Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

In today’s post: Learn how to make amazing homemade cinnamon rolls stuffed with apple pie filling! Our post includes step by step instructions so you can make these even if you’ve never made bread before.

Why You’ll Love This recipe

Cinnamon rolls are such a classic comfort bake! I’m definitely fond of the original Cinnamon Roll recipe here on the blog, but I also love making new variations: Orange Rolls, Raspberry Rolls, Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, even Chocolate Babka Rolls! Today’s variation – Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls – is perfect for fall and here’s why you’ll love it:

• My cinnamon roll dough is enriched with butter and egg and sugar so it turns out pillowy soft and just sweet enough – but the dough is still very easy to make and handle. No super sticky mess, I promise.
• I added apple pie filling to the cinnamon sugar mixture inside the rolls for the perfect taste of fall.
• Instead of classic cream cheese frosting, I made a brown butter glaze for these amazing rolls and seriously the punch of caramelly flavor from the browned butter is to die for!

How to Make Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Making any type of bread can be intimidating if you’ve never done it before, but don’t worry! I will walk you step by step through everything you need to know. If you don’t need these instructions, you can head straight to the end of the post for the printable recipe card. Plan on three hours start to finish to make your delicious apple pie cinnamon rolls.

Make the Dough

The first thing you’ll do to make cinnamon rolls is mix up a simple yet delicious bread dough. I use this same dough for dinner rolls, raspberry rolls, garlic breadsticks, and more! It’s a beautiful enriched dough that results in pillowy soft rolls or breadsticks, but doesn’t require any ingredients you might not have on hand or any difficult prep (like heating milk to a certain temperature). You don’t even have to proof your yeast!

You just combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer and get things going. I even have a couple of step by step videos you can watch that will show you EXACTLY what to do in the mixing and kneading process, including all my tips for ensuring it turns out amazing.

• If you’d like to see how to mix this dough in a Bosch mixer, visit the Homemade Bread post here
• If you’d like to see how to mix this dough in a KitchenAid mixer, visit the Dinner Rolls post here

Rise and Roll Out Dough

Once the dough is mixed and kneaded as directed, place it in a large bowl that’s been greased, cover it with a clean kitchen towel, and let it rise for 60-90 minutes until nearly doubled in size. Then you’ll start shaping the dough as cinnamon rolls.

Flour your work surface, and then use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangle – about 10 x 20 inches is great. It’s ok to gently pull the dough into shape using your hands as you roll it out.

Add the Filling

Next you’re going to add your filling. We start with a few tablespoons of melted butter that gets brushed over the dough rectangle. Then you’ll sprinkle on the cinnamon and sugar (brown sugar of course!). Then crack open a can of apple pie filling, chop it into smaller pieces, and evenly distribute it over the cinnamon sugar.

Why Use Canned Filling?

I know some of you are wondering if you can make your own apple pie filling, and the answer is…probably. The biggest issue is making sure your apples are cooked well enough and in a thick enough sauce that they don’t make the rolls too wet and gooey. Canned apple pie filling is very convenient, not too wet, and tastes great with the additional cinnamon we’ll be adding.

Note: I think the Great Value brand of apple pie filling from Walmart is better than the brand name ones! It has tons of apples and really good flavor.

Slice and Roll Dough

Ok, I usually roll up the dough into a log first, then slice it into individual rolls and place them into a baking dish. However, this time I tried slicing the rectangle into strips first and rolling them each individually and I liked how that worked! So roll and slice OR slice and roll into 12 individual rolls and place them in a greased 9×13 baking dish.

Second Rise

As you slice 12 even rolls, place them in a greased 9×13 inch baking dish to rise one more time before baking. Here’s what they look like before and after the second rise. You can see they puff up quite a bit. Your second rise will take 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how warm it is in your house.

Bake

Bake your rolls in a 350 degree oven for approximately 25 minutes until they are fairly brown on top and sound hollow if you tap on them. This is a bit longer than you usually cook cinnamon rolls; having all the apple pie filling in there slows down the baking a bit. If you have an instant read thermometer you want to get the rolls up to 190-195 degrees Fahrenheit. Baking times vary quite a bit, so you may need to bake yours a little longer or a minute shorter. If you’re unsure whether they are done, you can use a fork to gently pull the two middle rolls apart to see if the dough looks cooked and flaky. Here’s what they look like fresh out of the oven:

Frost

When the cinnamon rolls come out of the oven, mix up the easy brown butter glaze in a skillet. First melt the butter and then continue to cook it, stirring constantly. It will bubble up for a few minutes then begin to turn an amber color and smell nutty. When it looks like the second picture below, remove it from the heat.

Immediately whisk in powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Your house is going to smell absolutely AMAZING at this point. Pour the brown butter glaze over the warm cinnamon rolls. Let them rest about 10 more minutes, then serve. Delicious!