These soft and gooey Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls are the ultimate Fall treat! They have a maple cinnamon sugar filling with cooked spiced apple pieces, and a crunchy cinnamon streusel all throughout! It's topped with a cream cheese frosting and even more apple pie filling making these apple cinnamon rolls taste just like apple a la mode!
Add 1 cup of milk to a saucepan over low heat. Warm for 3 minutes. Whisking constantly, add flour and increase to medium low heat. Continue to whisk until a thick paste forms, about 7-10 minutes. The texture should be akin to a thick porridge. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to cool completely. 1 cup Whole Milk1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
Add ½ cup of warm milk and yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar to a small bowl or cup. Allow the yeast to bloom and become frothy, about 5-10 minutes. 1/2 cup Whole Milk2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
Add yeast mixture, egg, egg yolk, sugar, kosher salt, and tangzhong to the bowl of the a stand mixer. Gently whisk together until all ingredients are combined. Then add flour and kosher salt. Gently use your hands or a rubber spatula to mix everything together to form a shaggy dough. 1 large Egg1 Egg Yolk1/2 cup Sugar 4 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 1 tsp Kosher Salt
Attach the dough hook to the stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes. Then add room temperature butter, 2 tbsps at a time. Continue to mix on medium speed for 8-10 minutes. Dough should be smooth elastic. (If it sticks to the sides of the bowl, simply scrape the sides of the bowl and add pieces to the dough). 8 tbsps salted butter, room temperature
Place dough into a well oiled large mixing bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until doubled in size, about 1½-2 hours.
While the dough is rising, make the apple pie filling. Chop apples into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces and place into a large skillet. Add lemon juice, and brown sugar and toss together. Cook over medium heat for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the apples soften slightly. 1 lb Honeycrisp Apples1 tbsp Lemon Juice1/2 cup Brown Sugar
Make the apple pie filling and cinnamon roll filling
In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and water to create a slurry. Add to the apples and cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened and caramel-like. Remove from heat and add cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and butter. Stir until the butter is fully melted, then set aside to cool. 2 tbsp Cornstarch2 tbsp Water 1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon1/2 tsp Nutmeg1/8 tsp Ground Cloves 2 tbsp Salted Butter
Now make the cinnamon roll filling and pan sauce. Add butter to a large bowl and microwave for about 15-20 seconds, until slightly melted. Then add brown sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon. Whisk together until smooth and combined. Set aside. 1 cup Salted Butter1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar1/4 cup Maple Syrup2 1/2 tbsps Cinnamon
Make the Streusel
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour in melted butter and mix until crumbles begin to form. Set aside.3/4 cup + 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour1/2 cup Brown Sugar1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon5 tbsp Salted Butter
Sprinkle onto a baking sheet, breaking up any large clumps. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let the streusel chill on the baking dish, it'll harden as it cools.
Assemble the Rolls
Spread half of the cinnamon roll filling over the bottom and slightly up the sides of a 9×13-inch, preferably ceramic or metal baking dish. (Note: Avoid using a glass dish. Glass conducts and retains heat differently, which can cause the edges and bottom to overcook before the center is fully baked.)
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch dough to deflate it and roll the dough out onto a well floured work surface. Use a rolling pin to roll dough into a 14x22inch rectangle.
Spread the remainder of the cinnamon roll filling on top of the dough, then add half of the apple pie filling (save the rest for topping). Sprinkle half of the crumble on top of the apples.
Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to cut into 12 equally sized strips (about 1 1/2- 1 3/4 inches per strip). Roll each strip into a spiral and place into the prepared 9x13 baking dish.
Second rise: cover the rolls with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and allow the rolls to rise again, until puffy, about 30-45 mins.
Pour heavy cream on top of the rolls and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the rolls are set and golden brown. (They're finish when you carefully press the center of the one of the cinnamon rolls and it springs back a little bit) 1/3 cup Heavy Cream
To make the icing, combine cream cheese and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Use a hand mixer to cream together for about 1 minute, until fully combined and smooth, then add powdered sugar and 3 tbsp heavy cream (add more for a thinner consistency) and mix until combined and smooth. Then add vanilla bean paste and a pinch of salt and mix thoroughly. 6 oz Cream Cheese4 tbsp Salted Butter2 cups Powdered Sugar 3-6 tbsp Heavy Cream2 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
Fresh out of the oven, add a thin layer of the frosting on top of the rolls. The first layer will melt into the cinnamon rolls, making them nice and gooey. Let them cool for about 10 minutes, then add the remainder of the frosting and the remainder of the apple pie filling and streusel on top.
Notes
Let the tangzhong cool. Allow it to cool until it is lukewarm before adding it to the dough. If it is too hot, it could damage the yeast.
Expect a slightly tacky dough. The dough should feel soft and a little sticky but should pull away from the sides of the bowl. Avoid adding extra flour unless it is truly wet and unmanageable.
Watch the dough, not the clock. Rising times can vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen. The dough should roughly double during the first rise, and the shaped rolls should look noticeably puffy after the second.
Cook excess moisture out of the apples. The apple filling should be thick rather than watery. Too much liquid can leak from the rolls and make the centers soggy.
Frost them while they’re warm, not piping hot. Let the rolls cool for 10–15 minutes so the cream cheese frosting softens and settles over the tops without completely melting.