Cinnamon Roll Apple Crisp — The Scent of December, Baked Into Every Layer

Advent. The Swedish part of my soul — which is most of my soul — wakes up in December. The candles come out. The advent star goes in the window. The baking schedule begins in earnest, and for the next three weeks, the Kenwood kitchen will operate at full capacity, producing the mountain of cookies and breads and cakes that a Johansson julbord requires. I started the pepparkakor on Monday. Two hundred cookies, rolled thin, cut with Mamma's old cookie cutters — stars, hearts, the dala horse shapes that Karin sent from Stockholm. The dough is ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and a small amount of black pepper that I add because Mamma adds it and she will neither confirm nor deny this but I can taste it. You roll the dough thin — thin as a playing card, Mamma says — and you bake them until they're just barely brown and they snap when you break them. If they bend, they're underdone. Pepparkakor should snap. This is not negotiable. I also made spritz cookies — pressed through the cookie press into wreath shapes and tree shapes and star shapes, buttery and delicate and gone in one bite. And shortbread with cardamom and almond. And a batch of toffee that I make every year because Paul loves toffee and because making toffee requires the kind of precise, focused attention that quiets the mind — stirring the sugar and butter at the exact right temperature, watching for the exact right color, knowing by smell when it's done. The kitchen table is covered in cooling racks and tins and parchment paper. Paul navigates around the operation with the careful steps of a man who has learned that disturbing the cookie production line results in consequences. St. Lucia Day is next week. Anna called to say Sophie wants to be Lucia this year — wearing the white robe and the candle crown, carrying the tray of lussebullar and coffee, the way I did as a girl, the way Anna did, the way every oldest daughter in a Swedish family does. Sophie is eighteen and she wants to wear the crown. I'm making her robe. I still have the crown — it's been in the closet since Anna wore it last, wire and fake candles now (I used real candles when I was a girl, which I'm told was a fire hazard but which felt sacred). Karin called from Stockholm on Sunday — Sunday call, as always. She told me about the julmarknader — the Christmas markets — in Gamla Stan, and I was envious in the way that a Swedish-American is always envious of actual Sweden in December, the way you're envious of the original when you're living with the copy. But then I looked out the window at the snow on the lake and the candles in the window and I thought: this is not a copy. This is the version that Mormor and Morfar built when they got off the boat. This is what they made. And it's ours. I made glögg — Swedish mulled wine — on Saturday evening. Red wine, vodka, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, orange peel, sugar, raisins, almonds. You heat it slowly and the house fills with a smell that is Christmas itself, and you drink it from small cups and the warmth goes all the way down. Paul had two cups and fell asleep in his chair. Sven put his nose near the cup and sneezed. We all celebrate in our own way.

After three days of rolling pepparkakor thin as playing cards and pressing spritz dough through the cookie press, I needed something that could bake largely on its own while I sorted tins and labeled batches — something that smelled like the season without demanding my full attention. This Cinnamon Roll Apple Crisp did exactly that: the cinnamon rising from the oven folded right into the cardamom and clove still hanging in the kitchen air, and by the time it came out golden and bubbling, Paul had abandoned his careful navigation around the cookie operation and planted himself at the table. The cream cheese drizzle is a small indulgence, and in the context of a Johansson julbord, small indulgences are entirely justified.

Cinnamon Roll Apple Crisp

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 40 min | Total Time: 1 hr | Servings: 8

Ingredients

• Apple Filling
• 6 medium apples (Honeycrisp or Granny Smith), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• Cinnamon Roll Crisp Topping
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp fine salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• Cream Cheese Drizzle
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tbsp whole milk (plus more as needed)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Prepare the apple filling. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with granulated sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and flour until evenly coated. Spread in an even layer in the prepared baking dish.
3. Make the crisp topping. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with pea-sized bits of butter throughout. Do not overwork — the irregular texture is what gives the topping its crunch.
4. Assemble and bake. Scatter the topping evenly over the apples, pressing it down very lightly. Bake for 38–42 minutes, until the topping is deep golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling up around the edges. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil after 25 minutes.
5. Make the cream cheese drizzle. While the crisp bakes, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer or whisk until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla and whisk until pourable. Add milk 1 teaspoon at a time if needed to reach a drizzleable consistency.
6. Rest and drizzle. Remove the crisp from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Drizzle the cream cheese glaze generously over the top just before serving. Serve warm, with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 61g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 130mg