Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

an apple pie cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting

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These Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls are soft and fluffy rolls filled with warm apple pie filling, topped with a luscious brown butter maple cream cheese glaze for the perfect fall and holiday treat.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Rise Time1 30

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cinnamon rolls

Calories: 485kcal

Author: Eden Westbrook

Ingredients

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

¾ cup whole milk warmed to 110-115℉ (41-46℃)
2¼ teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast
3 cups all purpose flour ¼ cup separated
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon apple pie spice mix
1 teaspoon orange zest finely grated
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
1 large egg room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces canned apple pie filling or homemade apple pie filling

Brown Butter Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

8 tablespoon unsalted butter
8 ounces full fat cream cheese softened to room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon real maple syrup
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup powdered sugar sifted
1 tablespoon heavy cream or more, depending on desired consistency

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Cinnamon Roll Dough

Bloom the yeast in the warm milk for ten minutes. If the yeast foams up and smells 'yeasty' then it's alive and you can continue the recipe. If nothing happens your yeast is dead and you need fresh yeast.
¾ cup whole milk, 2¼ teaspoon instant yeast
In the bowl of your standing mixer, whisk together 3 cups of all purpose flour, granulated sugar, apple pie spice, orange zest, and kosher salt.
3 cups all purpose flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon apple pie spice mix, 1 teaspoon orange zest, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Pour the yeast and milk, the melted butter, vanilla, and egg into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir together with the dough hook attachment on low speed until a soft, sticky dough forms.
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add in the last ¼ cup of flour a spoonful at a time, letting the stand mixer knead the dough for about 4-5 minutes, using a rubber baking spatula to help scrape the sides and incorporate any unmixed flour as needed. The fully kneaded dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl, not be sticky, should feel soft and elastic, and easily pull off the dough hook to form into a smooth ball of dough.
3 cups all purpose flour
Grease up a large mixing bowl with a little neutral flavored oil or cooking spray and put your dough in there, covered with plastic wrap, to rest for about 15 minutes.
Use an immersion blender, food processor, or regular blender, to pulse the canned apple pie filling into smaller pieces. It's okay if it gets a little too small, we only want small chunks of apple and a more blended filling.
6 ounces canned apple pie filling

Fill and Roll

After 15 minutes, use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14 inch-by-8 inch (36 cm x 20 cm) rectangle. Smooth the apple pie filling onto the dough with a spoon or an offset spatula, leaving about an inch gap at the edges.
Roll up the dough to make a 14 inch long log. Wiggle unflavored dental floss under the center of the log and wrap it around the dough tightly to slice the dough in half. Repeat with the other halves of the dough log to create 8 equal-sized cinnamon rolls (discard the small unfilled edge pieces if you have them) and place into a greased metal 9 inch round baking pan.
Cover with plastic wrap and let the cinnamon rolls rise in a warm place (like a turned off oven) for 90 minutes or until they double in size. (Make the browned butter during this step so it can cool before using)

Bake the Apple Cinnamon Rolls

After the rolls have doubled, preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃). Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

Make the Frosting

Do this step while the rolls rise: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Occasionally swirl the pan and watch the pan so the milk solids brown and don't burn. The browning will take about 6-8 minutes, you're looking for brown specks and a toasty smell. Once browned, pour the butter into a heat-safe bowl and set aside until it's cooled to room temperature.
8 tablespoon unsalted butter
Beat the cream cheese on medium high in the clean stand mixer using the paddle attachment until the cream cheese is very loose with no lumps.
8 ounces full fat cream cheese
Beat in the room temperature browned butter, vanilla, maple syrup, and kosher salt on medium high until completely incorporated.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoon real maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Slowly mix in ⅓ of the powdered sugar at a time, waiting until each amount is incorporated before adding the next ⅓.
¾ cup powdered sugar
Mix in the heavy cream to loosen up the frosting. Add more if you want a very loose frosting!
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Cover the warm cinnamon rolls in as much frosting as you want and serve!

Notes

Dough still sticky?

You may need a little more flour while it's kneading (it happens all the time because of humidity, time of the year, etc). Add up to another ¼ cup flour, a spoonful at a time, until the dough is no longer sticky.

Storage and Reheating

Keep the cinnamon rolls in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 2 days. They tend to dry out in the fridge.

To reheat you can put them into a 325 degree oven for 5-7 minutes until warmed through or put one in the microwave for a little less than a minute, until it's warm.

Nutrition