Ingredients

• ¼ cup warm water
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 packet (2¼ tsp) instant dry yeast
• 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• ½ cup milk of choice (unsweetened if non-dairy)
• 1 large egg

Apple Pie Filling

• 2 large apples, peeled and diced (we like Honeycrisp or Pink Lady)
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp milk of choice (unsweetened if non-dairy)

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together warm water, brown sugar, and yeast. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to activate. You will know your yeast is activated when little bubbles appear on the surface of the mixture.
2. In a separate large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, salt, butter, milk, and egg.
3. Once yeast is activated, add to the other ingredients and stir until a dough forms.
4. Cover a clean, flat surface with flour, and knead the dough for 3 minutes. Dough will be sticky, so continue to add flour to your hands and the surface as needed.
5. Return dough to the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel to rise for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the filling.

Apple Pie Filling

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use a whisk or hand mixer to cream together butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
2. Fold diced apples into butter/sugar/cinnamon mixture and stir until evenly coated.
3. Once dough has doubled in size, add more flour to your work surface and use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out into a rectangle, about 9 in. x 12 in.
4. Pour apple pie filling onto the dough and use a spatula to spread it out evenly over the surface, leaving about ½ in. border on all sides.
5. Working from the shorter side, use two hands to tightly roll the dough away from you, until you’re left with a cylinder, about 12 in. long.
6. Slice the cylinder into 6 equal parts, about 2 in. wide each, to create 6 individual cinnamon rolls.
7. Add the cinnamon rolls to 9 in. x 13 in. baking dish, leaving about an inch in between each roll.
8. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow the rolls to rest for about 90 minutes or until they double in size. Note: You will notice some liquid in your pan from the juice in the apples, but that’s okay! It will add moisture to your cinnamon rolls.
9. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the tops of the rolls are golden brown.

Icing

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
2. While whisking, slowly pour in milk until a thick glaze forms. You want it to easily run off of the whisk without being too thin. You may not need all 3 Tbsp of milk to reach the right consistency.
3. Cool cinnamon rolls in the baking dish for 10 minutes before topping with icing.