Soft Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

These incredibly soft Apple Cinnamon Rolls can be prepped the night before and then baked in just 25 minutes. They’re soft and fluffy on the inside, with a sweet apple filling that adds just the right amount of warmth. The tender yeast dough, topped with a rich cream cheese frosting, melts in your mouth, making these rolls a cozy treat that’s perfect for any occasion.

Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Yeast Rolls With Apple Filling

Warm cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven are already a treat, but add tender apples and a tangy cream cheese frosting and you’ve got something unforgettable. These apple cinnamon rolls can be prepped the night before and baked in the morning

There are recipes you make once and forget, and then there are the ones that turn into family traditions. For me, cinnamon rolls fall firmly into that second camp.

My mom made them every Thanksgiving and Christmas morning, and to this day, the smell of cinnamon and yeast rising in the kitchen feels like home. These apple cinnamon rolls are my version, soft, gooey, and filled with warm spiced apples.

This recipe uses a yeast dough combined with eggs, sturdy enough to hold the apple-pecan mixture yet still incredibly soft and tender. As they bake, the rolls puff up beautifully.

The apples are first lightly cooked in a skillet to soften before adding to the rolled out dough. This is the same technique I use when making cinnamon apple cookies. A handful of chopped pecans adds a nutty crunch, though you could easily swap them out for walnuts.

The apple mixture when combined with melted butter and brown sugar infuses the dough with flavor and keeps it from drying out, jsut like applesauce does to this incredibly moist bundt cake. ensuring every bite is moist and flavorful.

Adding cream cheese to breakfast treats is one of life’s little pleasures, especially on top of a breakfast cinnamon bread or inside an almond streusel coffee cake where it cuts the sweetness and adds richness. While these cinnamon rolls are fantastic with a little butter on top, a cream cheese frosting adds a sweet tangy contrast to the apple filling.

An alternative to this basic cream cheese frosting that also works great with the apple filling, is a creamy caramel frosting or caramel sauce like I use for gooey caramel rolls. The caramel takes a little longer to make but they are both fantastic alternatives.

You Probably Have Everything in Your Pantry

You don’t need much to make these, but here are the essentials:

• Apples (any good baking variety works—Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Fuji)
  
• Yeast (instant or active, whichever you’ve got)
  
• Cream cheese (for that dreamy frosting)
  

The rest of the ingredients, sugars, butter, eggs, flour, are in the recipe card below with the exact amounts.

How These Rolls Come Together

Step One: Prep the Dough

Step Two: Combine

Mix the warm milk mixture with the flour and yeast mixture. Add in eggs until a dough forms.

Step Three: Rise

Let it rise until doubled in size. A hole poked in the middle with your finger will not disappear.

Step Four: Prep The Filling

Step Five: Fill the Dough

Step Six: Roll, Cut, and Rise

Step Seven: Bake And Frost

Make-Ahead Magic

This is my favorite trick: assemble the rolls the night before and refrigerate. The next morning, let them warm up on the counter while you preheat the oven. They’ll bake up just as fluffy as if you’d made them fresh. You can also freeze extras, frosted or unfrosted, and reheat later.

I love adding these to a bigger spread alongside brunch favorites like prosciutto egg cups or even classic sausage cheese balls. But honestly, they hold their own just fine with nothing more than a hot mug of tea.

Soft Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

These incredibly soft Apple Cinnamon Rolls can be prepped the night before and then baked in just 25 minutes. They're soft and fluffy on the inside, with a sweet apple filling that adds just the right amount of warmth. The tender yeast dough, topped with a rich cream cheese frosting, melts in your mouth, making these rolls a cozy treat that's perfect for any occasion.

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Prep Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 2 hours hours 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 497kcal

Author: Barbara Curry

Ingredients

Dough

• 5 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons yeast there are 2 ¼ teaspoons in a packet of yeast
• ⅓ cup butter room temperature
• 1 ¼ cup whole milk
• ⅓ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs

Filling

• ½ cup butter plus 1 tablespoon softened, divided
• 2 large apples peeled and diced
• ½ cup raisins
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• ½ cup pecans chopped

Frosting

• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

Dough

• Add the flour and yeast to a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• In a microwave safe bowl or large measuring cup, melt ⅓ cup butter, then add milk and salt and microwave until warmed and the sugar has dissolved, about 30 seconds. It should be lukewarm. If not, let it cool until it is just warm and not hot.
• Add the warm milk mixture to the flour and yeast and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add eggs and mix for 5-7 minutes until the dough has come together. It will be slightly sticky but you should be able to handle it without the dough sticking to your fingers. If it is too sticky, add a little more flour. Place in a lightly buttered bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about 60-90 minutes.
• While it is rising, prepare the filling.
• Add 1 tablespoon of butter to a skillet and heat over medium high. Add diced apples, raisins, and brown sugar and cook until the apples are softened but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl and let cool.
• Punch down the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle about 18 x 12 inches and about ½ inch thick.
• Spread ½ cup of softened butter over the dough. Evenly sprinkle sugar over the butter and then cinnamon. Add the apple mixture spreading it out evenly then sprinkle with pecans.
• Carefully roll the dough into a tight log shape. Use a serrated knife to cut the dough into 2 inch slices. You should have about 12 rolls.
• Place in a lightly buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350º. Place a flat baking sheet under your pan to catch any drips and bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are golden brown and the center rolls are cooked through and no longer doughy.
• Frosting: In a small bowl add the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add milk to get the desired thickness.

Notes

• You can use instant yeast in this recipe
• For a warm place for the dough to rise, try heating up a measuring cup of water in the microwave. Then add the dough to the warm microwave with the water and shut the door. It will create a warm humid environment that yeast dough loves. 
• You can make these without the apple mixture if you just want plain cinnamon rolls.

Nutrition

Calories: 497kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 76mg | Iron: 3mg

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