Patterson Watkins/Mashed
While many hungry diners flock to Cracker Barrel for savory menu items like country fried steak or biscuits and gravy, the chain's sweet treats are not something to be overlooked. You'll find a couple of offerings on Cracker Barrel's dessert menu, ranging from classics like pecan pie to powder sugar-dusted biscuit beignets, but it's hard to beat the unique and popular cinnamon roll pie. This dessert is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: cinnamon rolls baked into a pie crust and topped off with a slathering of rich, tangy-sweet cream cheese icing.
Recipe developer Patterson Watkins certainly finds Cracker Barrel's cinnamon roll pie to be pretty impressive, so much so that she crafted her own copycat version of the treat. "Cracker Barrel really swung for the fences with this pie-pastry crossover," she says, emphatically noting that it is indeed a successful crossover, "It works, friends!" She describes the cinnamon roll pie as being "fun, a little flirty (daring, even), rich, sweet, creamy, and cinnamon-y," and if that doesn't sell you on this dessert, then we don't know what will. Whether you want to switch up the way you enjoy cinnamon rolls or you're craving the Cracker Barrel original, this fun copycat cinnamon roll pie recipe will make all of your pastry crossover dreams come true.
Gather the ingredients for copycat Cracker Barrel cinnamon roll pie
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
To start this recipe, you'll make the cinnamon roll dough, which requires warm milk, dry active yeast, eggs, softened salted butter, granulated sugar, salt, and bread flour. Then, for the cinnamon filling, you'll need more softened salted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Since this is a cinnamon roll pie, you'll also need a deep dish pie crust (store-bought works just fine). Additionally, have a little heavy cream on hand to drizzle over the cinnamon rolls before baking for added moisture and richness.
Once you have the cinnamon rolls prepped and baked, all that's left is the frosting. To make that, you'll need softened cream cheese, softened salted butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract.
Step 1: Let yeast bloom in the milk
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
To make the cinnamon roll dough, sprinkle the warm milk with the dry yeast, and set it aside until frothy, about 5 minutes.
Step 2: Add the cinnamon roll ingredients to a mixing bowl
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Place the eggs, butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Step 3: Beat to combine
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Beat until blended.
Step 4: Mix in the flour
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Add the flour to the bowl and begin to stir on low.
Step 5: Mix in the yeast and milk
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
With the mixer still stirring on low, add the yeast-milk mixture in a thin stream. Beat until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 6: Knead until the dough comes together
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
With the mixer still stirring on low, add the yeast-milk mixture in a thin stream. Beat until a shaggy dough forms.
Step 7: Let the dough rise
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise till it's doubled in size, for about 2 hours.
Step 8: Prepare the cinnamon filling
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
While the dough is rising, make the filling by placing the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
Step 9: Stir to combine the cinnamon filling
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Stir with a fork until combined, set aside.
Step 10: Transfer the dough to a work surface
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a flour-dusted work surface.
Step 11: Roll the dough into a rectangle
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Roll the dough into a long, thin rectangle.
Step 12: Spread the filling over the dough
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Dollop the dough with the filling and spread it out evenly.
Step 13: Roll up the dough
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Roll the dough into a tight cylinder, concealing the filling.
Step 14: Dock and trim the dough
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Dock the dough to mark out 12 even slices and trim the ends.
Step 15: Slice the cinnamon rolls
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Cut the dough into slices using dental floss (shimmy the dental floss under the dough, criss-cross the strings, and pull to slice).
Step 16: Transfer the cinnamon rolls to the pie crust
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Transfer the rolls to the pie crust and gently press to compact.
Step 17: Brush the rolls with heavy cream
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Brush the tops of the rolls with cream.
Step 18: Cover the rolls and set aside
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Cover the pie and set aside to rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
Step 19: Preheat the oven
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Preheat the oven to 375 F.
Step 20: Bake the cinnamon roll pie
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Place the pie in the oven and bake it for 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. (If the pie crust starts to brown too quickly, cover it in foil to protect it.) Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Step 21: Make the frosting
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Meanwhile, make the frosting by placing cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
Step 22: Frost the cinnamon roll pie and serve
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Spoon the frosting over the pie and spread it out evenly. Slice and serve warm.
What can I serve to turn this into a full Cracker Barrel meal?
Copycat Cracker Barrel Cinnamon Roll Pie
Our copycat Cracker Barrel cinnamon roll pie features scratch-made cinnamon rolls piled into a pie crust and slathered with cream cheese frosting.
Total time: 3 hours, 25 minutes
- For the cinnamon roll dough
- 1 cup whole milk, warm
- 1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) dry active yeast
- 2 eggs
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 ¾ cups bread flour
- For the cinnamon filling
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 premade deep dish pie crust
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- For the frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 5 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- To make the cinnamon roll dough, sprinkle the warm milk with the dry yeast, and set it aside until frothy, about 5 minutes.
- Place the eggs, butter, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Beat until blended.
- Add the flour to the bowl and begin to stir on low.
- With the mixer still stirring on low, add the yeast-milk mixture in a thin stream. Beat until a shaggy dough forms.
- Swap the paddle for the dough hook attachment and knead on medium until the dough is elastic and slightly tacky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise till it's doubled in size, for about 2 hours.
- While the dough is rising, make the filling by placing the butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl.
- Stir with a fork until combined, set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, transfer it to a flour-dusted work surface.
- Roll the dough into a long, thin rectangle.
- Dollop the dough with the filling and spread it out evenly.
- Roll the dough into a tight cylinder, concealing the filling.
- Dock the dough to mark out 12 even slices and trim the ends.
- Cut the dough into slices using dental floss (shimmy the dental floss under the dough, criss-cross the strings, and pull to slice).
- Transfer the rolls to the pie crust and gently press to compact.
- Brush the tops of the rolls with cream.
- Cover the pie and set aside to rest for 30 minutes while the oven preheats.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Place the pie in the oven and bake it for 25 minutes or until the rolls are golden brown. (If the pie crust starts to brown too quickly, cover it in foil to protect it.) Remove the pie from the oven and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the frosting by placing cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Spoon the frosting over the pie and spread it out evenly. Slice and serve warm.
Could I used canned cinnamon rolls or pre-made cream cheese frosting?
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Though this isn't necessarily a difficult recipe to follow, it is one that calls for you to make homemade cinnamon rolls, which may seem daunting to the novice baker. Luckily, you don't need to go the homemade route to yield a delicious result. "If you want to skip the super-involved, homemade section of this recipe, you can opt for the canned cinnamon rolls," Watkins says, though she does specify that you should avoid "Grands" cinnamon rolls (the extra-large ones) since they'll overflow your pie crust. One standard-sized, eight-count tube of cinnamon rolls should get the job done.
Now, what about the cream cheese icing? If you go with canned cinnamon rolls, the little icing packet that comes included won't be enough for this recipe. So, you could simply use canned rolls and follow our recipe as written for the frosting, or you can take a shortcut route there as well. Watkins notes that a 16-ounce can of cream cheese frosting (the kind you find in the baking aisle) will work just fine, but make sure to wait until the pie is warm (instead of hot) to apply that icing. Also, avoid using any other kind of pre-made frosting aside from cream cheese; otherwise, this pie will likely be too sweet and will be missing that quintessential cream cheese frosting tanginess.
Can you prep the cinnamon rolls ahead for this pie recipe?
Patterson Watkins/Mashed
Cinnamon rolls may not be the most difficult baked good to whip up, but they do require some time and patience. To break up the labor a little bit, you could prep the cinnamon rolls ahead of time before leaving them in the fridge overnight and picking up the recipe the next day. "Make the dough, fill, and roll as directed. You can stop here, cover, and refrigerate your log overnight," Watkins advises. "Then remove it from the fridge and let it rest at room temp for 20 minutes before slicing."
Another option is to fully prep and slice the individual cinnamon rolls and leave them in the fridge overnight. "Just be mindful, depending on your refrigerator temp, you might get some cinnamon roll rise (fridge proofing)," Watkins warns. This wouldn't be a huge issue, though, as you could simply put fewer rolls into the pie crust than this recipe calls for (Watkins stuffs 12 rolls in there, but if your rolls are a little puffy or bigger, just use six to eight rolls instead).
You can also make the cream cheese frosting in its entirety the day before you actually plan to bake the pie itself, and leave it to refrigerate overnight. When you do finally make the pie, make sure to pull the frosting out of the fridge about 30 minutes before you'll need it so that it softens a bit and becomes easily spreadable.
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