This is a recipe you'll probably want to make often. It's easy, fairly cheap, uses ingredients that are often at hand or at least are simple to find, and, best of all, the Baked Apple Cinnamon Buns are amazingly good. When I say "baked apple," I really do mean baked apple. Nestled in little ramekins are apples that are dressed with a bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, a smidgen of butter (or not, if you're watching your calories), and a few dried cranberries. Atop each apple is a cinnamon roll--the kind that comes out of the little round tube. Yep. That kind. I know, the rolls aren't very "healthy," but they're good, and everyone likes them. If you're ambitious and want to make your own, that's fine, and homemade cinnamon quick rolls would be a great substitute. I admit, though, that this is a dish I came up with in a fit of hunger and laziness. The assembly is quick, and, with the air fryer, the apple buns are ready in fewer than 15 minutes. I like to serve them for breakfast with turkey sausages alongside. Nonetheless, the apple buns also would make a great dessert, with or without a scoop of ice cream.
Baked Apple Cinnamon Buns -- Makes 4
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 4 quarters
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries
2 teaspoons of butter
1 roll of 5 count refrigerated cinnamon buns with icing
Preheat the air fryer for several minutes at 360 degrees. Coat four ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the apple quarters in the ramekins as though they are intact, with a space in the middle where the core would be. Sprinkle the apples evenly with the cinnamon and divide the brown sugar among the apples, putting it in the middle/core spaces of the apples. Divide the dried cranberries among the apples, putting them in the core areas, as well. Put some of the butter in each core area. Open the can of cinnamon buns, set the icing aside for later, and flatten each bun out until it's 1/4-1/3-inch thick. Put a flattened bun on top of each apple and squash it down gently to cover the apple. It's okay if you have a space or hole with a little apple peeking through. Cut the final bun into quarters and put a piece on top of each of the covered apples (like a hat). Bake the apple buns for 10-12 minutes or until the buns are golden brown. Let the buns cool a minute or two and then drizzle them with the icing. Serve the apple buns warm.
