I love cinnamon rolls, especially ones that are warm and gooey and right out of the oven. Thanks to Minimalist Baker, here’s an idea for ones that are homemade; they’re lightened up with less butter, use almond milk instead of heavy cream or whole milk and have a little whole wheat flour to round them out. I made these from scratch on Christmas morning and my parents gave them a stamp of approval. With a little patience to let the dough rise, these homemade Cinnamon Rolls are the perfect addition to your brunch arsenal.
Ingredients (makes 16).
For the Rolls:
- 1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk or milk of choice
- 3 + 1 T butter (no salt added)
- 2 ¼ t rapid-rise yeast
- 1 T + 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 2 c flour
- 1/2 c whole wheat flour
- 1½ cinnamon
For the Frosting (optional):
- 3 T powdered sugar
- 1/2 t unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Directions.
- In a microwavable bowl, heat almond milk and 3 T of butter at 30 sec intervals until butter is melted. Let cool until liquid is warm to the touch like bathwater and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- Sprinkle yeast over warm butter mixture and let sit for 10 min. Gently stir in 1 T sugar and all of salt and mix well.
- Add flour by the 1/2 c. Dough will be very sticky. Stop adding flour when you can no longer stir the dough.
- Transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead for a few minutes until a ball forms. Transfer ball of dough to a clean, lightly greased bowl. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 1 hr. Dough should double in size.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into a rectangle (or as close as you can get to a rectangle). Dough should be about 1/8″ thick.
- Melt remaining 1 T butter and lightly brush dough with melted butter (you should have some leftover). Mix together 1/4 c sugar and all of cinnamon. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar making sure you go all the way to the edge.
- Starting on one side, gently roll dough. With the “seam” side down, carefully cut 1″ pieces with a serrated knife. Position sliced rolls in a greased 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan. Brush the top of the rolls with the leftover melted butter.
- Heat oven to 350º F. Cover rolls again with the dish towel to allow the rolls rise while the oven heats.
- Bake 18-22 min or rolls are just beginning to brown and cooked through. Cool slightly.
- Mix together powdered sugar and almond milk and drizzle on rolls before serving (optional).
- Enjoy warm!
Adapted from Minimalist Baker‘s “The World’s Easiest Cinnamon Rolls.”
Nutrition for 1 of 16 rolls with frosting.
92 calories • 1.6 g fat (16%) • 17 g carbs (75%) • 2.2 g protein (10%) • 1 g fiber • 4.8 g sugar
* These are estimates based off specific products I used and how I entered ingredients in a fitness tracker. This is completely subjective and used to give a rough nutritional estimate.
