Easy Apple Cinnamon Rolls for Back to School Breakfast

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Are you ready for these apple cinnamon rolls? How ridiculously adorable are these for a back to school breakfast idea, or fall themed treat.

The best part about this apple shaped cinnamon roll recipe is that ANYONE can make this!

It uses a premade can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls so there’s very minimal made-from-scratch baking required.

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Although these apple cinnamon rolls are easy to make, they look like you spent all morning in the kitchen whipping up a custom treat.

Surprise your kids on the first day of school, or bring a few for your child’s teacher during Teacher appreciation week.

However you decide to use this recipe, everyone will be sure to love it!

You’ll also love:

What ingredients do you need to make these adorable Apple Shaped Cinnamon Rolls?

What baking supplies are helpful to have on hand to make Apple Shaped Cinnamon Rolls?

  • Baking Sheet
  • Parchment Paper
  • Toothpicks
  • 3 Small Bowls
  • 3 Spoons

How to make these easy Apple shaped cinnamon rolls for a fun breakfast or back to school treat

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place the cinnamon rolls spread apart, on the sheet, with the end of the cinnamon roll facing left. 

Unroll the cinnamon roll by about 5-6 inches. Pinch it in half to make a stem on the top, but halfway down the stem, put another bend to make a leaf. Lay the very end of the cinnamon roll along the roll like it would normally sit. 

Flatten the portion of dough that is supposed to be the leaf and shape it into a flat, oval shape.

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Pinch the stem to flatten it. Place a toothpick in the middle of the top of the stem and then at the bottom of the stem, right under where the leaf ends. 

Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. 

Place 1 cup of the powdered sugar and the red dye in a bowl and mix until no streaks appear. 

Spoon this over the round part of the cinnamon roll, being careful to not get it on the stem and leaf. 

Shape the icing with the spoon so that it covers the entire portion of cinnamon roll it’s supposed to.

Place ¼ cup powdered sugar in each remaining bowl and add the green dye to one bowl and the brown dye to the other bowl. Mix until no streaks appear.

Use the brown to cover the stem portion and use the green to cover the leaf.

Eat right away or let them sit for a few minutes for the icing to harden. Enjoy!

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Tips and Tricks

  • The little extra flap of cinnamon roll on the left, I just covered in red. You can cover it in brown or green, if preferred. It’s whatever you think looks the best. You can always clip it off as well.
  • You can make your own cinnamon rolls or use another brand. However, the grands were the perfect size to make this recipe work and look the best. 
  • If you don’t have the exact brand of food dye, it’s no biggie, just add a bit and mix until you get the color you desire. However, if you want to get that vibrant red I was able to get, buy specifically icing color. It’s such a nice shade when it comes to red. 
  • I know the cinnamon roll package says to bake the cinnamon rolls longer, but please don’t do that, they will burn. For whatever reason, they cook much quicker when you roll some of the dough back. 

Fun ways to use this apple shaped cinnamon roll idea for other events and holidays

If you want to do some other fun looks with these apples, change the red to a granny smith green and make the leaf a darker green.

You can also make the red into a yellowish tint for another type of apple.

Lastly, swap the red for black food dye and make poison apples for Halloween. 

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Shannon-Author-Test

hi! I'm shannon

I’m a wife, mom of three, doctor, and blogger! In 2018, I decided to turn my mom blog, into a personal finance blog so others could follow along on our journey to pay off over HALF a MILLION dollars in student loan and practice start up debt. I hope you enjoy following along, and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.