Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Cinnamon roll and diced apples in the sunshine.

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Let's combine New England fall traditions into one sweet dessert! My Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls are from-scratch, soft buns filled with tender spiced apples, and topped with a decadent caramel icing. Go pick those fresh apples and turn them into sweet, sticky rolls!

Prep Time1 15

Cook Time28

Rising time:2

Total Time3 43

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Comfort Food, Fall Dish, Fruit Dessert, Winter Dishes

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Nancy Mock

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 cups confectioners' sugar
¾ cup caramel sauce, regular or salted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the cinnamon roll dough:

Heat the 8 ounces whole milk in the microwave just until it is warm—not hot. Stir the 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast into the milk and allow it to sit and activate for 15 minutes.
Beat the 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and the ⅓ cup 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 2 large eggs, room temperature in one at a time, then add the ¾ teaspoon salt and the ½ teaspoon cardamom.
Pour the 4 cups all-purpose 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. Get a large bowl and use Nonstick spray or butter to grease the bowl. 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 3 large Granny Smith 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 packed light brown sugar, the 2 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon. Add in the ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground allspice ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, and the 1 pinch 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 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter over the dough to within an inch of the long sides. Sprinkle the ½ cup packed light brown sugar over the butter. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon over the sugar.
Spread the cooked Apple Filling from above 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 1½ cups confectioners' sugar and ¾ cup 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.

Video

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.

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