I have had so many people literally begging for the recipe of the cinnamon rolls I pictured in my Christmas Activities Post that I promised I’d share it.
Here it is!
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Absolutely Dreamy Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 cups warm water
- 1½ tsp salt
- 4 tsp oil
- 4 tsp honey or agave
- 8 tsp applesauce
- 1 TBSP yeast
- optional: one 500 mg vitamin C chewable tablet, ground up (it helps the texture of the bread)
- optional: 2 TBSP ground flax
- About 4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (more or less depending on humidity outside, etc)
Filling:
- 1/2 sweetener of choice (kind of optional depending on your tastes), like sucanat, cane sugar, sugar, maple flakes; splenda will work, too.
- 2 large apples (shredded right before adding)
- 1/2 cup raisins
Also need: two 9″x13″ baking pans, sprayed; and some dental floss (1 1/2-2 feet approximately)
Recipe for glaze/icing follows directions…
Directions:
Combine the water, salt, oil, honey or agave, applesauce, yeast, vitamin C, and flax in either a Kitchen Aid or a Bosch mixer (or any other mixer that can handle bread dough).
Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time…
Until it is all incorporated — the dough should be a little sticky. Then knead for 9 mins.
Once the dough is done with its “massage,” take the dough and roll it out with a rolling pin (mine measured 12″ x 24″, probably about 1/4″ thick). (Your rolling surface and rolling pin need to be either dusted with flour or sprayed with cooking spray)
Sprinkle on the sugar and cinnamon.
Sprinkle on the shredded apples and raisins.
Roll ’em up and grab some dental floss.
To keep the rolls evenly shaped, take your floss, snug your floss under the roll, lift up and pull through. Repeat.
Place them in a sprayed baking pan. Once they are all snuggled, set your oven to its lowest setting, turn it off, and place the rolls into the oven to rise until about double in size (about 30 mins).
Then bake ’em for 15 mins at 375 degrees F.
You can add frosting, but it tastes great without it. 😀
You can add one of the following if you’d like:
- Cinnamon roll glaze (an old Bosch recipe)
- ¼ cup softened Earth Balance, butter, or coconut oil
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 TBSP water
- Cinnamon roll icing (adapted from healthygreenkitchen.com)***
- 1 cup granular sweetener
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup milk of choice
- Homemade/store-bought frosting of choice***
Plain, or with icing? Glazed, or with frosting? Anyway you choose — and you’re in heaven. 🙂
[If using the glaze/icing, combine the ingredients in a bowl and drizzle on the rolls. Just make sure you don’t pour on too much (don’t ask how I found that out 😉 ). Less is more; am I right?]
Last and final steps: (drum roll please?!)
Plate it.
Admire it.
DEVOUR it.
These look super yummy! But I have no stand mixer so making these might take quite a bit more effort for me, haha.
Kathleen, those cinnamon rolls look amazing! I love cinnamon rolls, but have always been to intimidated to make them myself. You made it look so easy, I might just have to give them a try! 🙂
I just came across your blog via Kelsey. It’s great to have another teenager in the healthy eating blogosphere! Those cinnamon rolls look wonderful and so healthy too!
Ahh, these look so yummy! Wow, I’m impressed that you used whole wheat flour! I’ve only made cinnamon rolls a few times with my mom, but we always used a unhealthy recipe, I’ll use this one next time!!
These look so good, Kathleen! Yummm. Which frosting option did you use?
The ones pictured have the glaze on them.
Drum roll all the way!
Those look awesome!
I would have never thought tp add apple shrerds to my cinnamon rolls. Keep those good ideas comin this way! 🙂
Props to you, girl. These look delish. Just curious as to why you put the Vitamin C chewable tablet in the mix. Was it just to help with the texture, or did you want to boost the nutritional value of the rolls? hehe.
The vitamin C creates an acidic environment which helps the yeast work better. It also acts as a preservative.
DANG these are dreamy! SOO AMAZINGGG
I love that the picture of the final product is missing one roll! Lol! They look absolutely dreamy! And love the addition of the vitamin C tab…I definitely NEVER would have thought of that!
That one was my favorite. 😉
Oh my gosh these look good! My stomach is growling just looking at these 🙂
oh my goodness i’m seriously trying my best not to drool! this recipe looks awesome! if i get my hands on the ingredients, i’m totally making these this weekend!
xo.
WOW! these look amazing! I made some whole wheat pumpkin cinnamon rolls a couple weeks ago and they rose up so well compared to rolls I’ve made with a fruit/vegetable puree in the dough! I think the addition of applesauce or pumpkin really helps. I like the filling idea.
Thanks. I love how this recipe is so versatile. You can replace pumpkin, sweet potato, or banana for the applesauce; change up the filling with whatever’s in season; etc to the infinities!!! I love it!
Oh man – these DO look dreamy!! So soft and fluffy, I definitely think this is a recipe good for “tricking” people into realizing healthy doesn’t have tot aste like cardboard! I love the filling, too 🙂 I made cinnamon rolls for Christmas, and now I want to make them again using your recipe!
Precisely! When you strive to eat healthy, a whole new world of delicious foods opens up. Healthy definitely doesn’t have to taste like cardboard!
Drool. I love cinnamon rolls and it seems like the new thing around the blog world! Bookmarked 🙂
Ok, cinnamon rolls might be one of my favorite things ever. I want these!!
Wow, omg, I think I can smell them through the screen 🙂 Good job!!
These look delicious. I love the addition of vitamin C. I’m definately trying that some time. Can you taste the vitamin C?
No, you can’t taste the vitamin C. All that you taste is heaven. 🙂
OMG, shredded apples and raisins in a whole wheat cinnamon roll sounds divine! And I love how you showed to use a string to cut instead of a knife that would flatten the rolls.
Thanks for sharing!
I made ww cinamon rolls once and they just tasted like bread!! These are persuading me to give it another shot though!
I am drooling on my keyboard right now. No joke.
I love how unique your cinnamon rolls are! Whole wheat – always awesome. Shredded apple? Genious! Bookmarking right away 🙂
Thanks so much! 🙂
OMG. I can’t wait to make these. They are definitely going in my “EAT IT NOWWW” folder!! You are so creative!!
Kat-
These look so yummy~ I love the step by step pictures! 🙂
that looks good! Does the whole wheat flour change any texture compared to a regular Cinnamon Roll?
It does make them a little heavier — but I prefer these over regular all purpose flour ones anyday. These are still light, fluffy, and oh so DELICIOUS. (they disappear pretty quickly too). If you want them closer to regular all purpose ones, try using whole wheat pastry flour. 🙂
I must say, those look insanely delicious 😉
DEFINITELY saving this recipe for later!!!!!
Omigosh! Those look absolutely delicious!
Wow Kat! These look amazing! I LOVE cinnamon rolls but haven’t made them in years. I LOVE your recipe and can’t wait to try it out. Thanks so much for sharing!
These look similar to the ones I make from Alton Brown’s recipe – but definitely healthier! Love it and can’t wait to try!
These look awesome! I love the idea of leaving them to rise in a warmed oven… I get super impatient waiting for dough to rise so this might just become my new favorite trick! I will have to give these a try 🙂
Molly
kitchendeavor.wordpress.com
oh my goodness, I have to make these!!! I’m thinking I would use some protein frosting/glaze for the tops. yum!