Name: Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Icing
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 280 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour; 1/3 cup sugar; 2 teaspoons instant yeast; 1/2 teaspoon apple pie spice; 5 Tablespoons salted butter; 3/4 cup milk; 1 large egg; 1/2 cup salted butter, (room temperature); 1/2 cup brown sugar, (firmly packed); 1/4 cup all purpose flour; 2 Tablespoons apple pie spice; 1/8 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon vanilla; 3 cups apple pie filling; 1/2 cup powdered sugar, (sifted); 3 Tablespoons fresh apple cider

Jump to Recipe

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with a deliciously sweet apple cider icing…the perfect addition to your holiday brunch! A simple spiced sweet dough, filled with a super simple apple pie spiced brown sugar and butter mixture, then rolled with the most delicious homemade apple pie filling, and baked to soft and fluffy perfection. But the goodness doesn’t stop there! After baking, these soft buns are drizzled with the simplest two ingredient fresh apple cider glaze. Trust me, these rolls are simply hard to resist! It’s difficult to eat just one…every bite always leaves you wanting more! Whether you’re baking for family or looking for a gift to give, these fluffy apple cinnamon rolls are the only breakfast bake you need this holiday season!

flat lay of apple cinnamon rolls on white napkin with a cup of coffee, flowers, a white napkin, and vintage cake knife

→ This post is also available as a Web Story: Apple Cinnamon Rolls

About The Recipe

If you’re looking for an update on your classic cinnamon rolls, this is the recipe you need! Honestly, these Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls might just be our best cinnamon roll recipe to-date. It’s a bold statement, I know, but these apple rolls are THAT good…and this recipe might’ve not even happened.

apple rolls in white baking dish on white napkin with antique cake knife, book pages, flowers, two empty glasses, and a honey crisp apple around

seven apple cinnamon rolls on white napkin with roll in top left corner

After Thanksgiving, we had quite a bit of apple pie filling left. We generally make some extra because, let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a spoonful of pie filling with some ice cream or a bowl of oatmeal in the mornings?

But, we had a usually high amount of filling left. We did bake quite a few pumpkin recipes this year, but still… It was almost a full container left! We needed to use it up because, by this time, we were getting towards the end of November (basically, last week) and we didn’t want it to go bad.

We had just finished our DELICIOUS Apricot Cherry Cranberry and Golden Raisin Babka so we had sweet dough on the brain. Our first thought, naturally, was sweet rolls. It’s a great tear-and-share bake for the holiday’s and a super simple recipe that we can produce quickly!

But, with this being me and my mom, we changed recipe ideas about 4 times before we settled on the final product.

overhead shot of eight apple rolls on white napkin with two book pages and flowers

Originally, these were going to have a lot of additives and no spiced smear. Just pie filling and some other various fruits or nuts…but we got to talking. We felt like, while this idea was okay, it wasn’t the roll we were dreaming of.

So, the idea was scrapped…kinda.

What’s the thing that makes a delicious cinnamon roll? Well, the cinnamon filling! But…how do we make that work with our apple pie filling? Not that cinnamon an apple pie filling are a bad combo, but we really wanted the filling to shine.

Turns out, we had just enough apple pie spice to make this recipe! So, swap out the cinnamon for the apple pie spice, and we were full steam ahead!

eight apple pie cinnamon rolls in white baking dish with cake knife on white napkin with apple, two glasses behind, and two paltes

But…oh my gosh. These rolls are so messy! It was really a laugh for me and my mom. We were trying to take our prep photos while filling was going everywhereeeee. We got it done, but when you make these rolls, you need to make sure you have a lot of clean counter space!

The mess is so worth it though. These rolls are literally stuffed FULL of the best flavors and every bite is a little reminiscent of your favorite apple pie and just SO. GOOD.

Equipment Needed

Ingredients

(Full ingredient quantities and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Dough:

Unsalted Butter
Whole Milk
All-Purpose Flour
Apple Pie Spice
Sugar
Instant Yeast
Salt
Egg

milk, egg, flour, butter, apple pie spice, yeast, and sugar on marble counter

For The Filing:

Apple Pie Filling
Unsalted Butter
Brown Sugar
All-Purpose Flour
Apple Pie Spice
Vanilla Extract
Salt

brown sugar, apple pie spice, apple pie filling, flour, butter, vanilla, and salt on marble counter

Instructions

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and apple pie spice.

Combine butter and milk in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted. Cool to 120-130 degrees F.

Pour over flour mixture and mix until thoroughly combined.

Add egg and mix until combined. Knead the dough it’s smooth, about 8 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased container and cover. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

dough doubled in sized in plastic container

Combine the butter, brown sugar, flour, apple pie spice, salt, and vanilla in a medium bowl for the filling. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

flour, brown sugar, butter, apple pie spice, and vanilla in glass bowl

Place apple pie filling in bowl of food processor. Process until apple is chopped into small pieces. Set aside.

chopped apple pie filling in food processor

Turn proofed dough out onto a floured surface and roll into a 16 inch by 16 inch square.

dough rolled out into a square on marble counter

Spread butter and sugar mixture on dough, taking it all the way out to the sides.

Top with apple pie filling, spreading it to 1/4″ from sides.

chopped apple pie filling dolloped on top of spiced butter layer

apple pie filling spread across spiced butter layer

Roll dough up jellyroll-style. Cut into 1 1/2 inch rolls and place the rolls in prepared pan.

dough rolled horizontally on marble counter

three cinnamon rolls cut on marble counter with others measured on cinnamon roll log

Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1-1 1/2 hours. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown and cooked through.

eight apple rolls doubled in size in round casserole

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and apple cider. Beat until smooth.

powdered sugar and apple cider in glass bowl

Drizzle rolls with icing.

eight apple rolls in round baking dish with flowers, a cup of coffee, vintage cake knife, a white napkin, book pages, and honeycrisp apple

Can These Apple Cinnamon Rolls Be Made Ahead of Time?

Definitely! You can bake these rolls ahead of time and store in the freezer. It’s always best to make the icing fresh, so keep this in mind.

Why Do My Cinnamon Rolls Have Gaps?

This happened to us, too! It’s because they’re heavily filled and, since the dough expands during baking, it’s begun shrink as it cools down, leaving the filling behind and creating small gaps in your swirls. There’s nothing wrong with them and they still taste delicious!

How To Store

The best way to store these apple rolls is in the freezer! They will keep for about 2-3 months. This way, you can easily reheat them in the oven for an almost-like fresh baked cinnamon roll! Just be sure to get them out of the freezer a few hours prior to reheating.

If they’re iced, no worries! You can store in the fridge or freezer. In the fridge, they’ll keep about 3 days. In the freezer, about a month or so. Just allow to come to room temperature or place a cinnamon roll in the microwave for 30 seconds – 1 minute on high heat.

overhead of apple cinnamon rolls on white napkin with one missing from the pan

Expert Tips

Rolling the dough into a square is a LOT easier if you use a square container to proof it.
Use an offset spatula to spread filling onto dough. It’s so much easier than using your hands!
These rolls are messy! You may have to re-roll a few of them, but I promise the mess is worth it!
Check your yeast and make sure it’s in-date.
If the milk mixture does get too hot, don’t worry! You haven’t ruined anything. It just takes longer to cool down. Give it time to cool to 120-130 degrees before pouring it into the dry ingredients.
If you don’t have a big enough lidded container to allow the dough to rise, you can put the dough in a glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap!
If you want the dough/rolls to proof faster, place them near something warm like the oven! Just don’t put the dough in the oven.
Cinnamon can be used in place of apple pie spice in the filling and roll dough.

When you make these Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Icing, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.

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Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Cider Icing