Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling

Here's a delicious fall twist on a favorite: Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling! Can't decided between breakfast or dessert? Well now you don't have to.

We start off by making a classic cinnamon roll dough--milk, butter, flour, sugar, yeast. Then we roll it out and smother it in butter and cinnamon sugar.

Now here's the fun part, we add on a sweet and cinnamony homemade apple pie filling ON TOP of the cinnamon sugar filling. Then we roll it up, bake it to perfection and pour a vanilla glaze over the top right when they come out of the oven.

The cinnamon buns come out so fluffy and tender, and the little bites of apple from the apple pie filling just give you that extra touch of sweetness. It's the perfect comfort food on a chilly fall morning and is sure to be your family's new favorite breakfast!

Jump to:

• How to make cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling
• Instructions:
• Storing Leftovers
• Make Ahead
• Apples to Use For the Pie Filling
• What can I use instead of cinnamon for the apple pie filling?
• Variations
• Tips
• Other Recipes You Might Like
• 📖 Recipe

How to make cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling

Makes 16-18 Cinnamon Buns

Dough adapted from Ree Drummond's cinnamon roll recipe

Ingredients for the Cinnamon Bun Dough

• 2 cups of whole milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• ½ cup of granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons (1 packet) instant or active dry yeast
• 5 cups of all purpose flour + more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Apple Pie Filling

• 4-5 apples peeled and diced to about ¼" (will be 5 cups of diced apples)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon 

Cinnamon Sugar Mixture

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted but not hot
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Vanilla Icing

For both pans:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons of whole milk
• 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Or if you're just baking off one pan and saving the second for later

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of whole milk
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Instructions:

Step 1: Make the Dough

In a medium sized pot or dutch oven, heat the milk, butter, and sugar over medium heat until the liquid is steaming and the butter and sugar are melted. The temperature is around 185° (6-8 minutes).

Remove the pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool to 100°.

Step 2: While the milk is cooling, make the apple pie filling

Over medium hight heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a 10” skillet. Add the diced apples to the skillet and toss to coat in butter. 

Sprinkle on the 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar over the apples and cook until tender. This should take about 20 minutes and any liquid should be evaporated. The apples should reduce to 3 cups. Remove the filling from the heat and let cool.

Step 3: Finish making the dough

Once the milk mixture has cooled, sprinkle the yeast on top of the milk and bloom for 1 minute.

Add 4 cups of flour, the baking powder and the salt to the pot.

Stir until combined (it will be sticky) and cover with a damp towel. Let the dough sit in the pot for 1 hour to rise.

Once the dough has risen, add the last 1 cup of flour to the pot and stir until mostly combined. Some streaks of flour are ok.

Pour the contents of the pot out onto a floured work surface and knead the dough into a smooth ball. Sprinkle on additional flour only if needed to prevent sticking*.

The dough should be soft, but not sticking to the countertop.

*sometimes you don’t need to add much flour, and other times you need to add a lot. It all depends on the weather and humidity that day! 

Step 4: Add the fillings

Once the dough is in a smooth ball, use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll it out about ½” thick into a 16x21” rectangle. If the dough starts to pull back on you, let it rest for 10-15 minutes and try rolling it again.

Once rolled, pour the 5 tablespoons of melted butter over the rectangle. Use a spoon or a pastry brush to evenly coat the surface of the dough in butter. Next, combine your 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and 1 cup of sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly over the butter and dough. 

Next, grab your cooled apple pie filling and evenly distribute it over the cinnamon sugar.

Step 5: Shape and cut the Cinnamon rolls

To roll up your cinnamon buns, start with the edge nearest to you and roll it up to the top. Roll the dough tightly and keep the filling from falling out.  Roll until you’ve formed a log and the seam side is hidden underneath. 

Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut the log into slices 1 ¼” wide.

Spray two 9x9” pans (square or round) with cooking spray and divide your cinnamon rolls between the two pans. You’ll have about 7-9 rolls per pan.

Step 6: The Second Rise and Baking

Cover the cinnamon rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes. While the buns are rising, preheat your oven to 375°.

The buns won’t double in size, but they will have risen slightly. 

After 30 minutes, pop your apple cinnamon rolls into the oven and bake at 375° for 27-30 minutes until golden brown and the centers have risen.

Step 7: Make your vanilla icing

To make the icing, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Stir until smooth.

When your cinnamon rolls are done baking, remove them from the oven and immediately pour the glaze over each pan of rolls. Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool down enough to be handled and serve warm. Enjoy!

Storing Leftovers

These cinnamon rolls are best the day they are baked but will keep for up to three days when stored at room temperature. Make sure to store these covered in an airtight container.

To refresh day old buns, just pop the quantity needed in the microwave and heat uncovered for about 15 seconds. The cinnamon rolls will be nice and soft and the apple pie filling warm and delicious!

Make Ahead

These cinnamon rolls have a bunch of steps, but they are well worth the effort. If you're short on time, there are components of this recipe that can be made a day or two in advance!

Making the filling in advance:

The apple pie filling can be fully cooked and prepared 1-3 days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use. Let the filling come up to room temperature before adding to the cinnamon rolls.

Make the cinnamon buns a day ahead:

These cinnamon buns can be prepared the night before and baked off the next day. Prepare this recipe as stated above, including rolling, filling, and slicing into cinnamon buns. Divide the cinnamon rolls between two pans, but instead of letting them rise for 30 minutes in a warm spot, cover the dishes in plastic wrap and pop them in the fridge overnight.

When you're ready to bake the next morning, take the cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter at room temperature for 2 hours. If you're short on time, you can place your cinnamon buns in a warm (100°) oven for 30 minutes, then remove them, and let them sit on the back of the stove while the oven preheats to 375° for another 30 minutes.

Once the cinnamon buns are no longer cold to the touch, bake them at 375° for 27-30 minutes.

You can freeze your cinnamon rolls!

Unbaked cinnamon rolls can be frozen and baked later!

This is particularly helpful because this recipe makes two good sized pans of cinnamon rolls.

To freeze, just prepare the cinnamon buns as listed in the recipe, including the filling, rolling, and cutting parts. Divide your cinnamon buns between the two pans, but instead of the second rising, double wrap each pan in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and pop them in the freezer. Cinnamon rolls can be stored in the freezer for up to a month, any longer and the yeast starts to get funky.

The day before you're ready to bake, take the cinnamon rolls out of the freezer and pop them in the fridge--keeping them covered in plastic still. You'll want to do this around late morning or afternoon, because they need to thaw completely AND rise during the overnight.

The next morning take your thawed cinnamon rolls out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter for 2 hours to come up to room temperature. Give them an extra 30-60 minutes if they still feel super cold to the touch.

Once the cinnamon rolls are at room temp, bake at 375° for 27-30 minutes.

Just think, you can bake off a pan for Thanksgiving morning and freeze the second pan to be baked on Christmas! Or bake a pan today and share the second with a loved one or neighbor. These buns bring people together!

Apples to Use For the Pie Filling

For the apple pie filling, I used a mixture of sweet red apples (Honeycrisp or Fuji) and two Granny Smiths. This made the filling sweet and allowed the apples to keep their shape during cooking.

What can I use instead of cinnamon for the apple pie filling?

If you're not a fan of cinnamon or are a little sensitive to it, you can definitely try these alternatives! I would recommend swapping out the white sugar for brown sugar if you plan on omitting most or all of the cinnamon. The molasses in the brown sugar will give you a nice warmth and color for the filling. Here are some flavoring options:

• Nutmeg--I would add a teaspoon to start, nutmeg can be super strong.
• Cloves or allspice--add about ¼ or ½ a teaspoon to start, these are very strong spices and can overwhelm the filling easily.
• Orange zest with a pinch of ground cardamom.
• Pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice--if you're looking to cut back on the cinnamon and add extra flavors.

Variations

• Add toasted, chopped pecans or walnuts to the filling
• Swap the cinnamon for apple pie or pumpkin pie spice
• Add some lemon zest or fresh ginger to the apple pie filling
• Top the cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese frosting
• For extra sweetness and decadence, sprinkle your cinnamon rolls with a cinnamon crumble, like the one I use on my favorite apple pie!

Tips

• Make sure when you sprinkle the yeast on to the milk mixture, that the temperature is no higher than 110° for active dry yeast or 120° for instant/bread machine yeast. High temperature heats will kill the yeast. I recommend cooling your milk to 100° to be completely safe and warm enough for yeast to thrive.
• Bread machine yeast works for this recipe too, just add it along with the 4 cups of flour, no need to bloom.
• If you're letting your cinnamon rolls rise in the fridge overnight, make sure to let them come up to room temperature before baking. This way they'll bake up nice and big and fluffy.
• A quick way to bring your cinnamon rolls up to temperature (after being in the fridge overnight) is to set your oven to it's lowest temperature or 100° and put your cinnamon rolls in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the rolls from the oven and place them on the stove top (burners off please) while the oven preheats to 375°.
• Don't worry if the cinnamon rolls and apple pie filling release juices during the rising process, the juice will bake right back into the dough.
• To test the cinnamon rolls for doneness after baking, I like to poke the center of the centermost cinnamon bun to see if it feels really soft. If it just kind of mushes or feels too "squishy" let it bake for a few minutes longer. In my oven, I'm done right at the 30 minute mark.

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