Name: Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ingredients: 250 grams milk; 50 grams granulated sugar; 2½ teaspoons yeast; 565 grams bread flour; 1 tsp salt; 2 eggs; 80 grams butter ((melted and slightly cooled)); 60 grams butter; 100 grams brown sugar; 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon mixed spice ((pumpkin spice)); 5 medium apples ((Peeled and diced into small pieces)); 50 grams butter; 75 grams granulated sugar; ½ teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon mixed spice ((pumpkin spice)); 2 tablespoons cornstarch; 50 grams butter; 110 grams cream cheese; 300 grams icing sugar ((powdered/confectioner's sugar)); 2 teaspoons lemon juice; ¼ teaspoon salt ((if using unsalted butter)); 1-2 tablespoons milk

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

These cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling are soft, gooey and delicious. These enriched rolls are filled with the traditional brown sugar cinnamon roll filling, with a cooked apple pie filling and topped with a cream cheese frosting.

A tray of cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling.

This particular recipe was inspired by a gift of the first of season Pink Lady Apples! I was pretty stoked when they arrived as they are the favourite apple variety in this house!

With the cold weather knocking at the door, I decided that I needed to revamp my Chelsea Bun recipe into a Cinnamon Roll with Apple Pie Filling recipe.

Jump to:

Ingredients
How to Make the Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling
Pro Tips for this Recipe
Pin for Later
Other Bread and Muffin Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe

Ingredients

Here are some notes on the ingredients used in this recipe. Please see the recipe card for quantities.

Cinnamon Roll Dough Ingredients

Bread, High-Grade or Strong Flour - need the bread flour with it's high protein content to be able to form gluten for the bread to rise.
Salt
Yeast
Sugar
Eggs
Milk
Butter

Cinnamon Roll Filling Ingredients

Brown Sugar
Butter
Cinnamon
Mixed Spice - for a little bit extra depth to the spice combo, pumpkin spice can be used as an alternative

Apple Pie Filling Ingredients

Apples – I like using an apple with a bit of tartness. My absolute favourite is the Pink Lady variety (which was also recently gifted to me by Pink Lady Apples New Zealand), or Braeburn apples.
Cinnamon
Mixed Spice - again pumpkin spice can be used as an alternative
Cornstarch (also known as Maizena in South Africa) thickens the apple pie filling.
Granulated sugar to add a little sweetness.

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

Butter
Cream Cheese
Salt
Icing Sugar (powdered sugar or confectioner’s sugar)

Salt is a crucial ingredient in all baked goods. I use table salt in all my recipes. One teaspoon of table salt equals 1.5 teaspoons of Morton Kosher Salt equals 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal.

Room Temperature Ingredients

Use room temperature ingredients! Using room temperature ingredients ensures that ingredients in the batter or dough will incorporate easier. Take note that room temperature refers to around 20°C/68F.

To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, place them into warm water for about 10 to 15 minutes.
To quickly bring butter to room temperature, cut the butter into cubes and zap in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or place the cubes in a bowl over warm water (such as with a double boiler) over low heat for 1 minute!
Milk, buttermilk, and cream can be brought to room temperature by zapping in the microwave at 20% power in 10-second intervals. Or on a low heat for a minute or two swirling every 10-15 seconds.

Weighing Ingredients

Weighing ingredients is more accurate than measuring cups overall, and this is my recommendation for my recipes as they are all developed and tested using grams only.

However, I have activated the grams-to-cup conversions on the recipe card. Simply click on "cups" underneath the ingredient list. For these conversions, cups are equal to 236mL/8 fluid ounces, tablespoons are 15mL and teaspoons are 5mL.

Measuring cups and spoons are an essential addition to every kitchen! Especially if you don't use a kitchen scale. Invest in a set to ensure you add the correct ingredients for accurate measuring. When in doubt - always use a level spoon or cup measure.

How to Make the Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling

Step 1 - Warm up the milk until it is lukewarm. Add in the sugar and yeast and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved. Once the mixture is foamy, the yeast is alive.

Step 2 - Combine the flour and salt in a bowl of a stand mixer. Mix the salt through the flour.

Step 3 - Add the milk mixture and melted butter to the flour. Mix on a low speed with the dough hook for 10 minutes until the dough passes the window pan test. Take a small piece of dough and stretch it out until the dough is thin and you can see light through it. If the dough tears easily, it needs to be kneaded further.

Step 4 - Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to proof for an hour to an hour and a half, or until the dough has risen at least 50% in size.

Step 6 - For the brown sugar filling, combine the brown sugar, spices and butter in a heat-proof bowl and microwave until the butter has melted. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is smooth and shiny. Set aside and allow to cool.

Step 7 - To make the apple pie filling, combine the peeled and diced apples, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and mixed spice into a skillet or large frying pan. Cook over medium heat until the apples are tender. Add in the cornstarch and stir until combined and the mixture is nice and thick. Set aside to cool.

Step 8 - Once the dough has proofed, roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle about 35cm by 50cm big.

Step 9 - Spread the brown sugar filling over the dough using a spatula or the back of a spoon.

Step 10 - Spread the apple pie filling over the dough.

Apple pie filling spread over the dough.

Step 11 - Beginning on the long side of the dough, roll the dough up tightly. Pinch the seams together to seal in the filling along the length of the dough. Cut the roll into 12 equal portions using a sharp knife, or bench scraper.

Step 12 - Place the rolls cut side down into your baking dish (9"x13" -23cm x 33cm- rectangular cake tin) leaving about 2 - 3 cm of space between the rolls to allow them to rise.

Step 13 - Cover the rolls with a tea towel and allow to proof for 30 to 60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 180°C/355F. Bake the rolls for 25 - 30 minutes.

Step 14 - While the buns are baking, let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature, you may need to pop them into the microwave for 10 seconds if they are too cold for creaming.

Step 15 - Add the icing sugar and lemon juice, and whip until well combined using either a stand mixer, electric mixer or whisk. If the icing sugar is too thick, add in 1-2 tablespoons of milk if needed.

Step 16 - The cinnamon rolls with apple pie filling can be frosted as soon as they come out of the oven or they can be cooled first.

Step 17 - Serve warm or at room temp! Enjoy.

Cinnamon roll with apple pie filling sliced in half.

Pro Tips for this Recipe

Cover your hands with some olive or vegetable oil before handling the dough, it prevents the dough from sticking.

Rising and proof times depend on how warm the environment of the bread is. If it's chilly, place the bread dough somewhere warm to rise. Keep in mind that using a stand mixer to knead the dough will result in warmer dough overall and will accelerate the first rise.

Make apple pie filling a day or two ahead of making the rolls to reduce the day of tasks.

BTW - this apple pie filling would make a great pancake filling!

Kneading bread dough by hand

No stand mixer? No problem! If kneading by hand - do the following to make life a little easier. Don't add the salt to the flour, salt prohibits gluten formation, so we are going to add this a bit later.

Combine the flour with the milk, melted butter and beaten eggs. Stir through until you have a shaggy dough and let the dough rest for 30 minutes. This allows the flour to hydrate, stimulating gluten formation before you even begin kneading. Then add the salt and knead on a clean surface.

Ovens

The temperatures stated are for conventional ovens. For convection, fan-forced, fan-assisted, or air-fryers, the temperature must be reduced by 20°C/25°F, or the gas mark by 1.

For baking, a general rule is to have the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

For best baking results invest in an oven thermometer, as the temperature dials on the oven may not be accurate. Place the thermometer in the middle of the center rack for the most accurate results. I hang my oven thermometer off the center of my oven rack.

Keep in mind that all ovens work slightly differently and bake times may need to be adjusted slightly for your specific oven.

Bakeware

Metal bakeware is superior when it comes to baking biscuits, cookies, brownies, muffins and quick bread, scones, cakes. These heat up and cool down faster than glassware. Glassware is heavier, heats up and cools down slower than metal and is more suited for bread puddings, pies, crisps, crumbles and cobblers.

Pin for Later

Other Bread and Muffin Recipes to Try

Don't forget to tag me @marylou_saltyginger on Instagram, #saltygingerblog with your renditions of these recipes!

If you made this recipe, please leave a star rating! It gives my readers and me helpful feedback. If you want more recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Cinnamon Rolls with Apple Pie Filling