Healthier cinnamon rolls recipe

baked, recipes

Healthier cinnamon rolls recipe

baked, recipes

Healthier cinnamon roll recipe 4

I have a very serious problem to discuss with you all today. My Starbucks cinnamon swirl addiction is out. of. control. I can’t resist them! Usually, I’m not a girl that loves baked things from chain coffee shops, I prefer really good cake or brownies from a bakery or patisserie. However the Starbucks cinnamon swirls are just so good. 

Now you guys know me, I’m a huge believer in having a bit of what you fancy, and a few full sugar Starbucks cinnamon swirls aren’t going to do me any harm. However, I am at the point where I could easily tuck into several a week and something needed to be done!

Healthier cinnamon roll recipe 2

I decided to create my own cinnamon roll recipe to meet my cravings. Cinnamon roll recipes seem to be pretty tricky, with most I’ve come across needing yeast. I’m still a bit scared of yeast to be honest, and even after searching for other yeast-free recipes I couldn’t find anything that looked healthy, or tasty enough. This recipe is developed completely from scratch with my 3 ingredient spelt flour scones as a starting point.

Healthier cinnamon roll recipe 10

One of the things I love about the Starbucks version is that it contains dried fruit and citrus so I decided to add some soaked dried cranberries, orange juice and orange zest to the recipe. The recipe contains no refined sugar and not a great deal of fat. It’s a nice straightforward recipe to make, with amazing results!

Healthy cinnamon roll recipe

Healthier Cinnamon Rolls recipe
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For the dough
  1. 1/3 cup dried cranberries
  2. 2 large oranges
  3. 1 cup + 1/2 cup wholemeal self-raising flour (I used Doves Farm) + extra for dusting
  4. 1 cup 0% fat greek yoghurt
  5. 2 tbsp honey
  6. 2 tbsp cinnamon
For the filling
  1. 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  2. 2 tbsp cinnamon
  3. 2 tbsp coconut oil
For the glaze
  1. 1/2 cup icing sugar (for sugar free version get Natvia Naturals Icing sugar mix)
  2. Juice from 1/2 an orange
  3. 1 tbsp cinnamon
Instructions
  1. 1. Soak the cranberries in a bowl with the juice of one of the oranges for 1-2 hours.
  2. 2. Preheat the oven to 200C.
  3. 3. Zest the second orange and set aside. Add to a bowl along with the flour, yoghurt, cranberries and the soaking juice, honey and cinnamon. Combine, using a spoon and then your hands, until a soft dough forms. Add more flour from the separate 1/2 cup as needed, until it's no longer sticky.
  4. 4. Dust a surface with flour and roll out the dough into a square shape about 3 mm thick.
  5. 5. Make the filling by mixing the coconut sugar and cinnamon with the (hard) coconut oil until it becomes crumbly (I used a fork for this). Spread over the dough reserving some for on top.
  6. 6. Carefully roll up the dough from one end until you get a sausage shape.
  7. 7. Cut the dough 'sausage' into pieces about 1 inch thick.
  8. 8. Grease a baking tray with sides with coconut oil and place the cinnamon rolls, cut end down, snuggly beside each other.
  9. 9. Scatter over the remaining filling on top and bake for 20 minutes, turning the tray after 15. When cooked, the dough should look bread-like and not doughy.
  10. 10. Leave to cool while you make the topping.
  11. 11. Combine the icing sugar, orange juice from the reserved orange and cinnamon and drizzle on top of the cooled rolls. Serve!
Notes
  1. These will keep at room temp for 2-3 days or can be frozen for up to 6 months.
Wholeheartedly Laura https://wholeheartedlylaura.com/

Healthier cinnamon roll recipe 8

The texture of these is better than I could have hoped for. They are soft, chewy and sweet with a lovely cinnamon flavour. As I say in the recipe, I used Natvia icing sugar which is natural, and contains no calories or carbs. It is super sweet though, so bear that in mind while pouring it on top of those rolls!

Healthier cinnamon roll recipe 5

Although I’m not claiming these are as good as Starbucks cinnamon swirls, they are a version I can eat more freely with much less of a sugar hangover afterwards. I’ll still be having my Starbucks fix now and again, but I’m keeping these in the freezer for whenever the craving strikes!

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14 Comments

  1. Nadia's Healthy Kitchen

    Yum! I’ve been craving cinnamon rolls A LOT recently! Was thinking of making my own healthy version. I wouldn’t have thought of using yogurt in the dough. Genius idea!! :D

    Reply
  2. Anna @AnnaTheApple

    Do you know I’ve never had a cinnamon roll. I’m not a huge cinnamon fan which is probably why but they always look good…I know Maria is a huge fan as she always has them post-race. I should get involved I think. Like the sound of this Natvia as well!

    Reply
    • Laura Agar Wilson

      OMG you are missing out! I don’t think it’s so much the cinnamon, more the overall flavour. I definitely need to use post run cinnamon roll action as a bribe to get me back into parkrun ;-)

      Reply
  3. Maria @ runningcupcake

    I LOVE a cinnamon roll from Starbucks, as you well know! These sound good too. Since getting my kitchen aid mixer I haven’t made anything dough based, just cakes and biscuits, and I really fancy using it for something as I think the dough hook will make it easier. I love the sound of the citrus too- I think that’s what makes the starbucks one so good.

    Reply
    • Laura Agar Wilson

      You should definitely make some if you have the equipment! I have to say those Starbucks ones are the best, I really had to drag myself away from them this morning when I was in town!

      Reply
  4. Kezia @ Super Naturally Healthy

    Yay for healthy cinnamon rolls! I am just working on a Gluten free version but great idea using greek yogurt as that would give it some natural rise anyway:)

    Reply
  5. Tamzi

    I wish I could eat these yum!!! Hope your well lovely x

    Reply
  6. lilylipstick

    I secretly love the Starbucks ones too – I save them for a treat when I’m feeling particularly tired or run-down as they are not the healthiest but I love anything cinnamon and no where else does anything cinnamon-related that I’ve seen. Your version sounds amazing and they look so good too! x

    Reply
    • Laura Agar Wilson

      Yep no where else seems to do anything similar, I did try a cinnamon roll in IKEA once and it was such a let down!

      Reply

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