Prepare half recipe Mom's Cinnamon Rolls (link in blog post and recipe notes!). You can also prepare the whole recipe, use half for the pie, and bake up the other half for breakfast. :)
While cinnamon rolls are rising (their first rise), prepare the rest of the pie.
For Crust:
In a medium bowl, combine flour and cold, diced vegetable shortening. Using a pastry blender (see note) or fork, cut shortening in until no large pieces remain.
In a small bowl, combine egg, vinegar, and cold water. Whisk to combine.
Make wells in the flour mixture, and pour the egg mixture into the wells. Stir until a soft dough is formed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly into a ball.
Roll dough to fit the bottom of your pie plate, ensuring that you don't stretch the dough (as this will cause it to shrink when baked). Set lined pie plate aside.
For Apple Filling:
Combine all filling ingredients in a sauté pan. Over low heat, cook the apples until softened and their juice has been released. If you prefer a softer apple filling, nearly cook the apples through at this stage. If you prefer more texture/bite to your apple pie, you need only cook them until juices are released.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the apples to the lined pie plate, leaving as much juice as possible in the sauté pan.
Cook juices over medium-low heat until reduced to a syrup. Pour syrup over apples and set pie plate aside.
Preheat oven to 375F while you finish assembling the pie.
Pie Assembly/Baking:
Once the cinnamon rolls have completed the first rise, cut rolls into ½" slices and arrange on top of the apples (I used 16 slices on my pie).(If you opted to make the whole batch of cinnamon rolls, this is where you cut the rest as specified in the cinnamon roll recipe and set them aside for their second rise before baking them.)
Place the pie on a baking sheet (to save your oven in the event any juices bubble over), and bake 30 minutes. If at any point the cinnamon rolls are getting too brown, cover the pie with foil.Allow pie to cool at least 20 minutes before drizzling with cream cheese glaze.
For Cream Cheese Glaze:
Combine all glaze ingredients in a small bowl. Microwave the mixture on 10-second intervals to get to a thin, smooth consistency.
Pour glaze into a zip-top bag, seal, and cut the corner of the bag. Drizzle the cream cheese glaze over the top of the pie.Enjoy!
Notes
Note on sugar in pie filling: The amount of sugar that you'll need will depend greatly on the number/type of apples used and your personal preference for how sweet you want your pie. I used granny smith apples, which of course are tart, and ¾ cup sugar was perfect. You may want to scale the sugar back a bit if you're using sweeter apples.For cinnamon rolls: Use a half recipe of my [Mom's Cinnamon Rolls].Note on pastry blender: While a pastry blender isn't necessary to cut in the shortening, it does make the job faster and easier. If you're looking to buy one for yourself, you can find one [here].