In case you hadn’t guessed, I am still buried under bushels of apples. It’s been a crazy year for them – I haven’t harvested and processed this many apples in a very long time! I’ve been trying to come up with as many ways as possible to use them up. And as much as I enjoy baking from scratch, when I am staring down such a large quantity of ingredients it’s nice to take a few shortcuts!
I very often find good deals on refrigerated doughs – things like crescent rolls and cinnamon rolls – by using a combination of sale prices and coupons, so I usually have a tube or two of something on hand. This time around I had some cinnamon rolls in the fridge and I thought, “oh my goodness, apple cinnamon rolls sound amazing!” …And I was right!
Ingredients:
- Refrigerated cinnamon rolls
- Applesauce
You will also need cupcake tins and paper liners.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.
Open cinnamon rolls and gently press a roll, cinnamon-side-up, into each cupcake liner. It should be all the way to the bottom of the liner.
Spoon a small amount of applesauce (about 1 1/2 tsp.) onto the top of each roll. You want to use enough applesauce that you get a good apple-y flavor, but not too much or you run the risk of making the top of the rolls soggy. Spread the applesauce into a thin, even layer over the roll.
I used homemade applesauce, of course, with lots of little chunks left in it. I really think the chunkiness made them even better!
Place in oven and bake about 15 minutes. Upon removal, let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
If your cinnamon rolls include icing or frosting, go ahead and add it now. The rolls I used had classic icing, but in hindsight I wish I had bought ones that came with caramel to drizzle over them. (Caramel apple cinnamon rolls? That’s taking it to a whole ‘nother level!)
Grab a fork and prepare to have your taste buds be amazed!
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