These soft and gooey, sticky Apple Cinnamon Rolls are filled with a delicious cinnamon-apple filling and topped with a brown sugar icing glaze.
They're the perfect breakfast treat, or a decadent dessert any morning or coffee break.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
The fresh smell of cinnamon rolls baking in the oven is intoxicating. And when those rolls are filled with sweet, juicy apples, it's even better. Our Apple cinnamon rolls recipe is the perfect fall treat, and they're easy to make at home.
- Delicious. Incredibly delicious and flavorful, the aroma of apple cinnamon is sure to impress your family while these rolls are baking.
- Relatively easy to make. Even if you're not a seasoned baker, you can still make these delicious treats. Our step by step tutorial makes it easy to follow along and make them right, the very first time.
- Versatile. Wonderful any time, cinnamon rolls can be served for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Apple Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients
- How To Make Cinnamon Rolls with Fresh Apples
- Kelly's Recipe Notes
- Tips for Success
- Substitutions and Variations
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage and Reheating
- Related Recipes
- Equipment
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Delish Recipes
- Sticky Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Apple Cinnamon Rolls Ingredients
This recipe is for the best apple cinnamon rolls you'll ever eat. I'll also include tips for making them perfectly, as well as some variations and substitutions you can try also.
Cinnamon Rolls Dough
- Dry yeast - You can use dry active yeast or dry instant yeast, which ever you have on hand. Use the same amount for either.
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil - Vegetable oil in the dough helps create a more tender sweet bread dough.
- Milk - Warmed to 100 to 115 degrees F.
- Egg
- Vanilla extract
- Flour - Bread flour is better than all purpose flour for this recipe.
- Salt
Homemade Cinnamon Apple Filling
Homemade cinnamon apple pie filling that gets spread out on the dough before rolling them up and slicing is one of the secrets to making these sweet rolls. The other secret is the brown sugar icing glaze!
- Butter
- Cinnamon - When baking, Ceylon cinnamon is sweeter than Saigon cinnamon.
- Nutmeg
- Brown sugar
- Walnuts or Pecans - Coarsely chopped.
- Apples - Peeled, cored, and diced small.
Brown Sugar Glaze
- Butter
- Cream
- Brown Sugar - Dark or light.
- Vanilla extract - Maple extract is another delicious option!
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make Cinnamon Rolls with Fresh Apples
Here's a step-by-step guide on how to make apple cinnamon rolls and the brown sugar icing glaze:
Prepare The Cinnamon Roll Dough
- In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar for the cinnamon roll dough. Let stand for 5 minutes, until the surface foamy.
- Stir in the egg, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Gradually add the flour, mixing until a soft dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.
Prepare The Apple Cinnamon Filling
- While the cinnamon roll dough is rising, prepare the apples for the filling. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chopped walnuts together in a bowl. Wash, peel, core, and dice the apples up small.
Make The Apple Cinnamon Rolls
- Once the cinnamon roll dough has risen, punch it down and roll it out into a 14 x 20 inch rectangle and brush with the melted butter.
- Spread the cinnamon sugar and walnut mixture evenly over the dough.
- Spread the diced apples and nut filling evenly over the dough.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough up tightly, and slice the long cinnamon roll log into 12 equal width cinnamon roll slices.
Bake Apple Cinnamon Sweet Rolls Until Golden Brown
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish with shortening, butter, or non stick baking spray.
- Place the cinnamon roll slices in the prepared 9 x 13 inch baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let them double in size.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls with apple and nut filling for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly before glazing. Don't over bake!
Optional Brown Sugar Icing Glaze
To make the optional brown sugar Icing, simply melt the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a small sauce pan, or the microwave.
When the brown sugar is melted, stir well and drizzle over the warm baked apple cinnamon rolls.
Kelly's Recipe Notes
I use chopped pecans when making these apple cinnamon rolls. Mostly because I get an allergic reaction when eating walnuts. But, also because I LIKE them better too.
If you use the suggested bread flour, you'll be AMAZED at the difference in the dough! The rolls won't dry out as quickly, but even better, they are fluffier and more tender.
The secret to perfect cinnamon rolls is to make them with bread flour instead of all purpose flour, because it makes cinnamon rolls taste like they came from a bakery! Just make sure to not over bake the cinnamon rolls also.
Tips for Success
- Make sure to use warm water when proofing the yeast for the dough. This will help the yeast activate and the dough rise properly.
- For extra fluffy cinnamon rolls, use bread flour instead of all purpose flour when making the cinnamon roll dough.
- Let the cinnamon rolls rise in a warm place, but not too hot. A warm oven turned off works well.
- Don't over bake the cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls should be golden brown, but not too dark.
- You can use any chopped nuts instead of walnuts for the nut filling.
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few substitutions and variations making this cinnamon rolls recipe:
Instead of using active dry yeast, you can use instant yeast. Use the same amount.
If you don't have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated sugar.
If you don't have any cinnamon, you can use another spice for the cinnamon filling such as apple pie or pumpkin pie spice, or even ground cardamom.
To make a different flavor of frosting, add 1 teaspoon of almond or maple extract.
A fast alternative to make this apple cinnamon roll recipe, is to buy frozen bread dough and a can of apple pie filling. The cinnamon roll dough won't be as sweet, but the apple pie filling with make up for that!
Serving Suggestions
Apple Cinnamon rolls are best served warm and fresh out of the oven. You can top these chopped walnut and apples filled cinnamon rolls with your favorite frosting, such as our recipes for Easy Cream Cheese Frosting or Cream Cheese without Butter.
And, of course any cinnamon rolls go great with hot coffee, tea, or hot chocolate!
Storage and Reheating
- These cinnamon apple rolls can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
- You can also freeze cinnamon rolls for up to 2 months. Thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To reheat, bake covered at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes, or until heated through.
Related Recipes
- Apple Pie Spice Substitute Recipe
- Instant Pot Apple Blueberry Crumble
- Cream Cheese Frosting Without Butter
- Spooky Candy Apple Slices
- TikTok Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Below are some of my favorite pieces of equipment I like when I bake this cinnamon apple rolls recipe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When they are slightly warm, slather on some cream cheese frosting. Then, when cool, add a second frosting coating.
To prevent your cinnamon rolls from getting dry, make sure you don't over bake them. They should be golden brown, but not too dark. Also, bread flour makes fluffier, softer cinnamon rolls than all purpose flour.
More Delish Recipes
Sticky Apple Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup Milk warmed
- 2¼ teaspoon Dry yeast 1 envelope
- 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
- 1 Egg
- 6 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2¾ cup Flour plus extra for kneading
Filling
- ½ cup Brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 cup Walnuts chopped
- 3 medium Apples peeled, cored, and diced
- 3 tablespoon Butter melted
Brown Sugar Glaze
- 3 tablespoon Butter
- 2 tablespoon Cream
- ⅓ Brown sugar light or dark
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes, until the surface is foamy.1 cup Milk, 2¼ teaspoon Dry yeast, 1 tablespoon Brown sugar
- Stir in the egg, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and salt. Gradually add the flour, mixing until a soft dough forms.1 Egg, 6 tablespoon Vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon Salt, 2¾ cup Flour
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Prepare Apple Filling
- While the dough is rising, prepare the apple filling. In a medium bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chopped walnuts. Wash, peel, core, and dice the apples small.½ cup Brown sugar, 2 teaspoon Cinnamon, ½ teaspoon Nutmeg, 1 cup Walnuts, 3 medium Apples
Assemble Cinnamon Rolls
- Once the cinnamon roll dough has risen, punch it down and roll the dough out into a 14 x 20 inch rectangle and brush with the melted butter.3 tablespoon Butter
- Spread the cinnamon sugar and walnut filling mixture evenly over the dough. Spread the diced apple filling evenly over the cinnamon walnut covered dough.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough up tightly, and the slice the dough roll into 12 equal cinnamon roll slices.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare a 9 x 13 inch baking pan or casserole dish with shortening, butter, or non stick baking spray.
- Place the cinnamon rolls in the prepared 9 x 13 inch baking pan, cover with plastic wrap, and let double in size.
- Bake the cinnamon rolls with apple and nut filling for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool slightly before frosting with the warm brown sugar glaze.
Brown Sugar Glaze
- To make the brown sugar icing glaze, simply melt the butter, cream, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in a small saucepan, or the microwave. When the brown sugar is melted, drizzle over the apple rolls.3 tablespoon Butter, 2 tablespoon Cream, ⅓ Brown sugar, ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
Notes
- Make sure to use warm water when proofing the yeast. This will help the yeast activate and the dough rise properly.
- Let the dough rise in a warm place, but not too hot. A warm oven turned off works well.
- Don't over bake. The rolls should be golden brown, but not too dark.
- The secret to perfect cinnamon rolls is to make them with bread flour instead of all purpose flour.
Minakshi Dabhi
beautiful recipe thank you so much for sharing your recipe ❤️