For a couple of years, my parents purchased a mini season ticket package to the Oakland A’s games, so any weekend the team played at home, we divvied up the baseball tickets. My parents usually went to at least two of the three games themselves, and sometimes they offered the third game to me—or bought an extra ticket so all three of us could go!
Although easy to drive to, the stadium only offered the basic ballpark foods: hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos, pizza… And not much else. I quickly learned to pack my own snacks if I wanted to eat anything healthy during the games!
Yet my parents didn’t mind the limited options. Dad always headed straight for the sausage stand as soon as we entered the ballpark to get his favorite “atomic hot link” topped with plenty of bell peppers and onions, and Mom usually opted for plain nachos or a kids’ meal with a hot dog, chips, and a small soda.
Partway through the season, Mom realized the Round Table Pizza stall offered other options besides personal-sized pizzas, including mini cinnamon twists… Dough coated with cinnamon sugar, twisted into corkscrew spirals, baked, and served with a side of vanilla icing.
She swore they tasted like cinnamon rolls, and she waited in that Round Table line to buy some almost every single game!
With Spring Training baseball just a month away, we’ve already started talking about what games to attend this year, which means I’m already thinking about ballpark food… So in honor of Mom’s favorite stadium treat, I baked a batch of these Ultimate Healthy Mini Cinnamon Rolls!
They’re light and fluffy with gooey spirals of cozy cinnamon filling, yet unlike those ballpark twists, these contain no refined flour or sugar. And they’re just 56 calories!
I have a feeling I may bake plenty of batches of these this upcoming baseball season! 😉
To make these, you’ll start with a few key ingredients…
♡ Yeast. I always use Red Star Yeast because it performs the best out of any yeast I’ve tried, and it makes my cinnamon rolls rise twice as tall! Other yeasts don’t rise nearly as much. Their quick rise yeast, active dry yeast, and platinum yeast all work equally well.
♡ Warm milk. Not hot—you don’t want to kill the yeast! Stick your pinky finger into the milk. If it feels like a hot tub, but not scalding, that’s the right temperature.
♡ Melted butter. A mere ½ tablespoon! Just enough to make the dough nice and tender.
♡ Coconut sugar. It’s exactly what it sounds like… An unrefined sweetener that comes from coconuts! However, coconut sugar (like this!) does not actually taste like coconut. It has a caramel-like flavor very similar to brown sugar!
♡ Salt. To balance the flavors… But also to play a role in the yeast’s activation!
♡ Whole wheat flour. I prefer Gold Medal whole wheat flour because (a) it’s available in just about every grocery store near my home and (b) it rises much taller than other brands. I highly recommend the Gold Medal whole wheat flour + Red Star Yeast combo for the best cinnamon rolls!
Once you’ve mixed those into a dough, it’s time to knead! I always knead by hand. It’s so relaxing and soothing, and I love the feeling of dough beneath my palms. You can watch my video here, located just above the recipe, to see my tips and how I knead!
Then roll out your dough into a large rectangle, and cut the rectangle in half so you end up with two long and really skinny rectangles. Brush each half with a tiny bit more melted butter, and sprinkle with the coconut sugar + cinnamon filling (I’m obsessed with this cinnamon… it has such a deep, rich, slightly sweeter flavor, and it’s really inexpensive!). Roll each half into a log, and pinch the ends to seal.
Now comes my secret trick to cutting perfectly round cinnamon rolls… You’ll use dental floss! I’ve found that even the sharpest of knives will squash the cinnamon rolls into more oval-like shapes, but dental floss keeps your cinnamon rolls looking perfectly round. You can see exactly how I do that in my video here!
Once you’ve placed your little cinnamon rolls in the pan, cover the top with a dry towel, and place them in a warm spot to double in size. It’s like magic when you come back 45 minutes later and see how much they’ve grown! Then after a quick trip into the oven…
Time to eat! 👌🏻 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 mini cinnamon rolls!
| The Ultimate Healthy Mini 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 10”-round pan with nonstick cooking spray. (See Notes.) 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. Cut the dough in half along the short edges, resulting in (2) 16x5” rectangles. Brush with the melted butter, leaving a 1” border on the four longer sides. Sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1” border on the four longer sides again. Carefully roll up each dough rectangle 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 each log into 12 pieces using dental floss (recommended, see my video here!) or a sharp serrated knife, resulting in 24 rolls. 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 13-16 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 whole wheat flour, I highly recommend Gold Medal whole wheat flour. It performs the best out of any brand I’ve tried, and it ensures your cinnamon rolls fully double in size while rising in Step 6. (Other brands of whole wheat flour don’t rise nearly as high, if at all!)
For the yeast, I used Red Star® Quick Rise Yeast. It performs the best out of any yeast I’ve used, so I highly recommend it! It always easy to find in grocery stores, so I buy mine online here. (Their rapid rise yeast, regular active dry yeast, and platinum yeast all work equally well!)
Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
For a vegan version, substitute your favorite non-dairy milk and Earth Balance buttery sticks in place of the butter. (You may substitute coconut oil, but the cinnamon rolls will taste different, and the yeast won’t turn frothy in Step 2.)
Brown sugar may be substituted in place of the coconut sugar, but the rolls will no longer be clean-eating friendly.
For an extra treat, I recommend this cinnamon! It has a warmer, fuller, slightly sweeter flavor than regular cinnamon. (And it's really affordable!)
I haven’t had good luck substituting gluten-free flours in this recipe. The cinnamon rolls don’t rise the way they do with wheat-based flour due to the lack of gluten.
If you prefer, you can make 12 regular-sized cinnamon rolls instead. Use a 9”-round pan (a springform pan like this is best!), and leave your dough as a 16x10” rectangle (do not cut into two 16x5” rectangles!) in Step 5. Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the sides feel firm.
To see how these cinnamon rolls are made, watch my video here (located just above the recipe).
{clean eating, low fat, vegan option}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Apple Pie Spice Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Slow Cooker Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Roll Scones
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Roll Oatmeal Cookies
I was having some bread issues and ,y good friend said I had to ditch the yeast I had and buy Red Star. I’ll never use anything else now!
These look great and I’ve pinned it for later 🙂
Thanks so much for pinning Helen! It’s so true about Red Star Yeast. I never use anything else either! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cinnamon rolls!
Cani use sorghum in this recipe? Just wondering coz someone just gave me a bag of sorghum and i dont know what to do with it hahaha…
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Alya! I don’t recommend using sorghum in this particular recipe, but you can probably use it in my brownie or crumble recipes instead! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cinnamon rolls!
Brownies??? Interesting. I will try it for sure. And yes i will try this recipe too. They look tempting. Thx for the recipe 😃
My pleasure Alya! I’m so excited to hear how your treats turn out! 🙂
Hi; How do I substitute honey for the coconut sugar, is that possible?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Debbie! I don’t recommend substituting honey for the coconut sugar. It won’t stay put in the centers of the cinnamon rolls when slicing the log into 12 segments, so a large amount of the honey will slide right out. (It’s a big mess — I’ve tried it before! 😉 ) I’d love to hear what you think if you try these cinnamon rolls!
Can you use anything else to substitute the whole wheat flour
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Alex! White whole wheat flour and whole wheat pastry flour will both work, although I haven’t had as much luck with the rolls rising as high as when using the same whole wheat flour that I recommend. All-purpose flour may also be substituted, and the rolls should rise nice and tall with that alternative. 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of these cinnamon rolls if you try them!
Hi, how big is each cinnamon roll? I’m wondering whether to make them mini or normal sized and I have no idea how big they’ll be.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Yasmin! These are definitely miniature cinnamon rolls — think 2 or 3 bites! If you’d like to make standard-sized ones, I have a recipe for that here. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think if you try them!