Growing up, my brother and I ate cereal for our breakfasts nearly every single day. Mom almost always bought the healthier kinds like Corn Flakes, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Rice Krispies, and Life, but every once in a while, she allowed us a “treat” and brought home a box of Fruity Pebbles or Frosted Mini Wheats.
But on Saturday mornings, Mom often tried to give us something a little more special. Even though she wasn’t too fond of cooking, she usually mixed up a batch of homemade pancakes or French toast while my brother and I sipped our “crazy drink” (a concoction of orange juice, apple juice, and sparkling water) and watched “Blue’s Clues” and “Gulla Gulla Island” on TV.
And during the warmer months of the year, if we had behaved extremely well during the week, she and Dad sometimes agreed to walk to the shopping center half a mile from our house and let us pick out a small frosted donut—with sprinkles!
On the Saturdays where Mom wanted a break from washing the mixing bowls and the pancake pan, she occasionally turned on the oven to bake a batch of cinnamon rolls. Since my brother and I generally asked for food within an hour of waking up, she never made them from scratch… That would’ve required time to roll out the dough and let the cinnamon rolls rise before baking, and she knew that we’d constantly bug her by asking, “Are they ready yet? How about now?”
Instead, she opted for a store-bought refrigerated can of cinnamon rolls, complete with a little container of cream cheese icing inside. Once the oven had preheated, she could give us breakfast in just over 20 minutes, and we ate every last crumb of those pastries… And even licked the extra icing from the spoons for drizzling!
Now that I’m older and in charge of my own Saturday morning breakfasts, I sometimes bake a batch of these cinnamon rolls from scratch as a special treat… But other times, my stomach starts growling within minutes of waking up and refuses to wait for the dough to rise! On those occasions, I skip the store-bought cinnamon rolls (as tempting as they still might be!) and bake these Clean Cinnamon Roll Scones instead. They have the same irresistible flavors, but they’re ready in just about 30 minutes!
Many traditional scone recipes call for ample amounts of butter and heavy cream… My waistline cringes at the thought of all of those calories—there aren’t enough hours in the day to run them all off! Instead, this healthier recipe uses just 2 tablespoons of butter. Yes, that’s it!
It’s really important to use very cold butter straight from the fridge. You want the butter to stay cold until you put the scones in the oven because when the butter starts to melt at that high temperature, it creates little air pockets, which gives the scones their light and tender texture.
And Greek yogurt provides the rest of their tender texture. You know it’s my favorite ingredient in healthier baking! Greek yogurt provides the same moisture as extra butter for a fraction of the calories, and it gives these scones a protein boost, too. (They have 5g!)
Then you’ll use pure maple syrup to lightly sweeten the scones. Just a hint! In general, scones’ sweetness level lies somewhere between plain bread and muffins. And be sure to use the good stuff! Avoid pancake or sugar-free syrups; those contain corn syrup or artificial ingredients, which we’re avoiding in this clean eating recipe.
And finally… Just like those canned cinnamon rolls from my childhood, these scones get a little cream cheese drizzle! You’ll use Greek yogurt cream cheese to make it, although Neufchâtel cream cheese will also work. I found my Greek yogurt cream cheese at Safeway (their own Lucerne brand), and Walmart often stocks this brand, too.
The drizzle is sweetened with one of my new favorite ingredients: vanilla crème stevia. Stevia is a plant-based, no-calorie sweetener that’s clean eating friendly, and it’s very concentrated. A little goes a long way—you just need 8 drops! This is the kind that I buy, and you can find it in many health-oriented grocery stores, as well as online. (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
I baked these scones just before Easter when my brother and his best friend were visiting, and five of them disappeared off of the baking sheet before I could even wash the mixing bowl! “Umm, they’re kind of addictive…” they reported sheepishly. Guess I’ll have to make a double batch next time!
Now are you ready for breakfast too?? When you bake these, remember to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking! I’d love to see your scones!
| Clean Cinnamon Roll Scones | | Print |
- for the scones
- 1 ½ cups (150g) whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40mL) nonfat milk, divided
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- for the drizzle
- 1 tbsp (14g) Greek yogurt cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp nonfat milk
- 8-12 drops vanilla crème stevia
- Preheat the oven to 425°F, and line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or the back of a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, 2 tablespoons of milk, and vanilla.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, and shape into a ¾” tall circle using a spatula. Brush with the remaining milk. Slice the circle into 8 triangular segments with a sharp knife. Bake at 425°F for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the drizzle, stir together the Greek yogurt cream cheese, milk, and stevia in a small bowl. Transfer the mixture to a zip-topped bag, and cut off a tiny piece of one corner. Just before serving, drizzle on top of the scones.
Whole wheat pastry flour, white whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
In a pinch, solid-state coconut oil may be substituted for the butter, but I warn against doing this, if at all possible, because the scones’ texture won’t be quite the same.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the maple syrup.
Any milk may be substituted for the nonfat milk.
In the drizzle, 1 teaspoon of honey may be substituted for the vanilla crème stevia. Decrease the milk to ½ teaspoon, or omit the milk altogether.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Hey Amy!:)
Your cinnamon roll scones really taste exactly like your 45-minute cinnamon rolls, which is awesome! And they are even easier to make!
I made them with Einkorn flour and was surprised at how good the consistency turned out! (Due to the lack of eggs and all the wholegrain flour, I was really sceptical at first!)
For me, they were just a little bit too sweet, but I think this is because the maple syrup I use at the moment has 90 grams of sugar per 100 ml. I think the other one with 65 grams would be perfect in this recipe!
I love, that there is a slight butter flavor, even though the recipe uses only 30grams of butter! It’s delicious!
Thank you so much for the recipe!!:-)
Yay!! I’m so glad you loved these scones Anna! That means so much to me! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know about Einkorn flour — that’s great to hear!
Delicious!! Only change I made was used coconut oil instead of butter.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these scones Savannah! 🙂
How much coconut oil did you use instead? 🙂
It’s the same amount! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these scones!
I’m in LOVE with All of your recipes
, but you only use whole wheat flour.. is it possible to swap it for White whole wheat ..?
I’m so honored that you’re loving my recipes, Omniya! That truly means a lot to me — thank you for taking the time to let me know! 🙂 I’ve actually covered the answer to this exact question in the Notes section of this recipe (located directly underneath the Instructions!). I know it can be really easy to miss that little bit! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think of these scones if you try making them!
Hi Amy!
Can I substitute regular cream cheese in place of the Greek yogurt cream cheese?
Hi Amy! My scones turned out sooo dry! What did I do wrong? I’m working my way through most of your cookie, cake and scone recipes and don’t want to mess them up any more as my husband and I can’t wait to have some as our dessert! So far, the Apple Pie cookies and the Banana Oatmeal cake are our faves! Thank you!
It means a lot that you tried this recipe of mine, Carol! I’m so glad you enjoyed the cookies and cake. That sounds disappointing and not like how these scones are supposed to turn out, so I’m happy to work with you to figure out what happened! In order to do so, I have some questions for you. 🙂
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups/spoons to measure all of the ingredients — especially the flour, yogurt, and maple syrup?
Did you use whole wheat flour or the homemade gluten-free blend I included in the Notes section?
Can you describe the consistency of the dough after you mixed it all together in Step 2?
Did you brush the tops and sides with milk prior to baking?
Did you bake the scones as one big circle after cutting it into wedges, or did you separate the 8 triangles so they weren’t touching?
Did you use a regular oven, convection (fan assisted) oven, or a countertop oven?
How many rack positions does your oven have, and which one did you use?
How long did you bake your scones?
How dark were they when you removed them from the oven?
Can you describe their interior texture a bit more? Were they so dry that they were crumbling and falling apart after baking?
Was it just their texture that was off? Or was their flavor off as well?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them!
Oh no! I totally missed a step – I forgot to brush the tops and sides with milk. The flavor, texture, etc. were fine. Thank you so much, Amy. I’ll try again!
It’s my pleasure, Carol! I’m happy to help. 🙂 I hope your next batch of scones turns out better!