This past weekend, I flew to Minnesota to attend a food photography workshop put on by Lindsay, who writes the blog Pinch of Yum. If you’re following me on Snapchat (@AmyBakesHealthy) or Instagram, you already saw a few sneak peeks of the event and what we ate—hello gorgeous cupcakes!—and I’m going to share more about my amazing trip in the next few days.
But for now, let’s just say that I felt a twinge of first-day-of-school jitters the night before. I tossed and turned for half of the night, too excited and slightly nervous to truly fall into a deep sleep. What will Lindsay be like? What will my classmates be like? What are we going to learn? Am I going to fit in?
I shot out of bed the moment my alarm rang on Saturday, and I quickly rode the elevator to the hotel’s fitness center to squeeze in a quick workout. Although most of my nerves had resolved overnight, a little exercise always helps me relax into a calmer state of mind!
After showering, I walked three blocks over to a different hotel, where I met two of the other bloggers attending. We drove over to the studio space together, and as soon as we spotted the pretty gold balloons outside of the door and checked in with Abby, I inhaled with excitement all over again. I made it! This was really happening!
Lindsay was even sweeter than I imagined, and she made all of us bloggers feel right at home. She started off the workshop with a long breakfast bar with lots of delicious options: coffee, orange juice, fresh fruit, DIY yogurt parfaits with nuts and granola, and…
Donuts. Big, soft, fluffy pillows of perfection. Old fashioneds, sprinkled, glazed, cinnamon sugared, pure chocolate, little holes… You name it! They were provided by a local family-owned donut shop, and seeing that big box of pastries reminded me of my favorite donut place back home, which offers a very similar menu as well as sticky buns and cinnamon rolls the size of my face.
And somehow, I started craving cinnamon rolls.
So when I arrived home after the incredible weekend away, that was the first thing I baked, and these Healthy Classic Cinnamon Rolls tasted even better than the ones from our California donut shop! My family walked in while the pan sat cooling on the counter, and although they know the drill—no eating until after the treats have been photographed!—they swooped in as soon as I finished, and 8 of the cinnamon rolls had disappeared in the blink of an eye. My family couldn’t stop raving about them!
Yes, I know. “Cinnamon rolls” and “healthy” in the same sentence? How can that be?
Unlike traditional recipes, this one contains no refined ingredients! Instead, we’ll use 100% whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose and substitute coconut sugar for granulated or brown. This is the coconut sugar that I buy, and it’s fairly easy to find in grocery stores in the US. Walmart and Target almost always stock it too!
Oh, and these cinnamon rolls contain a lot less butter than traditional recipes too. Just 1 tablespoon for all 12 rolls!
Now I know that this is a yeast-based recipe, but don’t be afraid! Yeast is actually really easy to work with. It’s just another leavener like baking powder or baking soda, but instead of reacting with acid to create air bubbles and make your treats rise, it’s activated with sugar and warm liquid. We’ll let the yeast sit in its bubble-bath-in-a-bowl until it looks a little frothy, and then we’re all set to make these rolls!
I have a secret trick to slicing the cinnamon rolls: I use dental floss! If you have unflavored, that usually works the best. Cut off a long piece of floss, and slide it under the rolled up log of dough. Bring the two ends of floss upward, cross them over the top of the log, and pull. Ta da! A nice, clean cut without squashing the rolls.
If you’re a visual person, watch my video demo here!
After a short rise and a quick trip to the oven, these healthier cinnamon rolls are all ready to be devoured. And if you don’t want to share… I don’t blame you one bit!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your cinnamon rolls and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Healthy Classic Cinnamon Rolls | | Print |
- for the dough
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm nonfat milk (100-110°F)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tbsp (24g) coconut sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ¼ tsp (7g or one ¼-oz package) dry yeast
- 2 – 2 ½ cups (240-300g) whole wheat flour
- for the filling
- 6 tbsp (72g) coconut sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- Lightly coat a 9”-round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the milk, butter, sugar, and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top, and wait 10-15 minutes or until the mixture turns frothy. Mix in 1 ½ cups of flour. If the dough is still wet, continue stirring in flour 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, and knead for 3-5 minutes or until the dough springs back most of the way when you gently press your index finger into it. Let the dough rest while preparing the filling.
- To prepare the filling, stir together the coconut sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
- On a clean, well-floured surface, roll the dough out into a 16x10” rectangle. Brush with the melted butter, leaving a 1” border on the two longer sides. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1” border on the two longer sides again. Carefully roll up the dough into a log, starting at one long edge and rolling towards the other one. Pinch the ends to seal. If the dough won’t stick together, gently brush the second longer edge with water before pinching to seal.
- Slice the log into 12 pieces using dental floss or a sharp serrated knife. Place the rolls into the prepared pan, and cover the pan with a clean towel. Set the pan in a warm, draft-free spot, and let the rolls rise for 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 18-22 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the sides feel firm. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before serving.
For the yeast, I used Red Star® Active Dry Yeast. It performs the best out of any yeast I’ve used, so I highly recommend it!
Brown sugar may be substituted in place of the coconut sugar, but the rolls will no longer be clean-eating friendly.
For more tips on kneading the dough and slicing the cinnamon rolls, watch my video here located above the recipe.
{vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Hellooo! Recipe looks amazing! Just wondering, I am out of whole wheat flour, can I use normal AP flour? I know it won’t be as healthy but just want to know.
Thanks x
Yes! I’m excited to hear what you think of the cinnamon rolls Bella! 🙂
Hi Amy
These rolls taste amazing. We used fresh yeast instead of dry (and converted the amount) although the rolls didn’t rise very much. Do you think that’s why? Thanks.
I’m glad you enjoyed their flavor Lila! I haven’t worked with fresh yeast before, but I imagine that could factor into it. I’ve always had the best luck with Red Star yeast and Gold Medal whole wheat flour. The Red Star yeast performs perfectly in every yeast recipe I’ve tried it in (and with how much I love to bake, that’s quite a lot of recipes! 😉 ). Gold Medal’s whole wheat flour always rises much better than nearly every other brand I’ve tried, with the one exception of Bob’s Red Mill. So if you can’t get your hands on Gold Medal whole wheat flour (if you’re in the US!), that should really help too!
These look amazing! I read someone’s comment that imposed that there were lots of butter in this but really, there’s about one gram of butter in each cinnamon roll… Sometimes you just got to be a bit realistic, haha. Amazing pictures and recipes! Omnomnom! <3
Thank you so much Hanna! I’d love to hear what you think if you try the cinnamon rolls! 🙂
I tried them and they were soooo good! I made a date paste consisting of dates, water, a little bit of almond butter sned looots of cinnamon as filling and they turned out great!
Would you mind if I posted my version of the recipe on my blog? (I’ll of course give you credit!)
That sounds delicious Hanna! I’d love to see your version when you post it on your blog! 🙂
It took quite a while to get ready but the recipe’s up! Thank you so much, it turned out so good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them Hanna! Your pictures are gorgeous! 🙂
Hi Amy, thanks for the recipe but I don’t like any kind of milk can I substitute the same amount of milk with water?
Yes, that’s fine! Their texture will be ever so slightly different, but it’ll barely be noticeable at all. 🙂 I’m excited to hear what you think of the cinnamon rolls Martha!
Just made a batch this morning, and they’re wonderful! I’d never tried baking with coconut sugar before today and it adds such a nice caramelly flavor. I also really like how my rolls ended up looking a lot like your photos. 😀
Your cinnamon rolls looked absolutely beautiful Elaine — just picture-perfect!! ??❤️ I’m so glad you loved them! And I’m even happier that you liked the coconut sugar. It’s such a fun ingredient! 🙂 I hope you’re enjoying your break from classes!
Can you use white wheat flour instead? If so would it be the same amount?
Thank you
Yes! From what I’ve seen, cinnamon rolls made with white whole wheat flour don’t always rise quite as much, but it won’t affect their flavor. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these Heather!
Hi Amy,
Is it possible to make these cinnamon rolls ahead (the night before) so they are ready to throw into the oven in the morning?
Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Jodie! I haven’t had great luck with that method; the cinnamon rolls don’t rise nearly as high. I’d love to hear what you think if you try them! 🙂
Very delicious and nutritious I will made it again
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cinnamon rolls Christine! 🙂
Hi there! I am so happy to have found this recipe and I am very eager to make it, your results look absolutely delicious! I was wondering, if I were to substitute the butter with olive oil/applesauce/mashed bananas and the coconut sugar with honey/artificial sweetener, would any of these options work? Also, if I’m using white whole wheat flour, since you said they won’t rise as much as yours did, while growing the yeast quantity help? Thank you so much!
I meant would growing the yeast quantity*, sorry ?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Bianca! Olive oil would be the best substitute for the butter. I don’t recommend honey or artificial sweetener in the filling; brown sugar would be the best substitute there. (It’s fine to use either in the dough though!) Increasing the amount of yeast still won’t make the rolls rise as high. They’re not too much smaller than when using Gold Medal whole wheat flour — just a little bit! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cinnamon rolls!
These look so good! My husband will only eat desserts made with whole wheat flour. I could only find all purpose whole wheat flour at the grocery store – will this work for this recipe? Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Shelley! I believe that your all-purpose whole wheat flour should work. I can’t wait to hear what you and your husband think of these cinnamon rolls! 🙂 (And I have plenty more sweet treats made with whole wheat flour here as well!)