuts at the apple orchard and transform them into this creamy, no-bake dessert.
A new New England classic
When you think of iconic New England flavors and ingredients, apples are right at the top of the list, along with maple syrup, craft beer, fresh seafood, and blueberries. This region also relishes good old, from-scratch, home baking, a family tradition that provides us with comfort foods and stick-to-the-ribs meals, keeping folks warm on chilly days and frosty nights.
Cinnamon rolls are a favorite comfort food everywhere, of course. In our neck of the woods, the aroma of sugar and spices wafting from a pan of just-baked rolls feels especially ours somehow. Perhaps because the flavors and the cozy vibes align so perfectly with our cherished fall season, and with the annual harvest of sweet and tart, red and green, large and small apples.
I think when you taste these apple and spice-filled homemade cinnamon rolls, you'll decide it's a recipe you want to tuck inside your recipe box, so that you can make them anytime. You'll especially want to make them every fall, the moment you come in the kitchen door with a tote full to bursting of freshly-picked apples.
Why you'll love this recipe
A pan of homemade Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls from scratch is a tantalizing treat that you can make for so many reasons. Make them as a surprise dessert for your family on the weekend. Bring a pan-ful to a brunch gathering with friends or co-workers. Have guests staying over for the holidays or a long weekend? Make these cinnamon rolls the day before they arrive, then warm them up in the oven for breakfast the next morning.
The recipe is a versatile one that you can serve for breakfast, as an afternoon snack with tea or coffee, or to make for dessert; served with mugs of hot apple cider!
The apple filling has plenty brown sugar, cinnamon, and other warming spices that all turn into a sticky caramel; that caramel is swirled into the rolls and also gives them sticky bottoms.
Although the judges on The Great British Bake Off hate a soggy bottom, I believe they'd be quite delighted with the sticky bottoms of these sweet rolls!
The rolls are finished with a simple, caramel icing spread over the tops while they're still warm. Caramel and apples—can't beat that combination!
🔪 How to make Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients:
- Apples: I use Granny Smith apples because they hold their shape and have a tart flavor that's a nice balance with all the sweet ingredients. Other apples like Cortland, Braeburn, Ida Red, or Jonathan are good choices here, too.
- Brown sugar: I use light brown sugar to sweeten the apples and also inside the cinnamon rolls, so there's lots of dark, syrupy caramel in each bite.
- Spices: Here's where all the flavor comes from! You'll need these ground spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger.
- Yeast: The rolls are made from a yeasted bread dough, and that yeast gives them a light, fluffy texture. Look for active dry yeast in packets or jars; some stores have it in the baking aisle, but mine stocks it in the refrigerated case.
- Eggs: You'll need two large eggs. Put the whole eggs in a large bowl with hot tap water for five minutes to warm them up; room temperature eggs give more consistent results in baked goods!
- Flour: My go-to brand for all-purpose flour for all my bakes is King Arthur Baking.
- Butter: Use a good-quality, unsalted butter. It's added to the bread dough, and some is also melted to spread inside the rolls.
- Milk: It's the liquid that activates the yeast and adds moisture to the rolls. Use whole or 2%.
- Sugar: To sweeten the bread dough, you'll need a small amount of granulated sugar.
- Confectioners' sugar: This fine, powdered sugar is part of the icing for the baked rolls.
- Caramel sauce: You can use regular or salted caramel sauce; it's part of the icing, too.
- Salt: A little salt adds flavor to the bread dough and also the apple-cinnamon filling, making all the other ingredients brighter.
Make the dough
Combine the dough ingredients: milk, yeast, softened butter, sugar, flour, and cardamom in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, and make a sticky dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes. Place it in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 90 minutes. My video of the kneading step is below.
Make the apple filling
Peel and core the apples, then dice them into roughly half-inch pieces. Toss the apples with cinnamon, brown sugar, and other spices in a saucepan. Simmer the apples until they're syrupy and softened. Spread them out on a pan to cool.
Why we do this: the apples soften during cooking and soak up the flavors of the sugar and spices. This also releases some of the water so that the filling won't get soggy in the baked rolls.
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Shape and fill the dough
Press the air out of the dough and let it rest. Then, roll the dough into a large rectangle. Spread it with melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, then cover it with the cooled, cooked apples, including the syrup from the pan.
Roll and slice
Roll the dough up, jelly roll-style. Slice it into 12 pieces and place them in a greased or parchment-lined baking dish. Cover and let the rolls rise.
Tip!
The dough has a lot of syrupy filling. To keep things tidy and prevent filling from falling out, slice the rolls three at a time. Move the three to the pan, then slice the next three. The recipe directions have the details!
Bake
Uncover the pan and slide it into a hot oven. Bake the rolls for about 30 minutes, until they're golden brown and beautifully puffed. Move the pan to a wire rack and let them cool a bit.
Ice and serve
Beat together caramel sauce and confectioner's sugar to make an icing. Spread this thickly over the tops of the rolls. Serve them warm or at room temperature.
Must have!
Bench Scraper
This is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen that's so helpful when making breads or pies. I love this metal scraper with a wood handle from King Arthur Baking. There are flexible, plastic versions, too.
Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls FAQs
Yes, kneading this dough is important! Yeast in the dough mixture will help the dough rise, but that won't happen without a strong structure of gluten. Kneading is what builds that gluten; it also makes the dough easier to handle and roll out in the next steps. And it only takes 10 minutes! Watch my video to see what this kneading looks like.
The first tip applies to all recipes, but especially these apple pie filling cinnamon rolls: check the dates on your ingredients. Expired yeast will not activate properly, meaning your rolls won't rise. Expired spices will be dull in flavor, and the rolls won't have the maximum amount of deliciousness. Another tip: measure your ingredients correctly. Flour should be fluffed before scooping into measuring cups. Level off the top with the edge of a knife; never pack flour in. Liquids should be measured in liquid-specific glass Pyrex measuring cups. Finally, follow the recipe directions for the rising times, so that the dough rises the correct amount; not under or over.
There are a few ways you can get a head start on cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling. The dough can be mixed, kneaded, then stored in the fridge to rise overnight. The next day, let it warm up for about 20 minutes, then proceed with the directions to roll it out and fill it.
Something else you can do is to make the apple pie filling ahead of time. Store it in a covered dish in the fridge for up to three days. Let it come to room temperature (or briefly heat it in the microwave) before spreading it over the dough.
Your baked and cooled apple and cinnamon rolls can be covered tightly and stored in the fridge for up to two days. To warm them up, remove the plastic, cover the pan with foil, and warm them through in a 350°F oven. Add the icing once they're warm.
Finally, the baked and cooled rolls can be frozen. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Freeze them for up to two months. Allow the rolls to thaw in the fridge, then cover the pan with foil to reheat them in the oven. Wait to add the icing until they're reheated.
Tips:
- The dough is just sticky, so don't be worried about that! Keep your work surface lightly floured. Knead the dough a few times, and when it feels like it's sticking again, scoop it off the surface and sprinkle down another light layer of flour. Do this on repeat throughout the kneading process.
- To easily dice the apples: peel the apples, then cut the flesh away from the core in four sections. Lay the sections down on the flat sides; cut them straight down into slices. Stack the slices and make a lengthwise cut down the center to turn them into sticks. Chop the sticks into small pieces.
Alright, the leaves are falling and those apples aren't getting any riper. Are you ready to transform them into a pan of sweet and fluffy sweet rolls? Yeah, I thought so!
The recipe for Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls is below. And here are more cozy recipes to make:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls
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Ingredients
For Dough:
- 8 ounces whole milk
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
- Nonstick spray or butter to grease the bowl
For Apple Filling:
- 3 large Granny Smith apples (Large Grannys weigh about 8.5 ounces each. If large aren't available, use an equal weight of smaller apples)
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 pinch salt
To Fill The Rolls:
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Apple Filling from above
For the Caramel Icing:
- 1½ cup confectioners' sugar
- ¾ cup caramel sauce, regular or salted
Instructions
Make the cinnamon roll dough:
- Heat the cup of milk in the microwave just until it is warm—not hot. Stir the yeast into the milk and allow it to sit and activate for 15 minutes.
- Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer set to medium speed. Scrape the bowl, then mix in the milk with the yeast.
- Mix the eggs in one at a time, then add in the salt and cardamom.
- Pour the 4 cups of flour into the mixer bowl. Run the mixer on low speed to incorporate the flour, scraping the bowl once, until you have a wet, sticky dough. Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface or large cutting board. Sprinkle flour over the top.
- Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes: fold the dough over on itself, turn it a quarter turn, and repeat. Add light dustings of flour to the work surface as needed when the dough is sticking. The dough will gradually become easier to handle and stick less. A bench scraper is helpful here to scoop the flour up and to help fold it at the beginning.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a large bowl greased with nonstick spray or butter. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a room-temperature spot for 90 minutes; it should be puffy and just about doubled in size.
Make the apple filling:
- Peel and core the apples; discard the peels and cores. (Or leave them outside for the squirrels and rabbits!)
- Dice the apples; the pieces should be roughly a ½-inch in size. You should have about 4 cups of diced apple in total.
- Transfer the diced apples to a large saucepan. Add in the ¼ cup of brown sugar, the water and the tablespoon of cinnamon. Add in the nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and the pinch of salt. Stir everything together.
- Bring the apple mixture to a simmer over medium heat; it will sizzle at first, and then begin to simmer as liquid is released. Simmer it for 8 minutes, stirring the mixture often. The apples will be softened and the liquid syrupy.
- Pour the cooked apples and syrup onto a small baking sheet or metal tray. Let this filling cool to room temperature—about 15 minutes.
Shape and fill the dough:
- When the dough is done rising, pour it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently flatten it and press the air out, then let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Line a 13x9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. (It helps to grease the dish first; the paper will stick to the sides and bottom better.) Or, simply grease the bottom and sides of the dish.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an 18x12-inch rectangle.
- Brush melted butter over the dough to within an inch of the long sides. Sprinkle the ½ cup of brown sugar over the butter. Sprinkle the teaspoon of cinnamon over the sugar.
- Spread the cooked apple filling evenly over the dough; the filling should go all the way to the short sides, and to within an inch of the long sides.
Roll and slice:
- Starting at one long side, roll the dough and filling up, jelly roll-style. Go slowly, and lift the dough slightly as you roll it—that way the filling will stay inside and not get squished out.
- Once it's rolled, pinch the seam closed along the entire length of the roll.
- Use a serrated bread knife: slice the roll in half, then slice each half in half again, so you have four sections.
- Slice one of the sections into three pieces. Use your knife or a small spatula to move and lay them in the prepared baking dish. Repeat these steps with each section, for a total of 12 rolls in the pan.
- (The reason for cutting them three at a time, instead of doing all 12 slices at once, is because there is quite a bit of filling. Cutting the rolls three pieces at a time ensures that they can be quickly moved to the baking dish before the filling starts to seep out.)
- Cover the dish with plastic wrap and let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the caramel icing:
- While the rolls rise, make the icing. Pour the confectioner's sugar and caramel sauce into a medium bowl. Use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to mix the two together, until you have a smooth, thick icing. Cover the bowl and hold it aside.
Bake:
- Remove the plastic wrap and slide the pan into the oven. Bake the rolls for 26 to 28 minutes. They're done when they're puffed, golden brown over the tops, and feel set when you touch them.
- Move the pan to a wire rack and let the rolls cool for 10 minutes.
Ice and serve:
- Spread some caramel icing onto the top of each apple-filled cinnamon roll.
- Serve the rolls while they're warm or at room temperature.
- The recipe makes 12 apple pie cinnamon rolls.
To store:
- Cover the rolls in the pan tightly with food wrap, or transfer them to an airtight container. Store the rolls at room temperature for up to two days.
Notes
- The dough is just sticky, so don't be worried about that! Keep your work surface lightly floured. Knead the dough a few times, and when it feels like it's sticking again, scoop it off the surface and sprinkle down another light layer of flour. Do this on repeat throughout the kneading process.
- How I dice the apples: peel the apples, then cut the flesh away from the core in four sections. Lay the sections down on the flat sides; cut them straight down into slices. Stack the slices and make a lengthwise cut down the center to turn them into sticks. Chop the sticks into small pieces.
Nutrition
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