Apple Crumble Cinnamon Rolls

A cinnamon roll on a white plate with a forkful from it. You can see the apple filling inside.

Apple crumble cinnamon rolls combine two classic desserts in one. Flavorful apples and cinnamon take center stage in these gooey and soft rolls. You’ll have pieces of cinnamon fried apples baked inside the buttery cinnamon roll dough, plus a cream cheese frosting and sugary crumb streusel on top. They are the perfect start to your fall baking!

Course Dessert

Cuisine North American

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 45

Proofing time 1 30

Servings servings

Calories 656kcal

Author Nina

Equipment

one 9x13" baking pan

Ingredients

Cinnamon Roll Dough

1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 cup whole milk warm
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
4-5½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

Apple Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar packed
6 apples mix of sweet and tart, peeled and chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling

¼ cup unsalted butter melted slightly
½ cup light brown sugar packed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar

Crumble

½ cup all purpose flour
⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup unsalted butter melted

Instructions

Cinnamon Roll Dough

Place yeast, sugar and warm milk in a large bowl. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until it starts bubbling. Add eggs and melted butter and stir to combine.
Add 4 cups of flour and salt and mix until combined. Add in remaining flour, a ¼ cup at a time, until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. It may stick a bit to the bottom of the bowl and that is okay.
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and place in a warm environment until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Apple Filling

Place butter and both sugars in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Heat until everything is melted, and then add in chopped apples, salt and cinnamon.
Cook until apples are softened, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Let cool slightly while you prepare the cinnamon rolls.

Filling

Grease a 9x13" baking pan with butter. Set aside.
Place risen dough onto a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 15x20 inches.
Spread very softened butter over the dough, and then sprinkle sugar and cinnamon overtop. Spoon apple filling over the dough next, making sure to it is evenly spread over top of the dough.
Roll the dough starting at the long side of the rectangle. Cut the dough into 12 rolls and place them into the prepared baking dish.
If you are baking right away, preheat oven to 350°F(177°C). Cover the cinnamon rolls with plastic wrap and place in a warm environment until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 30-35 minutes, or until the middle of the cinnamon rolls reach 190°F (88°C) . If the tops of the rolls are browning too quickly, lightly cover them with aluminum foil.
For overnight cinnamon rolls, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator until morning. The next day, let the cinnamon rolls come to room temperature and then double in size. This can take a few hours. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 30-35 minutes, or until the middle of the cinnamon rolls reach 190°F (88°C) . If the tops of the rolls are browning too quickly, lightly cover them with aluminum foil.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add In powdered sugar and mix until combined. Spread the topping over the tops of cinnamon rolls

Crumble

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add in melted butter and mix until flour mixture is just incorporated.
Turn out crumble mixture to prepared baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, breaking up the crumble with a spoon half way through. Bake until the crumble has hardened slightly. Be careful not to burn it.
Let cool for 10 minutes and then decorate the tops of cinnamon rolls with crumble. Store cinnamon rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Notes

The amount of flour needed for a dough depends largely on how humid your environment is. I recommend starting with 4 cups of flour and increase the flour by ¼ cup until the dough comes is not sticking to the sides of the bowl if using a stand mixer.

Use a serrated knife or some plain dental floss (not mint or any other flavour) to cut the cinnamon rolls.

Make these as overnight cinnamon rolls, or make them all in one day. Either way is fine!

Cream cheese frosting is the best topping for cinnamon rolls in my opinion. If you don't like cream cheese frosting, use an icing glaze and pour over the rolls. Make icing glaze by mixing 2 cups of powdered sugar and 4-5 tablespoons of milk together.

Nutrition