The summer after my brother graduated from high school, our family flew to France for a summer vacation. We spent the first few days in Paris exploring a few of our favorite parts of the city from our previous trip, like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, as well as a few new ones, including the Palais Garnier and the Panthéon, before driving east to the Alps.
We stayed in a small apartment situated about a mile away from the Notre Dame and located on the third level of that particular historic building. (With its age, it lacked an elevator, so we lugged our heavy suitcases up multiple flights of incredibly narrow stairs!) Split into two levels, the master bedroom and bathroom overlooked the sitting area below, and a door from the adjacent kitchen area led into the kids’ room with bunk beds.
We only dined out for a few lunches, opting to grab something quick like a sandwich or slice of quiche from patisseries while walking and sightseeing during the day, and we perched on the bar stools scattered around the apartment’s large kitchen island to eat the rest of our meals. With a short two-block walk to the nearest grocery store, where we purchased fresh produce and plenty of fancy soft cheeses, and an even shorter half-block walk to the boulangerie on the street corner, we usually enjoyed those smorgasbord meals at home more than the lunches out!
At least twice a day, we stopped by that boulangerie. Every afternoon while on our way back from our tourist activities, we picked up a long, thin, freshly baked baguette to pair with the cheese in our fridge, and we tore off piece after piece of the soft yet crusty loaf, continuing to nibble long after our stomachs were full.
Then in the mornings, before my brother and I woke up, my parents walked over to the boulangerie to buy a few treats for breakfast. They brought back a small multigrain roll for me (always the healthy girl!), along with a few flaky croissants and pains au chocolat (aka the rectangular-shaped chocolate croissants) for themselves and my brother.
On our final day, I finally caved and asked for one of those pain au chocolat. They looked so tempting from where I sat at the kitchen island, watching the rest of my family bite into the soft layers and watch as the golden crumbs fell onto their plates! It was worth every calorie… That rich dark chocolate paired with the flaky pastry = pure bliss!
When I drove by a French bakery during my trip to San Diego last weekend (did you catch any of it on my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat?), those memories flooded back, and I couldn’t shake the thought of pain au chocolat out of my head. Since I knew I’d be tempted to eat three in one sitting (can you blame me??), I opted to bake these healthier Skinny Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls at home instead! Their filling tastes just as rich and decadent as that of the pains au chocolat, but they’re 100% whole wheat and just 109 calories!
I call that a chocolate miracle! ?
Like I mentioned, these healthy cinnamon rolls are 100% whole wheat. That’s right—you just need regular ol’ whole wheat flour! This is my favorite kind because I can find it in every grocery store, and it rises much better than other brands. When made with my favorite whole wheat flour, my cinnamon rolls always double (if not triple!) in size, whereas other brands barely rise at all. Bonus: It’s very inexpensive too!
Next, you’ll need yeast. I know yeast-based recipes can be intimidating, but don’t be afraid! I have a video here that will walk you through every step so you can see exactly what the dough should look like at each stage of the recipe. This is my all-time favorite yeast! It works like a charm in every single recipe I’ve ever tried, and I highly recommend it. (I usually buy it online!)
Here comes the most important part… The filling! It’s a combination of coconut sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Yup, just your stereotypical unsweetened cocoa powder! Because you’ll mix in a full 5 tablespoons, there’s no need for Ductched or special dark cocoa powder. The filling already tastes really rich and dark chocolaty without those latter two types!
Now that you’ve watched that video (you did watch it, didn’t you? here’s the link again, in case you missed it!), you already know my secret to slicing perfect cinnamon rolls…
Dental floss! I know it sounds absolutely crazy, but it works so well. It’s the only way I cut my cinnamon rolls and sweet rolls—and it also means you don’t have to wash a knife afterwards too! (The fewer dishes, the better at my house!) And I always use my favorite springform pan to bake them. I love it because its sides are taller than your average cake pan, which means the cinnamon rolls can rise higher, and the removable sides make it so much easier to serve them after they’ve baked!
You’ll let the cinnamon rolls rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 45 minutes. Even now, after I’ve baked hundreds of yeast-based treats, it still looks like magic when I peek under the towel and see how they’ve grown so tall and puffy!
Then preheat the oven, carefully slide in the pan, set a timer, and…
Enjoy! (And try not to eat three in one sitting like me! ?)
P.S. Remember to snap a picture of your cinnamon rolls when you bake them and share it with me on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking. I’d love to see them and feature your picture in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Skinny Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls | | Print |
- for the dough
- ¾ cup (180mL) warm nonfat milk (100-110°F)
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp (12g) 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
- 5 tbsp (60g) coconut sugar
- 5 tbsp (25g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tbsp (7g) unsalted butter, melted
- Lightly coat a 9” springform 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, cocoa powder, 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 free end onto the roll 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 17-20 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 use this brand. It performs the best out of any yeast I’ve used, so I highly recommend it!
For the whole wheat flour, I use this brand. It allows the rolls to rise more than other brands and also yields more tender cinnamon rolls. White whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and all-purpose flour may also be substituted.
Brown sugar may be substituted in place of the coconut sugar, but the rolls will no longer be clean-eating friendly.
I prefer a springform pan because the sides are taller, which allows the rolls to rise higher, and the sides are removable for easy serving. A regular 9”-round cake pan may be substituted instead.
For more tips on kneading the dough and slicing the cinnamon rolls, watch my video here located underneath the recipe.
{clean eating, vegan option, low fat, low calorie}
View Nutrition Information
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Thank goodness for cinnamon rolls! I have yet to go to France, but it’s on my list! 🙂 These looks absolutely delicious Amy, I love following your snapchats!! I’ve never known anyone who loves baseball as much as you do 😉
Awwwww, you’re the sweetest Marina!! Thanks for watching all of my silly snaps! Especially the baseball ones… ? I’m totally obsessed, as you’ve probably seen! ? I hope you’re able to make it to France someday — it’s such a life-changing experience!
This pornography is making me all hot and bothered! 😉
You’re too funny GiGi!
Chocolate AND cinnamon AND fluffy whole wheat dough? Sounds amazing!
Thanks Carly!
Hi Amy! I was wondering if I could substitute the milk for a non-dairy alternative like soy milk? Thanks, this is a great recipe! 🙂
I actually answer that in the Notes section underneath the Instructions Sophie! But yes, soy milk will work. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cinnamon rolls!
Is it possible to use another kind of flour as a substitue, so it can be gluten free?
I haven’t tried baking yeast-based recipes with gluten-free flours before, so I can’t personally vouch for whether that will work. Gluten-free yeast baking can be tricky since yeast-based recipes depend on gluten’s structural properties for the breads, cinnamon rolls, etc. to rise and hold their shape. I’d love to hear what you think of the cinnamon rolls if you try them Mariana! 🙂
is it ok if i just omit the cinnamon?? thanks!
Yes, that’s perfectly fine! I can’t wait to hear what you think of the cinnamon rolls! 🙂
I’m a seasoned bread baker, and want to switch to healthier options, so I tried this recipe because of the whole wheat. I read quite a bit about baking with whole wheat, and tried these rolls today. They did not rise. They tasted like rocks. Too bad. The yeast did bubble, and was fresh.
I’m honored that you’d try making my recipe, Rebecca! That sounds really disappointing and not like how these cinnamon rolls are supposed to turn out at all, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. 🙂 Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? What brands of yeast and whole wheat flour did you use? How much flour did you use?
Once I know your answers to all of those questions, I should have a much better idea of the potential culprit and how to fix it!
Here are answers to your questions. I used whole milk. I used brown sugar in bread and filling. I used a Red Star yeast packet. I used Red Mill stone ground organic whole wheat pastry flour. (Since the onset of the pandemic, flour is hard to find in local grocery stores. I got the last bag of any type of whole wheat.). I used the amount in the recipe. Usually, I let dough rise in a greased bowl before cutting out, but I followed your directions and omitted this step. The rolls did not rise after cutting and placing in pan, so I thought something was wrong, but went ahead and baked them, and they did not rise while baking either. Today, I used the other 2 yeast packets in that strip to make my honey wheat loaves, and they turned out great. I didn’t care for the chocolate filling, but that is a matter of taste. My favorite recipe for sweet rolls rises overnight in the refrigerator, makes 3 variations, but uses white flour. I hope this helps solve the mystery!
Thank you SO much for all of this information, Rebecca!! It’s incredibly helpful! 🙂 The whole milk and brown sugar shouldn’t have affected the outcome, which is the first bit of good news! Unfortunately, I haven’t had good luck with Bob’s Red Mill whole wheat pastry flour in this recipe. It’s such a bummer because I absolutely LOVE Bob’s Red Mill and all of their products, but for some reason, it seems like their whole wheat pastry flour doesn’t have as high of a gluten content as other brands, which means these cinnamon rolls don’t rise much, if at all, when I’ve used their whole wheat pastry flour. (King Arthur whole wheat flour is like this too. I can NEVER get my cinnamon rolls to rise at all, even if I let them proof for over an hour, when I use King Arthur whole wheat flour.) I actually mentioned this and shared the best brand of flour in the text of my blog post above the recipe — I know it can be easy to miss! 😉 Gold Medal whole wheat flour is basically the ONLY flour I use in my yeast-based recipes that call for 100% whole wheat flour. It’s the only brand that consistently rises for me. It seems like it has a higher gluten content, which really helps with rising, and from research I’ve done on Google and bread-making cookbooks, it seems like other people have noticed this as well!
When you measured the flour, did you use a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe how you used them to measure? (You sound like a very seasoned bread maker who knows how to properly measure flour, so I just wanted to make sure! 😉 )
However, there’s more good news, even if the flour news isn’t so great… Red Star Yeast is the BEST out of any yeast I’ve used, so I’m thrilled to hear that you used that! (I grew up using Fleischmann’s, but it doesn’t seem to rise quite as much, especially in recipes made with 100% whole wheat flour.)
Knowing all of this, if BRM whole wheat pastry flour is the only whole wheat flour that you have (I know how impossible it is to find any type of flour in grocery stores right now!!), then I’d recommend {a} substituting at least ½ cup (or up to 1 cup) of all-purpose flour, which should help make sure your cinnamon rolls actually rise, and {b} using my classic cinnamon roll recipe here if you didn’t care for the chocolate-flavored filling {or my chai spice cinnamon rolls recipe here, if you love an even richer and more complex spice flavor!}.
Does all of that make sense? Let me know if anything is unclear — I know I just threw a LOT of information at you!! 🙂
Thank you, Amy, for being such a helpful detective! I’ve been reading up on whole wheat flour and how to use it. I found a recipe at traceysculinaryadventures.com that addressed all the issues I read about. It calls for white whole wheat flour, oats, potato flakes (moisture), nonfat dry milk, orange juice (counters any bitterness), honey, egg… and the results were great. I think you help new bakers to find cooking joy! And Tracey’s isn’t a beginner recipe in my opinion. I will keep my eyes open for Gold Medal whole wheat flour! And will retry your recipe then. (Yes, I did read your blog, notes and recommendations.) I used measuring cups, as I don’t really trust my scale. I scoop into the flour, then shake loosely into cup, and level with knife. One discrepancy between the 2 recipes I tried, you say the dough should spring back, and the other baker says the indentation should remain. I feel like a chemist! I appreciate your comments so very much! And your site, pictures, comments are fantastic!
It’s my pleasure, Rebecca! I’m always happy to help, and I’m so glad you found all of this information and advice useful! That really means a lot to me, and I appreciate you taking the time to let me know. 🙂 I mention this a lot, so maybe you already know… But I was a chemist before I became a baking blogger, so I definitely smiled at your comment about feeling like a chemist. I love super nerdy baking conversations like these ones that we’re having!
That’s so interesting that you don’t trust your scale as much as measuring cups! I’ve always been the opposite. Is it a digital scale, or is it one with a physical dial that rotates to the number instead?
Yes! For my recipes, I’ve found the best results come when the dough springs back most of the way after kneading — but not all of the way! You should still be able to see where you pressed your finger in, but it shouldn’t be as deep as when you very first pressed your finger into the dough. (If it doesn’t spring back at all, I’ve found that can sometimes be a sign that there’s too much flour that has been worked into the dough!) Does that make more sense?
Thank you SO much for your kind words about my site, pictures, and comments too! That truly means the world to me. I’m so honored that you’d take the time to let me know too! ♡
Hi! My scale is the kind you turn. I suppose I will have to be in the market for a digital one now!
It’s so great that you are a chemist! I never took chemistry in school and, because I love to cook, especially bake, I now wish I had! I can read a cookbook like most people read novels. I love them! And, of course, now I am addicted to Pinterest. Thanks again for all your help!
Rebecca
Then that makes COMPLETE sense, how you trust your measuring cups more than your scale!! I’d probably be the same way. 😉 I can’t imagine baking without my digital scales now… And I love how they’re relatively inexpensive and easy to find. I bought both of mine on Amazon, and they’ve been worth every penny (maybe even 10X every penny!). I use my scales every day, which I’m sure is no surprise!
I love how you read cookbooks like regular books! Your kitchen must always smell incredible… It sounds like you cook and bake a lot! I can get totally lost in scrolling through Pinterest for hours as well. So many tempting-looking recipes there!
You’re welcome, Rebecca! Thank YOU for all of your sweet comments too!! 🙂
I am allergic to gluten. Can I use almond flour instead?
I’m honored that you’d like to try my recipe, Aye! Unfortunately, I haven’t had good luck with gluten-free flours in my cinnamon roll recipes. This is because gluten is the protein in wheat-based flours that helps baked goods rise and maintain their shape while cooling. Almond flour lacks that, so when you substitute it for wheat-based flours in my recipes that rise (like cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc!), the resulting baked goods will often turn out denser and collapse while cooling.
However, gluten-free cinnamon rolls are at the very top of my recipe testing list! So if you’ve signed up to receive my blog emails (here!), you’ll be the first to know as soon as I’ve perfected and shared that recipe. 🙂