Cinnamon Roll Wreath with Apples
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Make this Cinnamon Roll Wreath with apples for a sweet, delicious and festive breakfast recipe! It’s easy to make in less than an hour with canned crescent roll dough, and it’s perfect for holiday brunch, when decorated with cranberries and mint leaves.
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It’s beginning to look a lot like the holiday season, and there’s nothing I love more than a festive recipe to celebrate! While this cinnamon roll wreath can easily be made year-round, when you toss a couple cranberries and mint leaves on top, it will give you all the holiday feels!
I’ve simplified this recipe by using canned crescent roll dough, making it easy to prep in just 20 minutes. Pazazz apples add a delicious tart, crunch inside the sweet roll and cream cheese frosting tops it all off, like the star on top of the tree!
This cinnamon roll wreath is guaranteed to be a family favorite for years to come around the holiday season. It’s deliciously sweet, easy to make and super festive, a winning combination!
Ingredients
- Crescent roll dough – you can use canned crescent roll dough, or sheets of canned crescent dough. Either will work, the sheets of dough are simply a little easier to work with because you don’t need to press the crescent roll perforations together.
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Unsalted butter – you’ll want the butter and cream cheese softened prior to making the recipe, so I recommend removing them from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before starting the recipe, so they can come up to room temperature.
- Pazazz apples – I purchased the apples at Vons in my area, click here to find out where you can buy these sweet, tart and extra crispy apples in your area!
- Cream cheese
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
- Roll out the crescent roll dough. Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat work surface. Place both sheets of crescent roll dough slightly overlapping on the parchment paper and press the seams together to form one large crescent roll rectangle.
- Top with the cinnamon sugar butter. In a medium bowl, combine softened butter with granulated sugar, brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Spread this mixture evenly across the crescent roll dough.
- Add the apples. Core and thinly slice one Pazazz apple, then place the slices on top of the cinnamon sugar butter in an even layer, not overlapping. Overlapping the apples will make it difficult to roll up and form into the wreath.
- Roll it up. Roll the crescent roll dough up tightly over the apples and the cinnamon sugar butter into a tube.
- Slice it in half. Use a sharp knife to slice lengthwise through the middle of the cinnamon roll tube.
- Separate the two halves. Once you’ve sliced the cinnamon roll tube in half, separate the two halves, and make sure the cinnamon butter and apples are facing up on both halves.
- Braid them together. Carefully braid the two halves together, lifting one half over the other, then vice versa until it’s rolled up into one long braid.
- Form the wreath. Bring the two ends of the braid together to form the wreath, then transfer the wreath on the parchment paper over to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until the entire cinnamon roll wreath is golden brown.
- Pro tip! Place an oven-safe ramekin or small bowl in the middle of the wreath, so that it spreads out as it bakes and not into the middle.
How to decorate it
Add an extra layer of sweet, creaminess to this cinnamon roll wreath by topping it with cream cheese frosting. It’s easy to mix up while the wreath is baking in the oven. Then top the wreath with cranberries and mint leaves for an extra cute and festive presentation during the holiday season!
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- Add softened cream cheese, milk and vanilla to a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using an electric hand mixer, or stand mixer, on medium high speed to combine the ingredients.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy.
- As soon as the cinnamon roll wreath comes out of the oven, drizzle the cream cheese frosting on top.
To decorate the cinnamon roll wreath, in four different sections, place three cranberries together, with two mint leaves on either side of the cranberries. Easy as that, you have a festive brunch recipe to share with family and friends!
Tips and tricks
- Do NOT overlap the apples on the crescent roll dough. I tried this the first time I made the recipe and unfortunately the dough could not hold up to the extra weight and while it was delicious, the wreath presentation was a fail. One even layer of thinly sliced, perfectly crispy apples is perfect for extra crunch and flavor in the cinnamon roll wreath!
- I DO recommend adding a small ramekin, or oven-safe bowl to the middle of the wreath. This will help it keep its perfect round wreath shape while baking.
- If you are decorating the wreath with fresh cranberries and mint leaves, I do recommend removing these when serving. Fresh cranberries are too tart to bite into raw. If you’d like the cranberries on the wreath to be edible, I recommend using dried cranberries instead of fresh.
- You can make this recipe ahead of time. I would recommend preparing and baking the cinnamon roll wreath ahead of time, then storing it in the refrigerator, without adding any of the toppings. You can reheat the cinnamon roll wreath in the oven at 350°F covered, for 10-15 minutes. You can then top it with the cream cheese frosting, cranberries and mint leaves. An unbaked cinnamon roll wreath can also be refrigerated overnight, then baked in the morning. Just be sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Leftover cinnamon roll wreath will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store it in an airtight container and reheat it in the microwave for 60 seconds, or in the oven, as instructed above.
More apple recipes
Be sure to pick up some extra Pazazz apples and try them in these recipes. Their ruby red color adds a pop to salads, desserts and drinks! And you’ll love their health benefits. Apples, which are rich in fiber, can help lower the risk of cancer and they’re good for your heart!
- Apple Dessert Pizza
- Maple Apple Brussels Sprouts
- Apple Strudel with Brie
- Butternut Squash Apple Bruschetta
- Kale Apple Slaw
- Cranberry Apple Moscow Mule Punch
- Apple Pie Filling
Cinnamon Roll Wreath
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Wreath
- 2 cans crescent roll dough, 8 ounces each
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 Pazazz apple, cored and thinly sliced
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Optional Toppings
- 12 cranberries, fresh or dried
- 8 fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- Before beginning this recipe, set out the butter and cream cheese to soften for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter and mix until it becomes a spreadable paste.
- Roll both rectangles of the crescent roll dough out on a large piece of parchment paper and press them together at the seams.
- Evenly spread the cinnamon sugar filling over the crescent roll dough.
- Arrange thinly sliced apples in an even layer (not overlapping) on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
- Roll the dough back up into a tube.
- Cut the tube in half lengthwise through the middle.
- Twist the two halves of the dough together to form one long braid.
- Bring both ends of the braided cinnamon roll dough together to create a circular shape.
- Transfer the cinnamon roll wreath, on the parchment paper, over to a baking sheet. Place a ramekin in the middle of the cinnamon roll wreath.
- Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until it's golden brown.
- While the cinnamon roll wreath is in the oven, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese, milk, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer, or electric stand mixer, on medium-high speed.
- Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
- As soon as the cinnamon roll wreath comes out of the oven, drizzle the frosting on top so it melts over the cinnamon roll wreath.
- Optionally top with cranberries and mint leaves for a festive decoration.
Video
Notes
- Do NOT overlap the apples on the crescent roll dough. I tried this the first time I made the recipe and unfortunately the dough could not hold up to the extra weight and while it was delicious, the wreath presentation was a fail. One even layer of thinly sliced, perfectly crispy apples is perfect for extra crunch and flavor in the cinnamon roll wreath!
- I DO recommend adding a small ramekin, or oven-safe bowl to the middle of the wreath. This will help it keep its perfect round wreath shape while baking.
- You can make this recipe ahead of time. I would recommend preparing and baking the cinnamon roll wreath ahead of time, then storing it in the refrigerator, without adding any of the toppings. You can reheat the cinnamon roll in the oven at 350°F covered, for 10-15 minutes. You can then top it with the cream cheese frosting, cranberries and mint leaves. An unbaked cinnamon roll wreath can also be refrigerated overnight, then baked in the morning. Just be sure to cover it tightly with plastic wrap before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Leftover cinnamon roll wreath will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Store it in an airtight container and reheat it in the microwave for 60 seconds, or in the oven, as instructed above.
Nutrition Facts
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