These apple butter cinnamon buns combine the richness of cinnamon rolls with the concentrated, complex flavors of homemade apple butter. The process might look overwhelming, but trust me it’s all very manageable. It’s all about breaking it into simple steps that won’t stress you out.

This mix and match recipe is the best of both worlds: rich brioche cinnamon bun meets spiced apple butter. The knot design adds a nice touch but doesn’t require much technique (it’s just like braiding hair) and the concentrated flavors of the apple, the cinnamon, and the buttery dough are truly a perfect match.

When fall rolls around I can only think of one thing: cinnamon buns. As the colder months come sweeping in you’ll inevitably find me by a preheated oven, kneading dough by hand.

This year, I couldn’t get apple butter out of my head. Usually, I don’t bother making apple butter myself. It’s a lot of cooking and reducing and not a lot of planning for the aftermath. The last thing I want is to end up with rancid homemade apple butter.

But one of the exciting things about baking is that recipes can be combined and morphed into different versions of themselves. With that in mind, I couldn’t wait to make some spiced apple butter, spread it on top of brioche dough and roll it up into cute knots. That’s how these apple butter cinnamon buns came to be.

Apple Butter

This recipe starts from the middle: the apple butter aka the filling. Making apple butter, just like caramelizing onions, is a process that requires patience. There’s really no shortcuts here, but the good news is, there’s not a lot of work either.

There are many recipes that involve an oven and stirring from time to time, but I wanted to keep things as simple as possible, so this one is all about throwing the ingredients into a pot and letting them do their thing. For that, I recommend using a heavy-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven.

There’s no need to peel the apples, just cut them into chunks. For a more complex flavor, use different varieties, a mix of sweet and tart, whatever you can find. Throw them in the pot and go do something else. But don’t forget about the apples caramelizing on the stovetop, you might want to keep an eye on them and stir every once in while.

Use an immersion blender for a smooth product, but you might not even need to do that. Eventually the apples will break down completely and have a smoother texture.

This recipe yields a little bit more than the bun recipe calls for, but apple butter will happily last in the fridge for a couple weeks. And if you toast a slice of sourdough and spread a layer of butter followed by a layer of apple butter topped with flaky salt, you’ll have a wonderful little snack in your hands.

Brioche Dough

The dough here is a typical enriched dough used for most cinnamon roll recipes. That simply means that the dough includes ingredients such as eggs, butter, and milk that make it richer and softer than a basic bread dough.

As with most bread recipes, kneading is an important step because that’s when the gluten is developed. So is using a kitchen scale to ensure everything’s measured accurately!

As you work the dough, it develops strength and structure, which is crucial for any bread. You can use a stand mixer for this, but I often do it by hand. It sounds like a tedious process, but it’s actually quite therapeutic. I’m mentioning this mostly to assure you that you don’t need a stand mixer to make cinnamon buns. Besides, working with your hands is an effective way to really get to know your dough.

Like a standard brioche, the butter is incorporated slowly at the end of the kneading process. Brioche dough is an emulsion that can break under heat and stress, becoming greasy. So it’s important to add it a little bit at a time and incorporate thoroughly into the dough before adding more.

This might sound like too much information, but just remember that brioche dough is sensitive and the butter is added at a larger stage because fat hinders gluten development. So knead first, add butter later. And slowly.

Creating Layers

For a standard cinnamon bun recipe, the dough is rolled out then spread with cinnamon butter before being folded into thirds, creating a fat of layer.

This recipe is about creating more layers of fat and flavor. So there’s two layers of filling and two letter folds – like croissant dough – which incorporates more fat and beautiful layers into the dough.

When shaping the buns, those layers come into full view, creating a lovely knot design. Because this is quite a hydrated, rich dough, it can get a little hard to work with when compared to regular bread dough. If that’s the case, pop the dough in the fridge for an extra 10 minutes after you roll it out and before rolling it up into knots.

Spiced Apple Filling

For this recipe, we’re combining a regular cinnamon butter filling with the apple butter we made earlier.

It’s important for the butter to be soft, otherwise it’ll be very difficult to spread it out.

Beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, then stir in the cinnamon and apple butter. You can make the filling while the dough is proofing or make it ahead of time, but regardless, you want it to be soft before using.

a few notes

Like I mentioned before, this dough is sensitive and hydrated, so if it’s too warm in your kitchen and if for some reason, it’s difficult to work with, don’t hesitate to pop it in fridge anytime during the shaping process. It’ll be much easier to handle that way.

Ultimately, the baking time will depend on the size and weight of your buns, but try not to burn the top of your lovely buns the way I did mine here! (they were delicious nonetheless)

Brush the buns with an egg wash before transferring them into the oven and while they’re baking, make the sugar syrup.

This might seem like an unnecessary step, but trust me, it makes a huge difference! The sugar syrup really is the icing on the cake here. Brush the buns with the syrup as soon as they come out of the oven.

The icing sugar is optional, but highly recommended.

You Might Also Like…

Apple Cobbler: warm baked apples with a buttery topping that comes together easily and tastes like a fall staple should.

Croissant Bread Pudding: buttery croissants baked wit berries in a rich custard until golden on top and soft in the center — an easy, crowd-pleasing dessert.

Homemade Challah Bread: soft, rich, and perfect for tearing apart at the table or turning into French toast the next morning.

Almond Berry Cobbler: a simple mix of berries baked under a crisp, golden crust — sweet, tart, and just right with ice cream, whipped cream, or a classic vanilla custard.

If you make these apple butter cinnamon buns, please let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

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