Super fluffy apple cinnamon rolls filled with a caramel apple filling. Fall doesn't get any better than this.
Get into the fall spirit with a delicious melt-in-your-mouth caramel apple pie-inspired cinnamon roll recipe. It is the perfect infusion of two of the best treats in one amazing bite. The epitome of comfort food.
If you are nervous about using yeast to make cinnamon rolls, do not worry, we will break everything down so you can feel confident making these cinnamon rolls with this simple recipe!
Why it works
I used my favorite cinnamon roll recipe as a base with a few tweaks and then on top of the regular cinnamon roll filling, I also added a quick caramel apple pie filling. All it takes if a couple of finely diced apples which you saute with brown sugar and butter for a delicious caramel coating. It adds even more depth to the cinnamon rolls and makes them basically irresistible.
It's like having apple pie and cinnamon rolls at the same time without having to actually make a pie. (although, later, we will definitely make a cinnamon roll apple pie) If you want to kick it up a notch, add chopped pecans. Trust me on this!
The soft rolls melt in your mouth and give way to soft, warm apples infused with cinnamon and caramel. It is the perfect start to your day - or to even enjoy as a dessert. It is perfect while still warm and topped with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
We start with a few key ingredients for the dough plus a few extras for the filling and icing. Let's go over them together and answer all the questions you may have about them and any potential substitutions.
- Milk - Milk plays a surprisingly important role here. Yeast needs liquid to activate. Milk has sugar, which is also a food for yeast to encourage growth, and the lactic acid in the milk also tenderizes the dough. I highly recommend whole milk for the absolute best results.
- Sugar - As mentioned earlier, sugar helps feed yeast and encourage its growth. It also helps to lightly sweeten the dough itself. I prefer granulated sugar, but you can experiment with replacing some of the granulated sugar with brown sugar.
- Yeast - The yeast is what gives the dough most of its rise and some of its flavor. All bakers have preferences when it comes to instant or active dry yeast. I prefer active dry yeast in most cases.
- Flour - The flour is the base of the structure for our dough. The gluten strands we create using the protein in the flour is what gives the dough a wonderful crumb that can make your cinnamon rolls feel like you are biting into a sugary cloud. We use all-purpose flour, but you can also use some bread flour in the recipe as well.
- Baking Powder - Baking powder helps further encourage the rise in your dough to make your apple pie cinnamon rolls like fluffy clouds.
- Salt - I almost exclusively use sea salt in all my baking. It has the best "saltiness" to enhance flavors in my opinion.
- Egg - Eggs helps to add richness and softness to the dough and also adds to the overall structure. You should use a large egg at room temperature.
- Butter - We use butter to add richnes to the dough. It adds a lot of flavor and helps soften the dough.
When it comes to the filling we keep it simple with ingredients like:
- Sugar
- Salt
- Apples
- Spices
- Butter
- Cornstarch
If you are nervous about baking with yeast, you can check out my guide on working with yeast.
How to make
- Make the dough - Add the yeast to the milk, melted butter, and some of the sugar and let it rise. Add the dry ingredients and mix together.
- Prep the dough - Knead the dough. Use a stand mixer to make it easier on you, or you can use your hands and a lot of elbow grease! Let the dough rise in a warm area until doubled.
- Make the filling - While the dough is rising, work on the filling.
- Shape the apple cinnamon rolls - Roll out the dough until it is a nice rectangle. Spread the cinnamon following and apple filling over it, then roll into a log. Cut into equal pieces and place on your baking pan.
- Let the rolls rise - The rolls should rise for about half an hour, or however long it takes for your oven to preheat, whichever is longer.
- Bake - You want the rolls to be a nice golden brown. If your rolls seem to brown too quickly, you can cover them with aluminum foil.
- Finish - Once they're out of the oven and slightly cooled, mix together the icing and drizzle!
What to Make Cinnamon Rolls In
I like to use a variety of bakeware for my apple cinnamon rolls. My favorite is a cast iron skillet because it retains even heat throughout the pan, and also creates a beautiful serving piece once the pan and cinnamon rolls are cooled down. You can also use an 8 x 8 baking pan, a deep-dish pie tin, a cake pan, a couple of loaf pans, or whatever bakeware you can find that they will fit in.
Keep in mind that glass heats up slower, so your cinnamon rolls will take longer to bake. Thinner tins like older cake or loaf pans, or any darker pans, will take less time to bake.
Can Cinnamon Rolls Be Frozen?
Yes, you can freeze cinnamon rolls. You can freeze them before they've been baked and after. If you are freezing before they are baked, make sure they are already sliced. You want to slice the rolls, then place them spaced on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze the baking sheet until the cinnamon rolls are frozen, then transfer to an airtight container.
If you are freezing baked cinnamon rolls, do so before you glaze them, if possible. Like the unbaked cinnamon rolls, it is easier to freeze them when they are separated.
When you are ready to bake the frozen unbaked cinnamon rolls, take them out to thaw slightly as the oven preheats. They may need an extra few minutes in the oven, but nothing else will change in the directions. To warm baked cinnamon rolls, bake at 325 degrees F for about 10 - 15 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before glazing.
Can Cinnamon Rolls be Make the Day Before?
I like to make the dough for my apple cinnamon rolls ahead of time as often as possible so I don't have to do much in the morning. What you can do the day before: You can make the apple pie filling and leave it in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
The cinnamon roll filling can also be made, but you will need to remelt the butter in the mixture by placing it in the microwave for a minute or so. Stir the mixture after every 30 seconds in the microwave until you can easily stir it.
Next, you can make the dough. Instead of placing the dough in a warm, dry area, leave it in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, roll it out, spread the cinnamon roll filling, then the apple pie filling, and keep going as normal in the recipe.
Cinnamon rolls will stay fresh for about a day or two at room temperature, and about three or four days in the refrigerator (reheat in the oven or microwave when ready to eat). For the best flavor, cinnamon rolls are best eaten fresh the same day.
Want More Cinnamon Roll in Your Life?
- Cinnamon Roll Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
- Cinnamon Roll Doughnuts
- Coffee Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe Card
Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 Granny Smith Apples
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 tablespoons Butter
For the Dough
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- 6 tablespoons Granulated Sugar divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
- 3 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter melted
For the Cinnamon Filling
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- ⅓ cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 1 ½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- pinch of Salt
- 2-3 tablespoons Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Make the apple pie filling. This is something that can be prepped a day or two ahead if needed. Peel the apples if desired. Finely dice the apples (discarding the core and seeds).
- Add the apples to a skillet along with the remaining ingredients for the apples. Cook until the apples are tender and the liquid is thickened. Leave to cool completely.
- Make the dough. Add the milk, half the sugar, and the yeast to a bowl and allow it to proof for five minutes.
- While the yeast is proofing, add the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a stand mixer and mix until combined.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and mix until it comes together. Add the egg and butter and mix until it forms a shaggy dough. You may be tempted to add more flour, but resist the urge as much as possible.
- Use a dough hook to knead the dough for about 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Lightly grease a large bowl and shape the dough into a ball, then place in the bowl. Grease a sheet of plastic wrap on one side, then place the wrap on the bowl, grease side down. Allow the dough to rise in a warm, dry area for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
- While the dough is rising, make the cinnamon filling. Melt the butter, and stir together the remaining ingredients into the butter. Set aside.
- Once the dough is double its size, gently deflate the dough. Place the dough on a lightly floured smooth surface and roll out into a large triangle about 16 inches long and 12- 14 inches wide.
- Spread the cinnamon filling over the dough, leaving a small border all around. Add the apple filling over the cinnamon filling.
- Tightly roll the dough into a log along the long side so you have a roll that is 16 inches long.
- Cut the dough into 9 equal pieces (I find using string or unflavored floss creates the best cuts). Place the rolls into your pan, cut sides down. Loosely cover the dough to rise again as the oven heats.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- As soon as the oven reaches the right temperature, add the rolls to the oven on the middle rack.
- Bake for about 25-30 minutes. If you find the dough is getting too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil as it bakes.
- As the rolls are baking, make the glaze by adding the ingredients together.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and allow to cool slightly before adding the glaze. Serve immediately.
K says
I made these yesterday and they were fantastic! I made a mistake measuring and ended up with 8 instead of 9 but it turned out that 8 fit perfectly in my 12" cast iron skillet. I added 5 minutes to the bake time since they were huge and I was afraid of ending up with raw dough. I also found that I needed to add more heavy cream to the glaze. But other than that, followed the recipe to the letter and the results were divine. I will definitely make them again.
K says
What size cast iron skillet do you use? Is it greased first? Also noticed your pictures all show 7 rolls instead of the 9 described in the recipe? Thank you for any feedback.
Amanda Powell says
The skillet I used was only 10-inches. It wasn’t big enough to hold all the cinnamon rolls because of how it curves at the edges. It was actually the lid of a cast iron Dutch oven instead of an actual skillet. (I baked the extras in a small loaf pan). You do not need to grease the pan, but you can!
K says
Thanks for the speedy reply! I'll be trying these out this afternoon!
Colleen says
Quick question....you don’t have to warm up the milk before adding the yeast?
Amanda says
Room temperature works just fine, but warm is best, yes. I will get the recipe updated to clarify that!