These puff pastry cinnamon rolls are extra special with the addition of apples. And they are so easy to make using store-bought puff pastry dough!
With all the incredible patisseries and boulangeries in Paris, you may wonder why anyone bothers to bake at all. There are decadent pastries, cakes, and bonbons on almost every street corner. But, you can't beat the smell of fresh baked goods, and the joy of eating your creations when they’re just out of the oven. I guarantee these Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Apple will fill your house with incredible smells of baked apples, cinnamon, and browned butter. And you won’t have to spend all day in the kitchen to make them, I promise.
Why Make This Recipe
- Easy to Make: These cinnamon rolls actually come together quickly with the help of store-bought puff pastry. You start by cooking down some chopped apples. Then you roll out your puff pastry and spread it with softened butter, cinnamon-sugar, and the cooked apples. Roll up, slice, and bake.
- Classic with a Twist: Typical cinnamon rolls are absolutely delicious as-is, but this version adds cooked apples. The apples pair beautifully with the cinnamon, and help keep the pastry moist but still flaky.
- Only 5 Ingredients! With store-bought puff pastry dough, you just need apples, butter, cinnamon, and sugar to make this recipe.
🥗 Ingredients
- Apples: You can use whatever kind of apples you prefer for this recipe. I prefer apples that are a bit on the tart side, like Pink Lady or Honey Crisp apples. You might even try a Granny Smith with this recipe if you like the sweet-tart combination.
- Puff Pastry Dough: Look for this in the freezer section of your grocery store, near the pie crusts. Puff pastry dough that is sold in square or rectangular bricks (rather than round) is easiest to roll out for this recipe.
🥣 Instructions
First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius. Peel two large apples and chop into ¼ inch pieces. Combine apples with 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon sugar in a medium saucepan.
Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Apples should be entirely tender but still intact. Let cool. Meanwhile, combine cinnamon with ¼ cup of sugar. Roll your sheet of puff pastry into a 30 x 24 cm (12 x 9.5 inch) rectangle. Place pastry on cutting board. Spread with 6 tablespoons softened butter. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Spread cooked apples evenly across the pastry, and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Roll into a jelly roll shape, starting with one of the shorter ends. Put puff pastry roll into the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Then, cut into 1-inch slices.
Assemble on parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least an inch of space between each one. Bake for 25 minutes, then check to see if pastry is cooked through and golden brown. If not, bake for another 5 minutes, or until done.
Let cool on baking rack for 5 minutes. While rolls are baking, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl to create a glaze. Drizzle on apple cinnamon rolls, then serve.
🧐 FAQs
Yes, you can freeze these rolls either before or after baking. To freeze before baking, make the recipe up through slicing the individual rolls. Then place rolls on a parchment-lined large plate or small sheet pan and freeze until solid. Remove from parchment and store in a freezer-safe bag until ready to bake. You can bake straight from the freezer, though you may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Or, freeze baked (but unglazed!) cinnamon rolls. Reheat in the oven to crisp up!
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve carefully prepped a recipe’s ingredients and forgotten to defrost my puff pastry in advance. Luckily, puff pastry defrosts quickly. If you have several hours, the safest way to defrost your puff pastry is in the refrigerator. However, if you are short on time, I give you leave to put that puff pastry onto your lightly floured counter at room temperature. Turn it over at least once during the defrosting process. Check it every 5-10 minutes to see how it’s coming along, and use it before it gets too soft (see below).
👩🍳 Expert Tips
The key to working with puff pastry is not to let it become too soft. Soft puff is difficult to roll, and the butter within the dough begins to melt. (You want that butter not to melt until it hits the high heat of your oven, where it will steam and create all those delicious buttery layers.) The good news is that there is an easy fix if you have left your puff pastry out on the counter too long. Just pop it into the fridge until it is cold and carry on.
You may wonder what type of dough is traditionally used for a cinnamon roll. Typically, cinnamon rolls are made with a yeast-risen dough (not puff pastry). The process of rolling the dough, spreading with butter and cinnamon-sugar, rolling into a tube and slicing is the same. However, not only do you have to make the dough, but you have to wait for it to rise before you can roll it out, then wait for it to rise again to bake. Cinnamon rolls made this way are delicious, but much more time-consuming. With store-bought puff pastry, you can go straight from rolling out the dough to filling, rolling, slicing, and baking. The texture of your rolls will not be the same as with a yeast dough, but crispier and flakier, with caramelized edges.
Finally, make sure you have a high-quality baking sheet so that you get an even bake on all of your cinnamon rolls.
Other Delicious Dessert Recipes
If you enjoyed this Puff Pastry Cinnamon Roll recipe, you might also want to check out some other delicious Vanilla Bean Cuisine desserts:
- Cherry Danish with Puff Pastry
- Almond Flour Chocolate Cake
- Banana-Nutella Crepes
- Almond Flour Chocolate Cookies
- Peach Blueberry Crisp
- French Yogurt Cake with Almonds
- Mango Coconut Yogurt Parfait
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
Puff Pastry Cinnamon Rolls with Apple
These puff pastry cinnamon rolls are extra special with the addition of apples. And they are so easy to make using store-bought puff pastry dough!
Ingredients
- 2 large apples (14 ounces/400g)
- 6 T. butter (3 oz./85g), softened
- ¼ c. sugar (1.8 oz/52g), plus 1 T. sugar for cooking apples
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 rectangular sheet puff pastry (8.8oz/250g)
Topping
- ½ c. powdered sugar (2.2oz/62g)
- 1 T. milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit or 200 degrees Celsius.
- Peel apples and chop into ¼ inch pieces.
- Combine with 1 T. butter and 1 T. sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Apples should be entirely tender but still intact. Let cool.
- Meanwhile, combine cinnamon with remaining ¼ c. sugar.
- Roll puff pastry into a 30 x 24 cm (12 x 9.5 inch) rectangle.
- Place pastry on cutting board. Spread with softened butter.
- Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon-sugar mixture, then spread cooked apples evenly across the pastry.
- Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Roll into a jelly roll shape, starting with one of the shorter ends. Place roll in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to give the pastry dough time to firm up.
- Cut into 1-inch slices. Assemble on parchment paper-lined baking sheet with at least an inch of space between each one.
- Bake for 25 minutes, then check whether pastry is cooked through and golden brown. If not, bake for another 5 minutes.
- Let cool on baking rack for 5 minutes.
- While rolls are baking, stir together powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl to create a glaze.
- Drizzle on apple cinnamon rolls, then serve.
Notes
Expert Tip: The key to working with puff pastry is not to let it become too soft. Soft puff is difficult to roll, and the butter within the dough begins to melt. (You want that butter not to melt until it hits the high heat of your oven, where it will steam and create all those delicious buttery layers.) The good news is that there is an easy fix if you have left your puff pastry out on the counter too long. Just pop it into the fridge until it is cold and carry on.
Freezing Instructions: To freeze before baking, make the recipe up through slicing the individual rolls. Then place rolls on a parchment-lined large plate or small sheet pan and freeze until solid. Remove from parchment and store in a freezer-safe bag until ready to bake. You can bake straight from the freezer, though you may need to add a couple of minutes to the baking time. Or, freeze baked (but unglazed!) cinnamon rolls. Reheat in the oven to crisp up!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 198Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 23mgSodium: 80mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 1g
Nutrition information is provided as a general reference for users courtesy of the online nutrition calculator Nutritionix.
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls says
I can't believe how few ingredients are required, and I actually get a little weak in the knees just looking at these gorgeous cinnamon rolls. They're totally irresistible!
Josiah - DIY Thrill says
These cinnamon rolls look prefect!!
Chef Molly says
Thanks Josiah! I love these!
Amy says
Can I make them the night before and keep them in the fridge until morning and then bake?
Chef Molly says
Yes, definitely! Sorry I didn't see your comment earlier!
Janey says
These were absolutely delicious! Everyone in my family loved them 🙂
Chef Molly says
So glad to hear it! Thanks so much for letting me know. 😊