On our childhood Saturday mornings, Mom mixed up batches of Mickey Mouse pancakes for my brother and me while we watched our favorite TV shows. During the commercial breaks, we rushed into the kitchen, doused our plates with maple syrup, and cut up the pancakes (ears first!) into as few bites as possible to shovel into our mouths. We needed lots of sugar energy to dance along to Gullah Gullah Island and Blue’s Clues!
If Mom ran out of milk or flour, she popped open a can of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and drizzled lots of cream cheese icing on top as she pulled them from the oven. We ate them straight from the pan, so everybody won—we got our daily dose of sugar, and Mom had less plates and forks to clean!
Although I never really grew out of the whole “sweets for breakfast” phase, I tried thinking of ways to nudge my taste buds in a healthier direction without sacrificing my cinnamon rolls. I acted impulsively on my first thought, “savory cinnamon rolls!” by spreading cream cheese on the dough and sautéing spinach to sprinkle on top. After waiting a few minutes in front of the oven and adding a little balsamic drizzle, I realized Pillsbury might lose this loyal customer—I actually want to eat veggies for breakfast now!
You can easily halve the recipe and bake the rolls in a 6”-round cake pan instead. Be sure to serve them warm!
- To prepare the dough, combine the water, yeast, and sugar in a medium bowl, and let it sit for 10 minutes or until bubbly. Stir in the whole wheat flour. Mix in a tablespoon of all-purpose flour at a time until a wet dough forms.
- Turn out the dough onto a well-floured surface. Knead the dough until it springs back when a finger is pressed into it (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball. Lightly spray a medium bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and place the dough ball inside, rolling it around until it’s coated with the spray. Lay a clean towel on top, and place the bowl in a warm, draft-free spot for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- About 30 minutes into the rising time, stir together the cream cheese and water in a small bowl until smooth. Chiffonade the spinach, and add along with the basil, salt, and pepper to a large pan coated with cooking spray. Sauté over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the spinach turns dark green and wilts, about 2-3 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°, and lightly spray an 9”-round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- On a well-floured surface, punch down the dough. Spread the dough into a 8”x15” rectangle. Spread the cream cheese over the dough with a spatula, leaving a 1” border at one of the short ends. Sprinkle the spinach evenly across the top of the cream cheese.
- Starting with the other short end, roll up the dough into a log. Slice the log into 8 equal pieces, each about 1” wide. Place the rolls spiral-side-up in the prepared cake pan, and bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
- While the rolls cook, prepare the drizzle by whisking together the yogurt and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Spoon on top of the rolls just before serving.
One last thing! Do you want to learn more about the basics of food photography? There’s still time to vote—just choose your response in the survey below! (If you’re reading this through email or an RSS feed, the HTML code doesn’t show up, so click here to answer the short one-question survey!)
This is such a creative idea – I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spinach and cream cheese stuffed cinnamon roll! It’s like the perfect cross between a savory breakfast and a sweet pastry. The yogurt balsamic drizzle sounds so interesting too, and much healthier than a sugary glaze.
Thank you! I was really excited with how they turned out. I might actually prefer them to traditional cinnamon rolls since I feel much healthier after eating one (or two)!
This looks delicious! I love the Saturday morning story, too. Were we all raised the same way, or what? 😉
Thanks! There’s something special about waking up early for Saturday morning cartoons… It was hard to get us out of bed for school during the week, but we were wide awake by 5:30 am on weekends! :]
YUM, YUM, and YUM! I bet the cream cheese oozes out at first warm, delicious bite… magical! I might be willing to put my naught sweet tooth aside for some of these! 🙂
I’m the queen of sweet tooth breakfasts, and I actually looked forward to having these! There’s something really satisfying about the combination of soft spinach and tangy cheese where I forget that there isn’t any sugar! :]
YESS TEACH us your photography ways!!! What unique recipe, it just HAS to be delicious!
With that emphatic of a YES, I’ll treat it as 2 votes! ;]
This looks sooo delicious and unique! Love the idea ans I love love spinach so thats a great osea especially for brunch! 🙂
Thank you! Spinach is great. I eat so much of it that I’m surprised I haven’t turned a bright leafy green yet!
I saw this recipe over on Skinny Mom and had to stop by to pin it for the holidays. It looks like it would be a fun brunch dish.
Thanks for your kind comment and pin Kristi! 🙂
Amy!! I read 1 1/2 cup + 2T water! That’s why it did not work out ? Attempt again! Triple the amount of water even though I kept adding flour but turned into one sticky mess
Oh goodness!! That would definitely cause issues… ? I can’t wait to hear how your second attempt turns out Connie!!