Healthy Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free, Nut-Free, can be vegan

These cinnamon rolls are delicious and full of warm sweet cinnamon flavor! These do not rise much or get very fluffy, but even with the denser texture these cinnabons hit the spot. They have more gooey cinnamon sugar filling than many recipes call for, but since that is one of the best parts about this dessert I increased, and might experiment with increasing it even more. The icing recipe also makes extra, but since the icing is my favorite part about any dessert, I increased it to really make sure these were well-frosted and not skimping with thin drizzly stuff like many other recipes out there. 

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1: 
Adapted from the Grain Free Table's recipe over at Foodbabe.com, here.

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1

With this recipe the dough seemed really dry and crumbly and would not mix in a good part of the remaining dry ingredients. To fix this I decided to add in 1 egg. It turns out that was a bad idea, as the dough became too wet/sticky and wouldn't roll properly when I attempted to roll them into a log. It just kept sticking to the pan and breaking. I tried to roll as much of it as I could, and arranged them in make-shift half-bun, half-pieces in the pan. It ended up being more like a monkey bread kind of dessert than actual cinnabons, and it was still delicious! This goes to show if you have problems along the way, don't give up, and even if the end result is different than what you planned it can still be a success. We made these to celebrate Christmas, and a wonderful Christmas it was indeed. 

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #2: 
Adapted from the recipe at Detoxinista.com here. 

This recipe turned out really well and tasted just like a glutenous cinnabon! The use of arrowroot starch and coconut flour made for a lighter texture, less heavy than the previous version, so this is what we'll use going forward. I modified it by adding more of cinnamon/coconut sugar filling, and adding a decadent cream cheese frosting! If you can't tell from the pictures, cream cheese frosting is one of my favorite things ever, which I'll only have on special occasions, if I make it myself with safe ingredients and without refined sugar. The end result tasted so good and decadent I think my husband may ask for it too frequently!

Ingredients

Dough

Dry: 

• 1 1/2 cups arrowroot starch/flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar

Wet: 

• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 eggs (for vegan version replace with 3 tbsp. chia or flax seeds + water to form a gel)

Spice Swirl

• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon Celtic sea salt
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil)

Frosting

• 8 oz. organic cream cheese (or greek yogurt, or dairy-free cream cheese, try to avoid soy still)
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon erythritol, or pinch of stevia (or coconut sugar)
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• squeeze of lemon juice
• Thin to desired thickness with non-dairy milk 

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl mix together the dough dry ingredients.
2. Melt the coconut oil in a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Stir together the wet ingredients in the cup. 
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry making sure there are no lumps. 
4. Chill the dough for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
5. Stir together the the cinnamon/coconut sugar filling ingredients and set aside. 
6. Once the dough has chilled, roll it out onto a tray lined with parchment paper and greased with coconut oil (we don't want the dough to stick!). 
7. Sprinkle the filling onto the rolled out dough. If you like the gooey cinnamon filling as much as I do, sprinkle more cinnamon and coconut sugar on top. 
8. Roll the dough into a log, folding each section over at a time by carefully rolling up the parchment paper. 
9. Cut the log into sections and place in a greased 8x8 dish. 
10. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Cover the dish with foil so they don't get brown.  
11. Make the frosting by heating the cream cheese gently in the microwave or stove-top. Stir in the remaining ingredients, and adjust the taste/sweetness to your liking. 
12. After 25 minutes, take off the foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes until lightly browned. 

Dollop on the frosting and Enjoy! 

There will be extra icing, and you can use that as a dip for fruit or the other rolls.

I happen to LOVE cream cheese frosting, so we used it all. no regrets. ;)

Cinnamon Rolls Attempt #1 - so much gooey, cinnamony, cream cheesy goodness!