Cinnamon Roll Pie Crust from Taste For Adventure via Pinterest
Making pies is something I enjoy doing, but don’t do terribly often. While browsing Pinterest I came across this interesting pin for a cinnamon roll pie crust. It made me wonder – would the added cinnamon make a real difference in the final pie? It looks great, but is it worth the time? The original recipe was for a one-crust pie, but would it work for a two-crust fruit pie as well? Those questions were all the motivation I needed to get into the kitchen and try it out with a favorite go-to apple pie recipe of mine.
For the apple filling:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 8 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced
- 2 tablespoons flour
- Cinnamon to taste
- Nutmeg to taste
For the crust:
- 2 store-bought refrigerated pie crusts (if you’d like to make your own, even better)
- 1 teaspoon butter, melted
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
I like this recipe because it is so easy and I already had most of the ingredients.
To start, unroll your pie crust, brush with the melted butter and then sprinkle on your cinnamon. After that, just roll it up!
Cut the dough into 1/2 inch segments. They look like cute little cinnamon rolls!
I started pressing the little rolls in the middle of the pie pan and radiated outward. I ran out of little rolls and it was difficult to cover the sides of the plate. I pressed the dough thin, added some from the second pie crust and was able to make it work. Since I was doing a two-crust pie, I did not flash bake the crust.
With the crust completed, I peeled, cored and sliced up my granny smiths. I love the contrast between tart and sweet! A touch of lemon keeps the apples from browning. My lemon looks a little stunted because I picked it off the tree in the dark.
After the apples are prepared, start on the "sauce" by melting the butter in a saucepan.
When the butter is melted, add in your sugars and water and heat until all the ingredients are integrated and create a smooth caramel-colored liquid. Remove from heat.
After your caramel mixture is made, spice up your apples with cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. You can adjust your spices according to your preference. I also add a touch of flour to help thicken the sauce (but most of the time my pies bubble over anyway).
Add the warm sauce to your spiced apples and stir to combine. Try not to eat all the apples at this point, because they are mighty tasty.
Pour the apples into your prepared crust and begin work on the lattice crust!
Since I had a little trouble bringing the cinnamon roll crust up the sides of the pan, it was a challenge attaching the lattice to the crust edge. It took some effort and it wasn't pretty but it eventually worked. Pop the pie into a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 and bake one hour.
Here's the final product. The pie bubbled over, as usual, but it still tasted great despite its appearance.
So, what was the final result? Speaking honestly, I think in a one-crust pie that does not already contain cinnamon in it (like the Sweet Potato Pie in the original blog post) would be best suited for a cinnamon roll pie crust. In the case of an apple pie that already is spiced, I really didn’t think it added anything to the recipe. Perhaps if I could have cut my pie into slices in a way that would have shown off the pretty pattern of the crust it would have been worth the effort, but I was unable to do so. I do have to say, I normally have difficulty getting my crust to bake up well – sometimes the pies are so juicy the crust suffers. Not so with this crust. It baked up perfectly! I think if I want to add some cinnamon to a crust again, I would brush the dough with butter, add the cinnamon, and then add the apples on top and forego the rest.
I have to thank Stephanie at Taste For Adventure for inspiring me to try and adapt her recipe to my tried-and-true apple pie. Do you enjoy baking apple pies? If so, please tell me how to keep them from bubbling over!
