Healthier Cinnamon Rolls Recipe – Dairy Free

Healthier Cinnamon Rolls Kids Crave

What kid (or person for that matter) doesn’t love a soft, sweet cinnamon roll fresh from the oven? But today I have something even better than typical cinnamon rolls for your kids to enjoy: Healthier cinnamon rolls that are refined sugar free and dairy free!

This cinnamon rolls recipe is super soft and sweet, but it is so much easier on a parent’s conscience. Because as wonderful as cinnamon rolls taste, they are generally full of refined sugar, which makes me cringe at the thought of giving one to my child for breakfast.

I’m not going to get into the refined sugar debate here, but you can read more about why sugar is a problem for kids in this post. Let’s just say, I don’t give my kids refined-sugar-filled treats for breakfast on the average day. But I would certainly let them have naturally sweetened treats like these healthier cinnamon rolls on the average morning 😀

Sweetened only with maple syrup and honey, these refined sugar free cinnamon rolls are guilt free for parents while still tempting the taste buds of children. It doesn’t get any better than a breakfast kids think is a treat without containing any refined sugar.

When I first made this recipe, I knew I preferred the healthier, more natural sweetness of this cinnamon roll recipe to others that contain regular sugar and lots of powdered sugar in the icing. But I wasn’t sure that these would be any less sugar overall.

However, I was surprised to learn that the typical, average-size, homemade cinnamon roll contains about 27 grams of sugar (usually refined) while this healthier cinnamon rolls recipe contains only 21 grams of sugar (all of which come from maple syrup and honey).

And let’s go back to that icing for a moment, because I just love that it is made without powdered sugar or dairy. The only ingredients in the icing are maple syrup and arrowroot powder.

Using arrowroot powder cuts the sweetness of the maple syrup, thickens it and makes it a lighter color. It really is the perfect refined sugar free, dairy free cinnamon roll icing. However, you can also skip the icing if you want to cut back even more on the sugar.

Whatever way you plan to make and serve these healthier cinnamon rolls, they are sure to make your kids’ sweet tooth and bellies happy 🙂

When to Make Cinnamon Rolls

Now, I know that cinnamon rolls are usually intended to be a breakfast item, so people generally make them in the morning. However, because these cinnamon rolls do require almost 2 1/2 hours of rise time, you would have to get up very early in the morning to have these ready for hungry munchkins to eat as their breakfast.

And who needs an extra early morning – particularly if you are making these for a special occasion or holiday such as Christmas when things are already hectic?

By the way, if you need a quicker and easier Christmas morning breakfast, make sure to check out my blueberry pancake muffins recipe, buttermilk pancake recipe or waffles recipe.

But if your heart is set on cinnamon rolls (mine sure is), don’t worry, because you don’t have to make these fresh on the morning you want to serve them. You can make them up the night before. Or the afternoon before. Or even two days before if necessary. Because these cinnamon rolls hold their texture, flavor and moisture very well when stored properly.

I’ll admit that these healthier cinnamon rolls are amazing straight from the oven. But I honestly think they are just as good when eaten as reheated leftovers. Or even room temperature leftovers!

I am currently eating a 3-day old cinnamon roll as I type this and it tastes just a good as when they were freshly made. As long as you store them in an airtight container at room temperature, they will remain light, fluffy and moist for several days, potentially up to a week.

They may, however, dry out a bit if you store them in the fridge.

I am planning to make these cinnamon rolls for our family Christmas, but I will be making them the day before … because I’m simply not going to wake up at 4am to make them on Christmas morning!

Just stick the whole pan back in the oven for a few minutes to heat them up or simply microwave them in individual servings for about 10-15 seconds each and they will taste as fresh as when they were first made 🙂

Ingredients

Dough

• Almond Milk: Using almond milk in the dough keeps these cinnamon rolls dairy free. Just make sure to get unsweetened almond milk for completely refined sugar free cinnamon rolls.

• Dry Active Yeast: Dry active yeast is what gives these cinnamon rolls their poofy rise.

• Eggs: Eggs keep the dough lighter and moister. I usually get farm fresh eggs or organic cage free eggs.

• Olive Oil: Olive oil also helps with softness and moisture while remaining dairy free. Extra virgin olive oil is best.

• Maple Syrup: A bit of maple syrup in the dough makes it just a little bit sweet. Maple syrup is also needed for the cinnamon filling and the icing. Make sure you have real maple syrup and not a fake imitation. I have recently switched to using dark maple syrup and I’m loving the deeper flavor it offers.

• Salt: A little bit of salt helps bring out the flavor and prevent having a bland dough. I use pink Himalayan sea salt.

• Flour: I use all-purpose organic unbleached flour from Costco, but any all-purpose flour is fine.

• Honey: Honey is used in the cinnamon filling as a thicker and stickier sweetener to compliment the maple syrup. I use raw, unfiltered honey.

• Coconut Oil: Coconut oil adds a bit of dairy free fat to the cinnamon filling. I use organic coconut oil.

• Cinnamon: Lots of cinnamon powder is the star of the show in the filling of these healthier cinnamon rolls. Organic cinnamon is a great option, but any cinnamon is fine.

• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder is a starch that is used for thickening. In this recipe, it is used to thicken the icing. I buy organic arrowroot powder from Amazon.

Instructions

Make the Dough

Step 1

Warm your dairy-free milk of choice in the microwave or on the stove until it is quite warm but not too warm to leave your finger in it (about 110-120 degrees F). Add the yeast to the warmed milk and allow to activate for 15 minutes.

Step 2

In a medium-size bowl (stand mixer bowl if using a stand mixer), combine eggs, olive oil and maple syrup, whisking to break up the eggs and mix everything together.

Step 3

Once yeast has activated and is nice and frothy, add the yeast milk to the other liquid ingredients and whisk to combine.

Step 4

To the liquid ingredients, add salt and flour. If mixing by hand, work the dough with your hands until it is thoroughly mixed and then knead for about 5 minutes. If using a mixer, fit your mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix on low-medium speed until the dough rolls into a ball. Flip the ball of dough if necessary and then mix for a couple more minutes to knead the dough.

Step 5

Cover dough with an oiled piece of foil and place somewhere very warm to rise for 20 minutes.

* See note in recipe card.

Fill the Cinnamon Rolls

Step 1

While the dough is rising, combine all the cinnamon filling ingredients in a small-medium size bowl, mixing thoroughly with a spoon.

Step 2

At the end of the 20-minute rise time, oil a 9×13 inch baking dish and generously flour a large, flat surface for rolling your dough.

Step 3

Remove your dough from the bowl and place it on the floured surface. Roll out the dough until you have a large rectangle that measures about 12×18-20 inches.

* See note in recipe card.

Step 4

Once your dough is rolled out, spoon the cinnamon filling onto the dough and spread it evenly, leaving about a 1/2 inch of dough on each edge.

Step 5

Using a pizza cutter and beginning on the long side of the dough, cut 12 dough strips of equal width. If necessary, trim the short sides of the dough to eliminate uneven edges before cutting your strips.

Working one at a time, loosely roll up each strip of dough and place them in your oiled baking dish with the spirals facing up. There will be a lot of extra space in the baking dish. This will allow the cinnamon rolls to rise and expand.

If you have any leftover filling that has oozed out of the cinnamon rolls, scrape it up and dollop it on top of the cinnamon rolls or place it in the bottom of the pan.

Step 6

Cover the cinnamon rolls with an oiled piece of foil and place in a very warm space to rise for 2 hours.

Bake & Ice the Cinnamon Rolls

Step 1

Ten minutes before the 2-hour mark, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2

Place the cinnamon rolls in the oven, covered with foil to prevent overbrowning the tops for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking for another 7 minutes for a total bake time of 22 minutes.

When fully baked, remove the cinnamon rolls from the oven and allow to cool on the counter for 15 minutes.

Step 3

While the cinnamon rolls are cooling a bit, make the icing. Add the maple syrup and arrowroot powder to a small-medium size bowl and mix with a spoon until fully combined. it should be thick but still spoonable.

Step 4

When cinnamon rolls have cooled slightly but are still very warm, spoon the icing evenly over the tops of all the cinnamon rolls.

Step 5

Serve fresh or reheated for the best experience. Store leftovers in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap. Leftovers can be stored for 5 days on the counter or two weeks in the fridge.

Substitutions & Tips

• You can use any dairy free milk you prefer in this recipe. Just make sure it is not sweetened if you want the cinnamon rolls to be completely refined sugar free.

• I recommend the method of cutting the dough into strips after you’ve spread on the filling but before rolling them. This is to help prevent the filling from being squeezed out if you were to cut them after they are rolled. But, however you choose to cut and roll them, if the filling does ooze out, don’t worry. Just scoop it up and add it to the cinnamon roll pan.

• When you cut the dough into strips, don’t worry if your strips are not perfectly even. Once they rise, the dough will fill out and they will look fine in the end.

• When you roll up the dough, keep the roll nice and loose to help prevent the filling from oozing out the sides and end. There’s no need to try to make the rolls tight. When they rise, they will fill out beautifully.

• You can serve these without the icing depending on your child’s preference. My toddler and I love the icing, but my 7-year-old likes them better without it.

• Allow the cinnamon rolls to cool fully from baking before storing them, but make sure to put them in an airtight container as soon as possible to prevent them from drying out.