Move your buns.

Ode to the Apple:

Oh, apples.  How I do love you.

You are crisp.

Sweet, tangy, or downright tart,

you always hit the spot.

So my apple poetry isn't up to par, but the sentiment holds true.  I love them.  I do.  Maybe it was growing up in Wisconsin, where the orchards are abundant and the harvest is plentiful.  Maybe it was picking our own as a family while I was a child, and my mom allowing us each to choose which type would go in our bushel.  (Or maybe it was a peck.  Which one is bigger?) I always chose Spartans.  Except when I chose Macintosh.  I was a tangy apple kind of girl, and in general still am.  But when I want a sweet apple?  Braeburn all the way.  Or perhaps a lovely honeycrisp or Jonagold.  Mmmm.  In any case, apple desserts are really right up my alley.  This one is no exception.

This is a dessert I made up.  It began with a recipe.  And a trip to the store for ingredients (as most desserts do).  From there, it took a turn.  You see, I was looking for ease.

And for me, on this particular day, ease meant having half of the dessert already made for me.

Which is why I went with Rhodes Warm N' Serve dinner rolls on this occasion.  No, this is not an advertisement, sponsored post or anything of the like.  (though I wouldn't protest.  Anyone from Rhodes rolls out there?  Anyone?)

Does it sound like cheating?  Awesome.  I'm all for it.  I'll even let you cheat too, you can copy my paper.

Why do you cut each bun in half? A good question.  Very valid.  More effort, more time, when we're going for easy, right?  Cutting them in half makes them more manageable per mouthful.  In essence, they become bite-sized - more of a "pull-apart" dessert, if you will.

When I make these again (and I will, make no mistake about it...) I'll definitely make them in a 9x13 pan.  I think you could get away with a 9x9 pan as well, but this baking dish?  Definitely too small.  The buns were CRAMMED in there - much like mine in my favorite jeans - and it didn't allow for a lot of "seepage".  It doesn't really sound like something desirable, but trust me, it is.  You want the sauce to ooze down in between the buns, making them even gooier and more apple-spicy.  

I was initially going for a kind of faux apple streusel type situation, but I think I would need to make some kind of crumble topping for it to qualify.  Therefore, I just went for naming the obvious - aka "Apple Buns", which could totally be passed off as a sassy, almost naughty nickname, though that's not what I was going for.

You know what this dessert NEEDS?  Vanilla ice cream.  Then it would be perfect.  Also, I believe I am going to further classify this as a breakfast-slash-dessert ("and the slashy goes to... Fabio!"  Anyone else watch that obsessively and quote it to no end, or is that just me and the mr?)  Yep.  Even with the ice cream.

Definitely a breakfast.

Also, if you like Rhodes Rolls, check out this delectable concoction - though it is, admittedly, more of a summer flavor.

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