Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling

These cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling are such a tasty treat: soft cinnamon roll dough is filled with a delicious apple pie filling, taking them totally over the top.

Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling: Why You’ll Love this Recipe

If you love cinnamon rolls and apple pie, you’ll fall in love with these gooey, delicious cinnamon rolls, studded with apples and drizzled with a tangy buttermilk glaze. I love the fall addition of apple pie filling to cinnamon rolls – such a natural fit.
Impress your friends and family with a batch of golden brown homemade cinnamon rolls, generously filled with juicy and tender apples that take a classic cinnamon roll to a whole new level.
So good. So sticky. So cozy. Serve them straight from the baking dish with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, as an apple cinnamon roll bake for dessert. Or serve them with cream cheese frosting (or buttermilk glaze) for breakfast.

Gather Your Ingredients

Buttermilk: This will add richness and tenderness to the dough.

Unsalted Butter: This will provide flavor, texture, and moisture to the dough.

Egg: The egg will help bind the dough ingredients together and make it lighter.

All Purpose Flour: The main ingredient in the dough that will help create its structure.

Granulated Sugar: For sweetness.

Instant Yeast: This type of yeast works quickly and helps leaven the dough.

Kosher Salt: To balance out the sweetness of the sugar.

Vegetable Oil: To coat the bowl for rising the dough.

Brown Sugar: Adds extra sweetness to the filling.

Cinnamon: For a warm kick in your buns! If you like other apple pie spices, add a pinch of nutmeg, ginger, and/or cardamom.

Soft Butter: Soft butter creates a smooth spreadable layer for your buns before adding any other toppings or fillings.

Apple Slices: Sweet and fruity, they soften to make a juicy, delicious filling that’ll remind you of apple cobbler (and if you love cobbler, you try this luscious Blackberry Cobbler recipe).

How to Make Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling: Step by Step Directions

Warm buttermilk and butter in microwave in 20 second intervals until butter starts to melt; let stand for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to finish melting (don’t overheat buttermilk or it will curdle). Add egg and beat with fork.
Whisk together 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment; add buttermilk mixture and beat until dough comes together; switch to dough hook attachment and knead 8-10 minutes, until dough is smooth elastic, adding remaining flour as needed until dough pulls away from sides of bowl but sticks to bottom; add a splash of oil to bowl and turn dough to coat both sides; cover with clean towel place somewhere warm rise 1 ½ hours or until doubled in volume.
Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in small bowl; on clean lightly floured surface roll out into 15″ rectangular shape ¼” thick spread softened butter on top sprinkle with brown sugar mixture top with apples roll up starting at long edge closest use bench scraper or metal spatula if sticking slice 16 equal pieces put parchment lined baking dishes (2 9″ square) let rise 45 minutes or nearly doubled again .                                                                                                                             
Bake 375ºF oven 20 minutes until golden.
To make glaze, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, butter, buttermilk vanilla; drizzle over buns. Enjoy!

Make Ahead and Storage Tips

Making this dish the night before it’s needed or prepping components ahead of time is a great way to save time.

Make-Ahead Option: After you’ve assembled the cinnamon buns, cover them with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. When ready for baking, allow them to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes before placing them in preheated oven. Increase baking time by about 10 minutes to account for the dough being cold.
Storage: Once baked and cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Don’t store them in the fridge or they’ll get dry much more quickly.

Expert Tips for Perfect Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling

Cinnamon Rolls of any kind take time, yes. But they’re not difficult. Especially when you let your stand mixer do the heavy lifting (i.e. the kneading).
Make sure to slice the apples thin and chop them fine – because the baking time is short, you want to make sure they can soften a bit.
Enjoy some while they were still warm from the oven, then go ahead and freeze the rest, if you like. A quick 30-second pulse in the microwave will thaw and warm it back up to freshly baked status.

Last Updated on July 31, 2023 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD