I got the idea for this recipe off Pinterest, and was drawn to it not only because it looked absolutely delicious, but because the original poster, Barbara Bakes, had it shaped like a Candy Cane.  It looked like the perfect Christmas morning breakfast, but of course, I couldn’t wait the 5 months till Christmas (that’s right, only 5 months, folks!) to try it.  I used my favorite cinnamon roll dough, which is Pillsbury’s Hot Roll Mix.  Don’t get too excited, because it is still all the same work that goes into cinnamon roll dough.  Yeast, kneading, rising, you name it- but it is totally worth it.

I decided to make it today for my husband’s co-workers to enjoy during their morning meeting tomorrow, and just not shape it like a candy cane.  This thing was HUGE.  It barely fit on my industrial sized cookie sheet since I didn’t curve it.  I probably should have made two braids.  It wouldn’t fit into any of my 9×13 tupperware containers, so I had to cut the thing in half and put it in my half-sheet cake pan and cover it with foil.

So, needless to say, it will feed a lot of people.  It was amazing.  Delicious cinnamon roll dough.  Apple pie filling.  Cinnamon and Vanilla drizzle.  The only thing that could make this better would be a scoop of vanilla ice cream.  Of course, then we would have to call it dessert instead of breakfast, and you know I hate to do that. 🙂

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 package of Pillsbury hot roll mix + ingredients to make cinnamon roll dough (water, egg, butter)

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cinnamon Drizzle:
Mix together:
2 C powdered sugar
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 T cinnamon
2-3 tablespoons of cream or milk

Vanilla Drizzle;
Mix together:
2 C powdered sugar
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons cream or milk

Directions
Follow directions on back of Hot Roll Mix for sweet bread, just as if you were making cinnamon rolls, up until the point where you would put the cinnamon/sugar mixture and butter on the rolls if you were indeed making cinnamon rolls.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium low heat, cook apples, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, lemon juice and butter for 10-15 minutes until apples are softened and caramelized and sauce is thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll your cinnamon roll dough into a large rectangle (or two medium ones) and cut slits up the side, leaving a place for the filling in the middle, like so:

Spread the filling over the middle.

Braid it, making sure you seal the ends up really tight.

Let it rise in a warm place, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. It will double in size.  (If you want to make this ahead, this would be the point where you would refrigerate the braid, and then in the morning, take it out of the fridge and let it rise for 30 minutes.)

Bake in a 350° oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.  I recommend making sure the bottom of your oven is lined with foil, in case of dripping apple filling.  I didn’t have this problem, but there is definite potential for it if you don’t seal the braid up really well at the ends.

Spread with cinnamon and vanilla drizzle after it has cooled for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!