Apple Cinnamon Rolls
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These apple cinnamon rolls take the classic base you love and give it an orchard-inspired twist with layers of thinly sliced apples baked right into the gooey cinnamon-sugar filling. Soft, fluffy, and topped with tangy cream cheese frosting, they’re the perfect mix of cozy flavors and fresh apple sweetness.
THE FALL VERSION OF MY FAVORITE CINNAMON ROLLS
When I set out to expand my cinnamon roll collection for 2025’s monthly baking themes, I knew that I wanted to cater to the masses during the fall baking season. I already have a pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe on my site, but for all those who prefer the apple baking in the fall months, I hear you loud and clear. And these rolls are going to rock your apple-loving socks right down to the last swipe of cream cheese frosting.
We’re leaning into fresh apples for the filling in these rolls, popping them directly into the middle of each roll raw and unaltered. This method allows the apple slices to shine in texture and flavor, tenderizing ever so gently so that you still have the slight crisp of apple without feeling like you need to ice pick your way through every bite. The cinnamon-sugar filling sets the stage nicely for the apples to be perfectly spiced, but lets the natural flavor and sweetness of the apple slices remain the star of the show.
This orchard-inspired recipe uses my trusted cinnamon roll dough, scaled to a smaller batch of 6 rolls, but it doubles easily for a full dozen and can even be made into 24 mini rolls. The instructions are pretty straightforward and beginner-friendly, but if you’re new to yeasted rolls or breads, I’ve got you covered with step-by-step photos, tips, and a video to walk you through it. You can visit my guide to baking with yeast if you need a refresher or more details to begin your yeasted roll kitchen adventure.
HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED
The nice part about cinnamon rolls in general is that you use a lot of the same ingredients in each different component of them. Here’s a visual of what you’ll need for the yeasted dough, but be sure to check the recipe card for exact amounts you’ll need for each part of the apple cinnamon rolls.
INGREDIENT NOTE
You’ll want all of your ingredients to be at room temperature unless otherwise noted. Allow your ingredients to sit out for at least 45-60 minutes before beginning your recipe to ensure a cohesive dough and to create an environment where your yeast dough will thrive.
OVERVIEw: HOW TO MAKE APPLE CINNAMON ROLLS
Make the dough: you’ll start by activating/blooming the yeast with warm water and granulated sugar. Next, add the rest of the wet ingredients (warm milk, vanilla, and an egg). To this, you’ll also add half of the flour, all of the salt, and all of the softened butter before the remaining flour. Just the way biscuits and pie dough are flaky thanks to the incorporation of butter, adding the butter piece by piece to the flour will help create chunks of fat that melt in the oven and leave behind pockets of air which equals layers and flakes.
Allow dough to rest: my cinnamon roll dough does not require two rises, but it does need to rest a bit before it will take to shaping. This rest period allows the gluten to relax so that you can stretch and roll it into a rectangle more easily.
Roll into a rectangle: roll the dough into a 9″ x 12″ rectangle, or 12″ x 18″ for a double batch.
Prepare and add the filling: the filling for these rolls is the same cinnamon-sugar filling you find in my traditional cinnamon rolls. Layer the apple slices over the filling evenly.
HOW TO PREPARE THE APPLE SLICES
While it’s up to you whether or not you want to keep the skins on or remove them, I highly recommend using some sort of apple corer to prepare your apples. This apple peeler/corer is what I use for everything from these rolls to my apple pie. You can set it to remove the skins or not, and it spiralizes the whole apple while removing the core so you can chop the apple into the perfect size pieces.
Roll, slice, and allow rolls to rise: once you’ve filled your dough, roll it into a log starting with one of the long sides. Slice this into 6 evenly sized rolls, then place in a dish, cover with a towel, and allow to rise.
Bake the rolls: these rolls are light in color so you will be able to see them starting to turn brown when they’re approaching done. You want them to be golden!
Allow to cool briefly: give the baked rolls about 10-15 minutes to cool while you prepare the cream cheese frosting.
Make cream cheese frosting: this should only take you a few minutes if your ingredients are at room temperature before beginning. I like to spread the frosting onto the slightly-cooled rolls so it gets drippy and gooey. Additional apple slices optional but encouraged.
ADJUST THE SPICES TO YOUR LIKING
Depending on your taste preferences, there’s a chance you might want to lean into apple pie spice (which includes nutmeg and allspice alongside the cinnamon). If that’s the case, I suggest adding a dash of each to your cream cheese frosting or you can replace the cinnamon in the filling with apple pie spice instead.
WHAT KIND OF APPLES SHOULD I USE?
While we’re typically conditioned to reach for the Granny Smith apples when it comes to apple recipes like apple pie and apple butter, I like to grab a slightly sweeter variety for these apple cinnamon rolls since we’re not cooking them down in any kind of sweetener.
I used a Honeycrisp for these rolls, but you can use any apple you prefer. I do recommend, though, grabbing a firmer apple as opposed to a softer one so it doesn’t turn to mush in the oven.
Apple Cinnamon Rolls Recipe
Ingredients
ROLL DOUGH
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm water
- 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (4g) dry active yeast or half of one packet
- ¼ cup (60mL) warm milk
- 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 and ¼ cups (270g) all purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature and cut into 4-6 pieces
APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (29g) unsalted butter melted
- 1 medium size apple1 chopped
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 2 ounces (57g) full fat block cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
ROLL DOUGH
- Spray a baking dish2 with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, combine the flour and the graham cracker crumbs. Set this mixture aside.2 and ¼ cups (270g) all purpose flour
- Place warm water in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Whisk with a fork, wooden spoon, or spatula and allow to rest and activate for 10 minutes.¼ cup (60mL) warm water, 1 and ⅛ teaspoons (4g) dry active yeast
- Once the yeast mixture is active and bubbly, add the milk, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and egg. Whisk to combine.¼ cup (60mL) warm milk, 2 and ½ Tablespoons (32g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg
- Gradually stir in the flour/graham mixture. If using a stand mixer, use your dough hook. If mixing by hand, continue to use a wooden spoon. Add about 1 and ½ cups of the flour/graham mixture, allow dough to come together, then add the softened butter and continue to blend. When butter is mostly incorporated, add the remaining flour/graham mixture and blend until dough has mostly come together. It may still be shaggy, but it should pull away from the sides of the bowl fairly easily.3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter
- Turn out dough on a floured surface and knead for about 8-10 minutes, adding flour about 1 Tablespoon at a time if the dough is too sticky, until smooth and elastic. Your dough should resemble the surface texture of PlayDoh when it is done. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
APPLE CINNAMON FILLING
- In a medium size bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk or stir until well-blended. Set aside.¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50g) firmly packed light brown sugar, 1 and ½ Tablespoons ground cinnamon
- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 9" x 12" in size. Dough will be very elastic, so be patient and keep rolling. There is no need to rush this step.
- When you have your rectangle, brush the melted butter evenly over the dough, leaving about ½" border around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly over the melted butter, then scatter the chopped apple pieces until the whole rectangle of dough is covered in a single layer of apples. Gently press down on all of the filling to help it stick while you're rolling.2 Tablespoons (29g) unsalted butter, 1 medium size apple1
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE DOUGH
- Starting with one of the long sides, roll the dough up into a tight 12" log. Use your fingers or palms on either end of the log to gently squeeze the log to "contain" the uneven ends. Using a sharp serrated knife and taking care to keep the seam side down, cut the log into 6 even slices. Don't worry if filling spills out.
- Place the slices cut side down in the prepared pan, gather any cinnamon-sugar that fell out, sprinkle over the rolls, then press down gently to flatten slightly. Cover loosely with foil or a kitchen towel. Allow rolls to rise for 1 and ½ hours.
- When roll dough has risen, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Bake the rolls for 28-32 minutes or until rolls just start to brown on top. You can cover the rolls with foil to prevent browning, if desired. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes while you prepare the meringue topping.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until smooth.2 ounces (57g) full fat block cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the salt and continue mixing until smooth.¾ cup (90g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Spread cream cheese frosting onto slightly cooled rolls and serve rolls immediately. Leftover apple cinnamon rolls stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days or in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave for 8-10 seconds before serving. See notes section below for other storage and preparation suggestions.
Notes
- Apple: I used a Honeycrisp apple. You can keep the skin on or take it off– this is personal preference.
- Baking dish: I like to use either an 8″ square baking pan or an 8″ or 9″ round cake pan or pie plate. If using a square dish, arrange them in 2 rows of 3. If using a round pan, place one in the center and the other 5 evenly spaced around it.
- Make ahead: this dough can be made the ahead of time through step 1 of the “assemble and bake dough” instructions. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and allow to rise in a warm environment, about 1 hour. Continue with step 2 in the “assemble and bake dough” instructions.
- To freeze: baked rolls freeze well, up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before enjoying.
- To freeze unbaked rolls: bake the rolls in step 2 in “assemble and bake dough” instructions for 10 minutes at 350°F (177ºC). Allow to cool completely, cover tightly, then freeze. Remove the rolls from the freezer and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Finish baking for the remaining 20-25 minutes before frosting and serving.
- Working with yeast: for a comprehensive look at working with yeast in a recipe, see my post about how to bake with yeast.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.