Apple Butter Cinnamon Rolls (No Knead, No Mixer)

All the goodness of flaky delicious crescent cinnamon rolls, but made with apple butter for an unbelievably delicious Fall twist on cinnamon rolls. The apple butter adds a rich, warm flavor to the filling, and the rolls are topped with an apple butter cream cheese icing that just makes them completely irresistible. They're a perfect Fall dessert and a crowd favorite for Thanksgiving!

These apple butter rolls are also naturally lighter in calories because apple butter replaces traditional butter. A delicious win-win!

Why we love this recipe

• The cinnamon apple butter filling is SO tasty. The cream cheese icing spiced with a little apple butter is SO good on top.
• Crescent roll dough is SUCH a time-saver for cinnamon rolls. No mixer, no need to measure flour, knead, or roll out dough. Just pop open a container and bake! If you prefer from-scratch apple butter rolls, go ahead and use your favorite cinnamon roll dough recipe, then substitute the filling using apple butter.
• These cinnamon rolls are so perfectly flaky and light on the inside, thanks to the crescent dough.
• Flavorful spiced apple butter replaces butter, so these are lighter in calories than my other cinnamon roll recipe.
• My shortcut for homemade apple butter is below in Kate's recipe tips.

Ingredients

For the rolls:

• 2 8-ounce packages Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (not cinnamon rolls). Use the Pillsbury brand. I tested this with a couple of store brands and the dough is just much harder to work with than Pillsbury.
• ¾-1 cup apple butter
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional, but highly recommended!)

For the cream cheese apple butter icing:

• 1 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• ¼ cup whipped cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons apple butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt

Equipment

• 8x8 inch baking dish
• Parchment paper
• Pizza cutter (or use a knife)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish. I rub a stick of butter on the inside.

On parchment paper, unroll the 2 packages of crescent rolls, lay them next to each other, and pinch all the seams together to make one large rectangular sheet of dough. It's okay if not all the seams are perfectly pinched.

Spread about ¾ cup apple butter all over the crescent roll dough, enough to cover the dough thinly. Make sure you get the edges too!

If you want your cinnamon rolls to be sweeter, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl until combined. Sprinkle the sugar over the apple butter. If you prefer a less-sweet cinnamon roll, skip the sugar and just sprinkle a tiny bit of cinnamon all over to add more flavor.

Measure out 8 notches that will be used to cut the dough into 9 equal strips, about 1.5 inches wide. Tip: the center line of the dough will be the center of the middle cinnamon roll, with 4 rolls on each side of the middle roll.

Use a pizza cutter (or a knife) to cut the dough into 9 strips about 1.5 inches wide.

Roll each strip into a tightly rolled cinnamon roll. If any of the dough seams start coming apart, just pinch it back together. It doesn't have to be perfectly pinched, but you want the rolls to not fall apart.

Place the 9 apple butter rolls into your greased 8x8-inch baking dish.

Bake at 350F for about 28 minutes, or until golden brown on top and fully cooked on the inside. (Yes, this is longer than the crescent dough packaging calls for because the apple butter rolls are thicker inside than crescent rolls).

While the apple butter rolls are baking, prepare the icing: combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well with a fork until all the sugar is absorbed and you have a smooth mixture. This takes a few minutes. If it's really dry, add a few drops of water or an extra teaspoon of apple butter.

When the apple butter cinnamon rolls are done baking, spread the icing on top while they are still hot—this will help soften the icing so it spreads easier.

Kate's recipe tips and variations

• Trust me when I say to use the Pillsbury crescent rolls instead of the cinnamon rolls package. They comes out SO flaky and perfect for a cinnamon rolls shortcut!
• These apple butter rolls can be made from scratch using your favorite cinnamon roll yeast dough recipe, and subbing the butter with apple butter.
• A sprinkle of crushed pecans on the apple butter adds a nice crunch!
• Easy homemade apple butter: In a medium saucepan, simmer a 42-ounce jar of applesauce (covered to prevent hot splatters) for 3-4 hours, stirring every once in a while to prevent sticking, storring more frequently at the end when the apple butter thickens. Stir in ½-1 cup light brown sugar, and ground cinnamon to taste. Add ground ginger and ground cloves if you want more spice. Allow to cool before transferring to a jar. Store in the fridge or use for these apple butter sticky rolls.
• Storage: once completely cooled, cover the baking pan with plastic kitchen wrap. Keep at room temperature for up to 24 hours, then refrigerate. Reheat individual apple butter rolls in the microwave when serving.