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!

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: I love a basic cinnamon roll like these Cinnamon Swirls, 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

👩‍🍳 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!

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