Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling have a rich, warm, and gooey center, golden brown edges, and cream cheese frosting on top.
Start your morning with these sweet rolls or serve them as an after-meal dessert. They are one of the best apple recipes you can make this fall and holiday season.

Also, try our flourless apple pudding and old-fashioned apple fritters.

Traditional Cinnamon Rolls

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.

Apple cinnamon rolls

In one recipe, I have combined two of my family's favorites, cinnamon rolls and apple pie. You will love how this apple cinnamon bun turns out. It is one of the best cinnamon rolls I have tried so far.

Suppose you have any questions about cinnamon rolls, the dough, how to shape, bake, store, make ahead, overnight cinnamon rolls, freezer rolls, or buns. You can read all about them in my brown butter cinnamon rolls recipe. Storebought cinnamon rolls and apple pie filling can also be used to make these sweet rolls.

Ingredients

For the homemade cinnamon roll dough, you will need full-fat milk, sugar, yeast, butter, flour, and salt.

For apple pie filling, you need just four ingredients: apple, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon powder.

For the cream cheese frosting: cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, butter and vanilla extract is all you need.

Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.

Step-by-step instructions

Prepare Cinnamon Rolls Dough

• In a bowl, add warm milk and 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.

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.

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.

Baking apple 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.

Prepare cream cheese frosting

• While the rolls are cooling down, prepare the frosting.
• In a bowl, add softened cream cheese and butter and blend using a handheld mixer.
• To the softened cream cheese blend, add powdered sugar and 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.
• 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.

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.

Serving Suggestions

Cinnamon rolls are usually served with a cup of coffee for breakfast, a mid-day snack, or an after-meal dessert. Surprisingly, I have also seen them paired with chili, and it's one of the most interesting combinations I have encountered.

Recipe FAQs

More apple recipes

Recipe card

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Note: We originally posted this apple pie cinnamon roll with heavy cream and cream cheese frosting in July 2021. It has now been modified in Sep 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.