Easy Apple Breakfast Rolls

A couple days after we went apple picking at the orchard, we received an unexpected call from our neighbor.  He wanted to know if we could use some apples!   They have already made as much sauce, pie, and crisp as they could with the apples from their own tree, and were sick of picking them up off of the ground.  My mom never turns down an offer for free produce.  Happily, we drove home that day with four more bags of apples.  We are discovering new ways to use the apples every day.  Can you guess what ingredient will be featured in my next few posts?!

This next recipe is super easy, but very satisfying!  It is so easy, in fact, that it is really more of a guideline than a recipe.  You can't go wrong!  If you don't already have some cinnamon sugar laying around, be sure to note the Cinnamon Sugar recipe following the Easy Apple Breakfast Rolls.

Easy Apple Breakfast Rolls

6 frozen Rhodes White Dinner Rolls (dough -  thawed but still cold)

Cinnamon Sugar*

2 apples, peeled and sliced thin or chopped fine

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*.  In the meantime, grease a 6 cup muffin tin; set aside.  On a very lightly floured board, roll out each of the thawed frozen rolls into a small rectangle.  Sprinkle the 6 rectangles generously with cinnamon sugar.  Distribute apple slices evenly over sugar.  Next, starting on a short side, roll each rectangle up as tightly as possible.  Place each roll spiral-side up in prepared muffin tin.  Cover pan very loosely with a greased piece of plastic wrap and put in a warm, draft free place to rise. When rolls have risen to about double in size, bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

TIP:  Rhodes rolls take anywhere from 1-2 hours to thaw at room temperature. You can also thaw the dough in the refrigerator in about 8-12 hours.  Yet another option would be to prepare the rolls and refrigerate them in the pan overnight.  Be sure to cover them with greased plastic wrap first.  Remove them from the fridge in the morning and let them warm to room temperature (and continue rising, if needed) before baking.

*Cinnamon Sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 heaping Tbs. ground cinnamon

Directions

Pour sugar and cinnamon in a clean old spice container with a shaker, cap, and shake well to combine.  It's that easy!

My family loves the simplicity of these rolls, but you can fancy them up with all kinds of yummy variations.  Try adding nuts with the apples or butter on the dough before you add the sugar.  Try changing the spices in the cinnamon sugar mix.  Next time  - because there will definitely be a next time - we might make a basic icing with powdered sugar and apple cider.  I'll let you know how it turns out!  Enjoy!