Julie Clark
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Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
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This cinnamon roll apple pie combines homemade apple pie wth a buttery, cinnamon sugar swirl pie crust. It’s a beautiful twist on classic apple pie for Thanksgiving, Christmas or fall baking.
The secret is cooking apples before assembling the pie. This ensures that the pie filling has tender apples and creates a syrupy filling as the pie sets. The cinnamon roll crust is an extra step, but the pretty swirls on top make it worth it!
About this cinnamon roll apple pie recipe:
- Flavor: This recipe is full of the apple pie. And I love making apple pie with nutmeg, so you’ll get that hint of extra warmth from the nutmeg.
- Texture: Tender, pre-cooked apples (similar to our fried apple recipe), with the flaky pie crust.
- Method: Homemade pie dough is rolled with cinnamon sugar, sliced into spirals and pressed into a 9-inch pie plate. The same cinnamon swirls make the decorative top a cinnamon roll pie crust.
You may also love our apple pie filling with cinnamon roll dough and apple pie cinnamon rolls with streusel.
What readers are saying:
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Sheila says, “This is a KEEPER! When I made it, I didn’t use the full 2 teaspoons of cinnamon–thought that might be too much–but then when my adult daughter was eating her slice, she commented, “Next time, add more cinnamon!” so I think you were right in the first place! My family didn’t want to wait until it cooled and thought it was a bit runny, but then when the rest of the pie cooled, the texture was perfect, so again, I think you were right in the first place when you said to let it completely cool first.”
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Barbara says, “This is a joy to make. A lot of hard work. But everyone loves it and it looks divine. Thank you for sharing this recipe.”
What are the best apples for pie?
This apple pie recipe is loaded with 8 large apples. How do you know which kind to buy? You want an apple that is not overly sweet and won’t turn to mush when baking.
Here are great options:
- Granny Smiths are a classic apple pie apple. They are tart and have a firm flesh.
- Honeycrisp add a little sweetness to pie.
- Jonathan, Winesap and Braeburn are also great choices that you should be able to find in your grocery store.
Should I cook apples before making pie?
Soft apples are a must in apple pie. Before making pie, cook the apples first in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Combine the apples, flour (for thickening), sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice.
- Cook these over medium low heat until the apples start to soften which will be about 10-15 minutes. Stir the apples often so that the sugar doesn’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
This will create a nice, syrupy homemade apple pie filling that you can pour into your pie shell. And your apple pie won’t have crunchy apples!
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Crust
There are important hints in our post about making homemade pie dough you’ll want to read through to get the perfect textured crust.
One hint? Keep pie dough ingredients as cold as possible for the flakiest crust.
One you get the pie dough mixed up, here’s what you do:
- Using a rolling pin, roll out one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle. The dough should be about the thickness of a regular pie dough. Spread a light coating of butter all over the pie crust. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
- Starting with the long end, roll up the dough jelly roll style, as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Roll the dough tightly. Use a sharp knife or pastry cutter to cut the dough into slices about 1/4-1/2″ thick.
- Press the cinnamon rolls flat side down into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie pan. Overlap and press the edges together to seal the crust.
- Pour the warm apple mixture into the pie plate. Press down on the apples so that they lay flat and don’t have much space between them. This gives a nice, thick pie! Dot the top of the apples with the butter.
- Once you’ve filled the pie, use the remaining cinnamon pie dough slices to place on top of the apple pie. There’s no need to roll these out. Just place them on top to cover all of the filling.
- Bake at 425ºF for 40 minutes. Place foil over the edges of the pie if they are getting too brown during baking.
Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
What's better than traditional apple pie? Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie! Tips for making the best apple pie cinnamon roll crust.
Servings 8
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 3 cups pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup cold butter
- 1/2 cup ice cold water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
For the cinnamon filling:
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
For the apple filling:
- 8 large apples (about 8-10 cups of apple slices or at least 4 pounds)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
For the top of the pie:
- 2 tablespoons 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
Instructions
Make the pie dough:
- Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 3 cups pastry flour, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ cup shortening, ½ cup cold butter
- Whisk the water and vinegar together in a cup. Add the mixture to the crumbs. Mix together just until the dough is combined and handles well. ½ cup ice cold water, 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Sprinkle flour on the counter before rolling out the dough. Split the dough into two chunks.
- Roll out one piece of dough on a floured surface into a rectangle. The dough should be about the thickness of a regular pie dough.
- Spread a light coating of butter all over the pie crust. Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. ¼ cup salted butter, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- Starting with the long end, roll up the dough jelly roll style, as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Roll the dough tightly.
- Once the dough is rolled, use a sharp knife or pastry cutter to cut the dough into slices about 1/4-1/2″ thick.
- Press the cinnamon rolls flat side down into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Overlap and press the edges together to seal the crust.
- Roll out the other half of the dough, spread it with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, rollup jelly roll style and slice into 1/4" thick slices just as with the other crust. Set aside while you make the apple pie filling.
Make the pie filling:
- Peel, core and slice the apples thinly. 8 large apples
- Place them in a large saucepan. Sprinkle the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon juice over the apples. Cook over medium low heat just until the apples start to soften, about 10-15 minutes. Stir several times during cooking. ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, Juice of half a lemon
- Pour the warm apple mixture into the pie plate. Press down on the apples so that they lay flat and don’t have much space between them. This gives a nice, thick pie! Dot the top of the apples with the butter. 2 tablespoons salted butter
- Place the cinnamon roll slices overtop the fruit filling. Don't worry about sealing the crust, but simply place the slices overtop in a pretty arrangement.
- Use a pastry brush to brush milk overtop the pie crust, which will give the crust a shine. Sprinkle coarse sugar on top of the pie crust. 2 tablespoons 2% milk, 2 tablespoons coarse sugar
- Bake at 425°F for about 40 minutes, or until the cinnamon roll crust is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling in the gaps between the swirls. Test the apples with a thin knife. They should be tender with little resistance. If the crust browns too quickly, loosely cover the edges with foil.
- Allow the pie to cool to room temperature before slicing so the filling has time to thicken and set.
Notes
- For a shortcut, use 2 cans canned apple pie filling.
- Baking tip: Look for bubbling filling, not just a golden crust. The cinnamon sugar can brown before the pie is completely baked.
Nutrition
Calories: 589kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 422mg | Potassium: 363mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 540IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg
Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie Toppings
- Apple pie a la mode is a fancy way of saying apple pie with vanilla ice cream! We like to serve our pie warm so the ice cream melts in a little bit. Highly recommend. 😋
- Cinnamon rolls are known for the pretty cream cheese icing on top. If you’re looking to add a drizzle to the top of the pie, make our cream cheese frosting or powdered sugar glaze. Add vanilla extract or maple extract to the glaze.
Can you freeze cinnamon roll apple pie?
Yes! You can freeze apple pie either baked or unbaked. Here are a few hints:
- Wrap your pie in several layers of plastic wrap, then wrap in foil wrap on the outside.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Bake a frozen pie as the original recipe calls for, but you’ll have to add 30-40 minutes extra time to bake through since it is frozen. (Be sure to remove freezer wrappings first!)
- If your frozen pie is already baked, defrost it in the fridge overnight or on your counter for about 3 hours. Then warm it in a 375º oven until it is the temperature you’d like it. This will take anywhere from 15-25 minutes. If you want to be sure the crust doesn’t get any more brown, place a piece of foil over the top of the pie while warming.
Storage Instructions
You can store apple pie at room temperature for 2 days, then refrigerate.
After you cut it, be sure to cover it loosely with foil or plastic wrap. Or keep it in a pie storage container. This one holds 2 pie pans.
You may also love our apple cinnamon rolls with apple butter, apple butter pie, apple streusel bread and cinnamon crunch bread.
Made for Thanksgiving this year and I loved this pie! Making it again for a friend’s Christmas party.