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I have always loved fall baking. Whether making apple pies, pear muffins, orange cinnamon rolls, pumpkin breads or cranberry crisps, I love the sights, smells and flavors of fall. In most fall recipes however, there seem to be two common denominators: cinnamon and pecans. Now, I absolutely love both cinnamon and pecans, but over the years I have had to learn to cook using them sparingly depending on the audience that I am cooking for. For my dad, nuts cause mouth sores, while for Charlie and my father in law, cinnamon causes reflux. At first, that might seem to frustrate most fall baking, however these dietary changes caused me to look deeper at my baking abilities. Can you really have the flavors of fall without the taste of cinnamon and texture of pecans? For me, this began an experimentation of trial and error to create the same fall flavors in delicious baked goods through an assortment of other spices, which could be enjoyed by everyone in my family. It was out of this experimentation that these Easy Cinnamon-less Upside Down Apple Sweet Rolls were born. Soft, gooey and full of buttery sweet apple goodness, these amazing rolls do not disappoint! Whether you are searching for a fall breakfast, apple dessert or a dish to serve guests with dietary restrictions, I hope that you all enjoy this recipe as much as we do as it truly is a delicious treat.

What can I substitute for cinnamon?

While cinnamon has a distinct flavor that is loved by many, for fall foods, it is frequently used in combination with other spices. By enhancing the flavors of the other spices instead of including the cinnamon, you can achieve the fall effect that we know and love. A few of my favorite cinnamon substitutes are:

Nutmeg
Allspice
Cloves
Ginger
Cardamom

Using Canned Crescent Rolls As Your Sweet Roll Base

Finding a delicious, homemade sweet roll dough is a treasure and there are many fabulous recipes out there to instruct you in the ingredients, timing and art of making the perfect dough for cinnamon rolls, sweet rolls and other baked goods (this Handmade Baking cookbook has some of the very best!). This recipe, however, will not provide any of that, as it uses canned crescent rolls! Before you knock them because the dough is not homemade, I have found this addition of crescent rolls to be so delicious and also tremendously easy. Making dough from scratch is fabulous, but it takes the proper planning ahead to include rising times, setting times, baking times etc. Often, particularly if guests are over, I do not have time to invest in such a labor intensive process. So trust me, using the crescent rolls in this recipe is a huge time saver which still provides such a delicious result you won’t mind that it is not homemade.

Easy Cinnamon-less Upside Down Apple Sweet Rolls

Recipe

Easy Cinnamon-less Upside Down Apple Sweet Rolls

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 40

Resting Time 5

Total Time 1 10

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 12 Sweet Rolls

Ingredients

2 Cans Refrigerated Crescent Rolls – keep in refrigerator until right before use
2 Apples – whole, not peeled
½ Cup Pecans (Optional) – roughly chopped
1 Stick of Butter – softened, room temperature
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
¼ Tsp Nutmeg
¼ Tsp Allspice
¼ Tsp Cloves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°.
Spray a 9" round cake pan with baking spray.
Start by removing the core and stem of the first apple and then cut the pieces into thin slices. Layer the apple slices into the base of the cake pan.
(Optional) Once you have covered the bottom of the pan with apples, sprinkle the ½ cup of chopped pecans over the apples.
Next, remove the stem and core of the remaining apple and grate the pieces with a large holed cheese grater. Place apple shavings into a colander to strain out the juices.
While the apple shavings are straining, in a medium bowl, mix the stick of softened butter with the brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice and clove spices.
After your butter mixture is prepared, press out any final juices from the apple shavings. Use a paper towel to dry them if need be. Once fairly dry, add the shavings to the butter mixture and mix together.
Having prepared your filling and pan, roll out one can of crescent rolls into a large rectangle onto a piece of parchment paper. Pinch all seams together to create a flat surface and spread half of the apple butter filling mixture over the crescent roll sheet.
Starting with the long side, lift the parchment paper to help roll the crescent roll into a long log. Cut the long into 6 rolls.
Place the 6 pieces into the cake pan with the swirl side up. It is ok if they do not look perfect.
Repeat the 3 steps above with the remaining can of crescent rolls and apple butter filling mixture.
Once all rolls are cut and placed in the cake pan, place in the preheated oven and bake for 38-40 minutes or until the tops are a deep golden brown. When done, the rolls should sound slightly hollow when tapped.
After cooking, let the rolls rest for 2-5 minutes and then flip onto a serving plate. To flip, place serving plate over the cake pan and then turn the pan and plate over so that the plate is on the bottom. Be careful of spilling the caramelized juices during flipping process. Remove pan and voila, your upside down apple rolls are ready!
Best served immediately when warm. Keep any leftovers in refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Final Thoughts

I hope that you all enjoy these Easy Cinnamon-less Upside Down Apple Sweet Rolls as much as we do! We have found these rolls are simply delicious with the apples we picked at Skytop Apple Orchard (check out our experience HERE!), so if you have a fridge full of apples, this is a great recipe to try. Thankfully, if you have dietary restrictions related to cinnamon or nuts, know you can enjoy this dish with a hot cup of coffee without sacrificing all the flavors of fall. Do you have a favorite fall baked good? If so, I would love to know in the comment section below!

Happy baking!