These homemade cinnamon rolls with traditional apple pie filling are best and easy to make, rich, soft, and gooey, one of the best eggless sweet rolls dessert you will make this fall and holiday season.
About the recipe
Traditionally, cinnamon rolls are made from sheets of yeast-leavened dough over which a layer of butter is spread and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. The dough is then rolled into a log, cut into pieces of the desired thickness, and baked.
Cinnamon rolls are also known as cinnamon swirls, cinnamon danish, cinnamon snail, or cinnamon buns. These sweet rolls are popularly served for breakfast or dessert in Northern Europe (mainly in Scandinavia) and North America. In Sweden, cinnamon rolls are called kanelbulle, in Denmark, they are known as kanelsnegle, in Norway, they are known as Kanelbolle, Skillingsboller, and Kanelsnurrer, whereas in Finland, they are known as korvapuusti. (Source for these names: Wikipedia)
There is no better way to start your day during the holiday seasons (Thanksgiving & Christmas), on weekends, or on special occasions than by eating or serving these sweet cinnamon rolls with popular apple pie filling.
If you follow my blog, you know my love for apple desserts and cinnamon rolls.
Some popular Apple Recipes
- apple fritters – popular on the blog
- vegan apple dates bread,
- apple halwa
- crumble topping apple coffee cake
- apple cheese danish– popular on the blog
- persimmon apple pudding – must try
I have combined two of my family's favorites, cinnamon rolls, and apple pie, in one recipe. You will love how this turns out. It may be one of the best cinnamon rolls I have tried so far.
Have any questions on cinnamon rolls, the dough, how to shape, bake, store, make-ahead, overnight cinnamon rolls, freezer rolls or buns - you can read all about cinnamon rolls on my brown butter cinnamon rolls recipe.
Ingredients
For the cinnamon roll dough
⅔ cup Warm milk
¼ cup Sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast
¼ cup Butter, melted
2 cups + ½ cup All-purpose flour or Maida
½ teaspoon Salt
For apple pie filling
4 Apples, grated
¼ cup Butter
½ cup Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Cinnamon powder
For unbaked cinnamon rolls (optional)
¼ cup Heavy cream
For the cream cheese frosting
4 oz Softened cream cheese
¾ cup Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
½ cup Butter (softened)
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
How to make Cinnamon rolls with Apple pie filling or Apple Cinnamon rolls
Step I (Prepare Cinnamon Rolls Dough)
- In a bowl, add warm milk, sugar, and mix. Sprinkle yeast. Let this sit for 5 minutes till yeast activates.
- Add butter, salt, and flour in increments as needed and knead it to form soft and elastic dough.
- But see that you don't add too much flour while making the dough. When kneading, if you feel it is a little sticky, that's ok. Slightly sticky dough is what makes your rolls softer and lighter.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover it and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size
Step II (Prepare Apple Pie Filling)
- Add butter to a pan on medium heat. Once melted, add grated apples and saute them till the apple turns soft.
- Add sugar, and cinnamon powder, mix and continue sauteing on medium flame till it bubbles and all the water evaporates. Keep this aside to cool down.
Step III (Shape them into rolls)
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a well-floured working surface. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape. The size may vary. It need not be exact.
- Add dollops of prepared filling and nicely spread the filling using the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Starting at the longer side, tightly roll the dough.
- Cut the roll into 6 slices and place them in a round 8 or 9-inch cake pan
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let this sit for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Step IV (Baking cinnamon rolls)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- You will have to warm the cream just until you are able to touch but not too hot or also don't use cold heavy cream
- Pour the cream on top of the rolls and bake.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is caramelized golden brown on top and cooked through the center.
- The baking time may vary depending on the oven, size of the pan, the thickness of rolls, etc. Keep a close look at 20 minutes mark.
Step V (Prepare Cream cheese frosting)
- While the rolls are cooling down, prepare the frosting.
- In a bowl, add softened cream cheese, butter and blend using a handheld mixer.
- To the softened cream cheese blend, add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and beat just until combined.
- You can spread the frosting over the warm cinnamon-apple pie rolls so that the rolls soak up some frosting. But if you want to make it look prettier, wait till the rolls come down to room temperature and then spread the frosting.
- Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling is now ready. Serve with a cup of coffee and enjoy.
- You can store the cinnamon rolls in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Make Ahead Cinnamon Rolls (Overnight Cinnamon Rolls)
Yes. Cinnamon rolls are one of the best make-ahead breakfast recipes. Just make the dough, filling, and when the rolls are ready for the second rise in the baking pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
By this time, the dough should have doubled in size. If this is the case, keep it on the counter for 30 minutes and then bake as given in the instructions above.
If rolls did not rise after the second rise in the refrigerator, keep it out for at least 1 hour. Then pour heavy cream and bake.
You can also check tips for frozen cinnamon rolls here.
Storage Suggestions
Baked cinnamon rolls remain fresh for up to 3 days at room temperature in an airtight container. Placing cinnamon rolls in an airtight container will even keep them moist and prevent them from drying out.
Serving Suggestions
Cinnamon rolls are served with a cup of coffee for breakfast or as a mid-day snack or after-meal dessert. But surprisingly, I have also seen it paired with chili, and it's one of the most interesting combinations I have come across.
Best way to reheat cinnamon rolls without drying
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the rolls in foil and place them on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.
FAQ
Adding heavy cream is optional, but adding it will make it more decadent and gooey. Make sure the heavy cream is warm, not cold or hot. This is because the dough rises in warmth, and you want to continue the rise even during the baking process. So warm the cream enough so that you can touch it. Even room temperature works fine.
Cinnamon rolls turn out dry if you have added too much flour to the dough and becomes soggy if you add less flour. The best practice is to add flour in increments and knead till you get a soft and elastic dough.
Cinnamon rolls can be made vegan with proper substitutes. The taste and texture will vary slightly. Substitute milk with non-dairy milk, butter with vegan butter or coconut oil, and cream cheese with vegan cream cheese.
After the cinnamon rolls are done with the second rise, preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. Transfer around 5 to 6 rolls depending on the size and air fry for 5 minutes. Turn the rolls over and fry again for another 4 minutes.
Recipe card
Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling | How to make Apple Cinnamon Rolls | Apple Cinnamon Buns
Equipment
- 1 Baking pan
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
For the cinnamon roll dough
- ⅔ cup Warm milk
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast
- ¼ cup Butter, melted
- 2 ½ cups All-purpose flour or Maida (more or less as needed)
- ½ teaspoon Salt
For apple pie filling
- 4 Apples, grated
- ¼ cup Butter
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Cinnamon powder
For unbaked cinnamon rolls (optional)
- ¼ cup Heavy cream
For the frosting
- 4 oz Softened cream cheese
- ¾ cup Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
- ½ cup Butter (softened)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
Step I (Prepare Cinnamon Rolls Dough)
- In a bowl, add warm milk, sugar, and mix. Sprinkle yeast. Let this sit for 5 minutes till yeast activates.⅔ cup Warm milk, ¼ cup Sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast
- Add butter, salt, and flour in increments as needed and knead it to form soft and elastic dough.¼ cup Butter, melted, 2 ½ cups All-purpose flour or Maida (more or less as needed), ½ teaspoon Salt
- But see that you don't add too much flour while making the dough. When kneading, if you feel it is a little sticky, that's ok. Slightly sticky dough is what makes your rolls softer and lighter.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and cover it and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Step II (Prepare Apple Pie Filling)
- Add butter to a pan on medium heat. Once melted, add grated apples and saute them till the apple turns soft.4 Apples, grated, ¼ cup Butter
- Add sugar, cinnamon powder, mix and continue sauteing on medium flame till it bubbles and all the water evaporates. Keep this aside to cool down.½ cup Brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Cinnamon powder
Step III (Shape them into rolls)
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a well-floured working surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle shape. The size may vary. It need not be exact.
- Add dollops of prepared filling and nicely spread the filling using the back of a spoon or spatula.
- Starting at the longer side, tightly roll the dough.
- Cut the roll into 6 slices and place them in a round 8 or 9-inch cake pan
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let this sit for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Step IV (Baking cinnamon rolls)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- You will have to warm the cream just until you are able to touch but not too hot or also don't use cold heavy cream¼ cup Heavy cream
- Pour the cream on top of the rolls and bake.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until it is caramelized golden brown on top and cooked through the center.
- The baking time may vary depending on the oven, size of the pan, the thickness of rolls, etc. Keep a close look at 20 minutes mark.
Step V (Prepare Cream cheese frosting)
- While the rolls are cooling down, prepare the frosting.
- In a bowl, add softened cream cheese, butter and blend using a handheld mixer.4 oz Softened cream cheese, ½ cup Butter (softened)
- To the softened cream cheese blend, add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and beat just until combined.¾ cup Confectioners sugar (powdered sugar), 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- You can spread the frosting over the warm cinnamon-apple pie rolls so that the rolls soak up some frosting. But if you want to make it look prettier, wait till the rolls come down to room temperature and then spread the frosting.
- Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling is now ready. Serve with a cup of coffee and enjoy.
- You can store the cinnamon rolls in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days.
Air Fryer Cinnamon Rolls
- After the cinnamon rolls are done with the second rise, preheat the air fryer to 350 degrees F. Transfer around 5 to 6 rolls depending on the size and air fry for 5 minutes. Turn the rolls over and fry again for another 4 minutes.
Notes
- Cinnamon rolls can be made vegan with proper substitutes. The taste and texture will vary slightly. Substitute milk with non-dairy milk, butter with vegan butter or coconut oil, and cream cheese with vegan cream cheese.
- Makes 6 big rolls, serves 12
Nutrition
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Amy
So yummy! I cheated and used apple pie filling from the store but it was delicious! Tastes a lot like an apple fritter!
Kate
Absolutely gorgeous flavour and lovely moist texture. Easy to make too - everyone loved them!
Gina
Cinnamon rolls are one of my favorites. Add apple pie filling and I am in love! Wow these were great!
Elaine
I've got to make a big batch of these, and I bet it still won't be enough. That's how much I like cinnamon rolls lol!