Thursday, January 2, 2025
HomeHealthy FoodApple Cinnamon Rolls - With Cream Cheese Frosting!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls – With Cream Cheese Frosting!


These frosted homemade apple cinnamon rolls are soft, sweet, fluffy, and delicious for breakfast or dessert!

Apple Raisin Breakfast Roll
pin-it

Easy apple cinnamon rolls

Imagine a warm, gooey Cinnabon stuffed with apple pie filling in each irresistible bite.

I made a batch of these cream cheese frosted apple rolls for my family over the holidays, and they were a huge hit.

The cinnamon rolls are surprisingly healthy, at just 100 calories each!

And the best part of the recipe is how surprisingly easy it is to make, with just seven ingredients and no yeast proofing required.

Also try these Baked Apple Cider Donuts

Apple Pie Cinnamon Roll Filling

Ingredients

The apple cinnamon roll recipe calls for diced apples, ground cinnamon, sweetener of choice, raisins, salt, optional butter or oil, and pizza dough.

Apples – You need a cup of finely diced apples, and these can be from almost any variety of apple. Remove the peels if you wish, or leave them on for more fiber.

I like Fuji, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, or Gala apples. The only type I recommend against is Red Delicious, because they tend to turn mushy when baked.

Cinnamon – Add a full tablespoon of high quality ground cinnamon to the filling for that classic spicy cinnamon flavor.

If you want to spice things up (literally), feel free to also throw in a pinch each of ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.

Raisins – A third cup of raisins gives depth of flavor and additional sweetness to the buns without extra sugar.

For those who are not raisin fans, you may leave them out and increase the sugar by three tablespoons. Or substitute the raisins for a similar dried fruit, such as sweetened cranberries or chopped dried figs or dates.

Sugar – You can use traditional white sugar, brown sugar, or unrefined coconut sugar.

If you want apple rolls with no sugar added, swap out the sugar for an equal amount of xylitol or a granulated stevia baking blend or monk fruit erythritol blend.

Using pure maple syrup or honey will yield sticky unbaked rolls that are incredibly messy and difficult to roll up. So I recommend against these sweeteners here.

Caramels – Easily turn the recipe into caramel apple rolls by stirring a handful of diced caramels into the filling.

Other ingredients – Optional butter adds richness to the flavor. You can substitute applesauce or even mashed banana for fat free rolls.

For dairy free and vegan apple cinnamon rolls, use plant based butter or softened (not melted) coconut oil.

A little salt balances the sweetness of the apples. And I like to add a handful of walnuts or pecans for a fun crunchy texture.

Leftover apples? Make an Applesauce Cake

Apple Cinnamon Bun Ingredients

What type of dough?

My favorite time saving cinnamon roll baking trick is to buy premade bread dough or pizza dough at the store.

Look for white or whole wheat packaged pizza dough in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores, including Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Safeway.

Tip: Your local pizza place also often sells premade dough. While vegans should always check the ingredients to make sure, this dough is often egg free and plant based.

For gluten free apple cinnamon buns, look for Wholly Wholesome gluten free dough or make your own from scratch.

If you cannot find pizza dough, try adding the apple filling to puff pastry or crescent roll dough instead. The results are not quite cinnamon rolls, but they are still tasty!

Apple cinnamon roll recipe video

Watch the full recipe video – above.

How to make apple pie cinnamon rolls

Start by finely dicing your apples, discarding the cores and seeds.

Using a rolling pin and a clean floured surface, roll the dough out into a thin rectangle.

If the dough is sticking to the rolling pin, add just a little more flour (any flour works here, including coconut flour).

Continue to roll until the rectangle is under a fourth of an inch thick.

Gather your remaining ingredients. The butter or coconut oil should be similar in texture to creamy peanut butter. You want it softened, not rock hard or liquid.

Combine the apples, raisins, butter or applesauce, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and optional walnuts in a medium mixing bowl. This will be your cinnamon apple roll filling.

Spread the cinnamon filling evenly on top of the dough. Then use a sharp knife to carefully cut into long strips. Roll each strip up as tightly as you can.

Arrange the apple pastries in a greased baking pan.

Now preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Once preheated, place the pan on the center rack and bake for twenty minutes or until the dough is fully cooked and the natural sugars in the apples have browned and caramelized.

Gently pull apart the rolls with your hands or a knife. Frost with your favorite cinnamon roll glaze, store bought Pillsbury vanilla frosting, or the cream cheese frosting below.

Cream Cheese Frosted Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Homemade cream cheese frosting

Here is my favorite basic cinnamon roll icing recipe, which can be both vegan and sugar free if you wish.

First bring 8 ounces each of cream cheese or plant based cream cheese and butter or vegan butter to room temperature.

In a stand mixer, or with hand beaters and a deep bowl, beat with 2 cups of powdered sugar or powdered erythritol and 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Continue mixing until you achieve a thick frosting texture. If too thick, slowly add a little milk of choice or water as needed to thin it out.

Swirl the cream cheese frosting onto hot or cold cinnamon rolls, and enjoy!

Use extra icing to top a Vanilla Mug Cake

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Cake Rolls
  • 16 oz pizza dough (see above for options)
  • 1 cup finely diced apples
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • 3 tbsp butter or coconut oil or applesauce
  • 6 tbsp sugar or granulated sweetener
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 handful walnuts (optional)
  • To make apple cinnamon rolls, start by rolling out the dough on a floured surface. Any flour is fine here. If the dough is too sticky, slowly add a little more flour. Roll out the rectangle as thin as you can. It should be under a fourth of an inch thick. Start with softened (not melted) butter or oil. Combine it with the diced apples, raisins, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and optional walnuts. Spread this filling evenly over the rolled out dough. Cut into thin, long strips. Roll up tightly, and arrange the unbaked cinnamon buns in a greased baking pan. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake 20 minutes or until fully cooked with caramelized apples and sugar. If you wish to ice the apple pastries, I’ve included my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe above.View Nutrition Facts
Readers also really love this cinnamon swirled Apple Bread.
 

More Comfort Food Breakfast Recipes

The Best Easy Healthy Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce Muffins

2 Ingredient Bagels

The Best Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donut Recipe

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Donuts

Chocolate Overnight Oats

Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

The Best Creamy Vegan Hot Chocolate

Vegan Hot Chocolate

Vegan Oatmeal Muffins In A Muffin Tin

Oatmeal Muffins

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Recent Comments