These apple streusel twists are sweet, flaky, and so satisfying. Golden, buttery apple-streusel filled crescent dough twists are topped with a simple glaze. Yummy!
We don’t have a sweet tooth; we have a mouthful of sweet teeth, and pastries of all kinds are our major weakness. From brunch to dessert, we’re always happy to make and eat flaky, buttery sweets.
You’ll often find goodies like apple rings, homemade cherry toaster strudels, and mini cherry pastries on our table, and now, we’ve added another delicious entry to our rotation.
Our apple streusel twists combine a sweet apple and streusel filling with buttery crescent dough, and a simple vanilla glaze, creating a treat perfect for any occasion.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple Ingredients: Apples, crescent dough, and a few kitchen staples are all you need for this recipe.
- So Easy: This recipe comes together in about 30 minutes, and even beginners can easily make it.
- Apple-licious: The twists have a sweet, slightly tart filling made with Granny Smith apples for classic flavor.
- Rich and Buttery: The crescent dough adds rich, buttery flavor that’s perfect with the apple filling.
- Customizable: It’s easy to change up this recipe to make it your own.
- Versatile: These are perfect for breakfast, brunch, afternoon snacking, or dessert.
- A Great Prep Dish: These twists are freezer-friendly, allowing you to make extra for later.
Key Ingredients
You’ll find a full list of ingredients and their exact amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Granny Smith Apples: The classic choice for baked goods, these create a tart counterpoint to the brown sugar in the filling.
- Spices: A blend of cinnamon and allspice gives the filling a classic, warm flavor.
- Crescent Rolls: Crescent rolls are an easy shortcut for butter, golden pastry dough.
Variations
- Apples: Use your favorite apples for this recipe. Sweeter apples will give the pastries a sweeter flavor overall.
- Berries: Use any of your favorite berries to create all kinds of tasty variations, including raspberry twists.
- Nuts: Chopped nuts are a classic topping for any kind of pastry. Simply sprinkle them on your twists before baking.
How to Make Apple Streusel Twists
Step 1: Combine the filling ingredients and cook them over medium heat until thickened. Let cool.
Step 2: Mix the streusel ingredients and set aside.
Step 3: Pinch the perforations of the crescent dough together and roll until smooth. Then, cut the dough lengthwise into 1-inch strips. Then, cut those strips in half.
Step 4: Add apple filling down the middle of half the strips, sprinkle with streusel, top with the other half of the strips, and twist together.
Step 5: Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake at 375°F until golden. Cool.
Step 6: Mix the glaze ingredients and drizzle over the cooled twists. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Mix the vanilla and cornstarch before adding them to the apple filling to create a slurry.
- Cook your filling over medium heat, stirring constantly, to avoid scorching.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- It’s important to fully cool your twists before applying the glaze. If the twists are warm, the glaze will simply slide off of them.
Apple Streusel Twists FAQs
Apple streusel twists are easy pastries made with crescent dough, twisted around apple filling and streusel.
Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Cosmic Crisp, Sugar Bee, Jona Gold, and Fuji are all excellent choices for these twists.
Refrigerate these twists for up to 5 days in an airtight container. For longer storage, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to 3 months in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
Delicious Pairings for Your Apple Twists
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Apple Streusel Twists
Ingredients
- 2 containers Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
Apple Filling
- 2 large Granny smith apples, peeled, chopped small
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Streusel
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Apple Filling
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add apples, sugar, water, cinnamon, and allspice.
- In a small bowl, stir vanilla and cornstarch together, and add to the apple mixture.
- Stir and bring to a boil until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and let cool.
Streusel
- In a small bowl, whisk brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together. Using two forks or a pastry blender, cut butter into mixture until crumbly. Set aside.
Crescent Dough
- On a lightly floured surface, lay out crescent dough, one can at a time, and pinch the perforated lines together.
- Roll dough so edges are even.
- Carefully slice into 1-inch strips lengthwise and then cut each strip in half. (Should have 12 pieces of dough from each can of crescent rolls)
- Add some apple mixture down the center of one strip and sprinkle streusel over the top of the apple filling.
- Place another strip of dough on top of the streusel.
- Gently twist the two strips together and lay on the prepared baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining strips.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden, and remove from the oven and let cool.
Glaze
- Mix the powdered sugar and milk together and spoon glaze over the cooled twists. Enjoy!
Notes
- Mix the vanilla and cornstarch before adding them to the apple filling to create a slurry.
- Cook your filling over medium heat, stirring constantly, to avoid scorching.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper for easy cleanup.
- It’s important to fully cool your twists before applying the glaze. If the twists are warm, the glaze will simply slide off of them.
Winner, winner. I love the flavor and texture, and they came together so quickly and easily!
Tasty. All I needed was some coffee and sausage for a breakfast with these.
These are the best treat to have with your morning coffee and so easy to make too! They’re a lot of fun to bake up!
5 Stars! These turned out amazing!! I can’t wait to make them again…the fam loved them!!!
The apple filling and crumb topping were perfect together. Great with coffee!