Apple Cinnamon Yeast Rolls

These apple cinnamon yeast rolls are the perfect Fall breakfast or brunch treat. A classic cinnamon roll dough with brown sugar, cinnamon, and diced apples. With step by step photos and tips for working with yeast, you will have these in the oven in no time!

When it comes to breakfast, I’m usually an egg sandwich kind of person. Very few things can steal me away from the salty goodness, especially if there is bacon. But a fresh hot cinnamon roll will do the trick.

Now throw in some chopped apples into the brown sugar cinnamon goodness and you know I’m skipping right past my usual go to breakfast.

If you have gone apple picking, and have a bushel of apples you’re not quite sure what to do with then I beg you to use a couple of them to make these apple cinnamon rolls.

Why This Recipe Works

• Make ahead of time by shaping and placing in your fridge overnight
• Real chunks of apples in the cinnamon filling
• Easy yeast dough you can make in your stand mixer

Ingredients Needed

• Milk – You want to use warm milk so it activates the yeast, and I recommend whole milk for the best texture.
• Instant Yeast – You can also use active dry yeast, but your rising times will be longer.
• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Sour cream
• Eggs
• All purpose flour
• Salt
• Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar but dark brown sugar can also be used. If you have run out, you can make your own homemade brown sugar.
• Ground cinnamon
• Apples – I love using Honey Crisp apples, or Granny Smith apples. Read more here about what apples are best for baking.
• Apple Cider – I used apple cider in the glaze but you can replace with apple juice, or even milk if need be. 
• Powdered Sugar – If you’ve run out read my tutorial on how to make homemade powdered sugar.

How To Make These Apple Cinnamon Rolls

Make the cinnamon rolls

Proof yeast. In your stand mixer, or large bowl, stir together the warmed milk, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast mixture becomes foamy and bubbly.

Make dough. In a bowl of your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add in the rest of the sugar, flour, salt, eggs, and butter and stir to combine until a shaggy dough comes together.

Knead the dough. Fit the mixer with a dough hook attachment, and knead at medium speed for 6-8 minutes. If the dough is super sticky, add additional flour a little at a time if needed. If you are kneading the dough by hand, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8-10 minutes by hand.

Dough will be sticky at first, and get less sticky as you knead, so I add extra flour a tablespoon at a time if needed. The dough should still be slightly sticky to the touch but feel smooth and elastic. Do not use more than 5 cups of flour and not overknead or your cinnamon rolls will become out dense and chewy!

Let the dough rise. Lightly grease a large bowl, and place dough into the bowl, turning once to coat. Cover the bowl and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If you’re using active dry yeast, the rise time will take longer.

Roll out the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll out the dough into a 18×12 inches rectangle.

Spread filling. Spread the dough with the softened, leaving about a ½-inch border at the top long edge.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the butter, pressing down lightly to adhere. Top evenly with the diced apples. 

Cut rolls. Starting on the long edge with filling, roll up the dough tightly into a log. Pinch the dough to seal. Using a serrated knife cut the log into 12 equal rolls. You can also cut the rolls using a piece of thread or unflavored dental floss,which I find gives the cleanest cuts. I place a long piece of thread underneath the dough, bring up the thread on each side, criss cross it, and then pull the thread through the dough so it cuts right through leaving the spiral intact.

Let rolls rise. Grease a 9”x13” baking dish with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Place rolls into pan spiral side up. Cover the baking dish and let rise in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes until the rolls are slightly puffy, and nearly doubled in size. If you used active dry yeast, the second rise time will be near 75 minutes.

Bake rolls. Near the end of the second rise time, position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Bake rolls in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then ice the rolls.

To Make The Apple Cider Glaze:

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, apple cider and cinnamon. If the glaze is too thick, thin it out with a bit more apple cider. If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.  Spread onto warm rolls.

Recipe Tips

• When proofing your yeast, make sure the milk temperature is between 105°F and 110°F. If the mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
• Measure your flour correctly. You can read the full tutorial on how to do that here. You also may not need to add all of the flour into the dough. So add the last 1/4 cup sparingly.
• Use your dough hook attachment to knead the dough. And to know if you have kneaded the dough long enough you want to use the windowpane test. Take a piece of the dough and stretch it. If it doesn’t break the dough and you create a windowpane of elastic dough that you can see through. You can read more about the windowpane test in my Ultimate Guide To Baking Bread At Home.
• Make sure to rest your dough covered and in a warm draft free place.
• When rolling out your dough, make sure to do so on a lightly floured work surface. I love using a pastry mat to roll out my dough. It has measurements on the side so that I know how big the rectangle is.
• To cut the rolls, use string! If you use a knife it will squish the beautiful spiral. If you use string (or unflavored dental floss) it will keep the spiral. Simply place the string under the roll and criss cross the string so it slices through the dough.

Recipe Variations

• Top with my cinnamon roll icing instead made with cream cheese!
• Top with cream cheese frosting instead of the apple cider glaze. Or try my cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
• Add a couple tablespoons of caramel sauce to the icing.
• Use apple pie spice instead of cinnamon.

Storage Instructions

These apple cinnamon rolls will last at room temperature for 2 days. Just make sure to keep them cover with plastic wrap or tin-foil. You can keep them in the fridge for up to a week. Again just make sure they are well covered!

After they are shaped and in the pan, you can freeze them before the second rise. You can also let the rolls rest in the fridge over night. Then when ready to bake, allow the rolls to rise at room temperature until puffy and touching. This will take longer than 30 minutes (allow up to an hour). Then bake and ice as normal!

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

Craving more apple desserts? Be sure to try my caramel apple blondies. They are super easy to make! Or my caramel apple cheesecake bars topped with caramel and a streusel.

If you’re craving more cinnamon rolls then be sure to try my sourdough cinnamon rolls made with active sourdough starter, these easy small batch cinnamon rolls, or chocolate cinnamon rolls topped with a chocolate cream cheese frosting!