Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Honey Oat Cinnamon Rolls (Whole Grain & Sugar Free)

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to not eat sugar six days a week. How's it working? Great. But one problem I've run into is that treats are comfort food, especially for kids. I like to make a little snack for them after school and sometimes it is fun to have a sweet treat. But when sugar is in the house, I eat it too...and too much of it.

Here's a recipe that I've created that helps solve this problem. These honey oat cinnamon rolls are comfort food at it's finest, but they contain no sugar. So now I can make a healthy, sweet after school snack for the kids and if I sneak a little taste (which I always do...), I'm still sugar free... :)

I know there are some of you out there trying to control your sugar levels this year as well. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have.


Honey Oat Cinnamon Rolls
Printable Recipe


*Makes 12-15 rolls
*Note: I realize that most of you probably don't have a 1/6 cup measuring cup lying around (I don't). I just use a 1/3 cup and measure about half. It doesn't matter if it's not exact, it will be close enough. Oh and if you measure the oil first, you can use the same measuring cup for the honey and it will slide right out. Slick, eh? :)

INGREDIENTS:
For the Dough:
1-1/2 Cups hot water, microwave on high 2 min or until quite warm ( >110° F)
1/6 Cup canola oil
1/6 Cup honey
1/2 Tbsp. salt (put in first before adding yeast)
2+ Cups freshly ground oat flour (I ground oat groats, but you can also use oatmeal ground in a blender for a few minutes)

2 Tbsp. rolled oats or quick oats
3/4 Cups gluten flour*

2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1 Tbsp. yeast on top of flour

For the Filling:
¼ Cup butter, softened
1/2 Cup honey
Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the dough ingredients in stand mixer with dough hook (I use a Bosch) and mix. Add more oat flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Then mix for an additional six minutes. 

Immediately after mixing bread dough, roll out dough into a 12”x15” rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup softened butter around dough to coat evenly. Add 1/2 cup honey and spread until it covers the dough evenly. Then sprinkle the top with a fair amount of cinnamon, but not too much (I usually use about 1-2 tsp.).



Starting on one end, roll the dough. Dip your fingers in water and rub down the dough to seal the layers as you roll. Seal the end. Use a piece of floss or string to cut the cinnamon rolls out. Place the string under dough roll about 1” from the end of the long roll. Cross the ends of the string over the dough and pull the string so that the string cuts the dough into a 1” thick roll.

Place rolls on a greased 9x13" pan leaving a small space between so that the rolls can rise. Cover rolls with a light cloth and let rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes or until dough has doubled. Bake rolls in preheated oven 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

*NOTE on the gluten flour: I use Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten Flour that I buy at WinCo foods in their bulk bins - or you can get a 25 lb. bag of it there if you order it. I think you can also get it at Walmart in smaller quantities - like 22 oz. pkgs. You only use a little bit in each batch so it lasts a long time. It allows you to make the bread with whole-grain flour and still have it light and fluffy and stick together. This really is not an optional ingredient - you can try to leave it out, but you will end up with denser bread, that is crumbly, doesn't have as long of a shelf life and really is not as enjoyable to eat. Another option (if you're looking for one) is to use a good quality, high gluten white flour instead of some of the whole-wheat flour (experiment with how much - maybe 2 cups or more to get it to a good stick-together consistency). I'd rather spend a little more for the gluten flour because you can use less of it (which means more whole-grain flour which is better for you) and still have a great textured, tasty bread.

Recipe Source: healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com


Linked to: Real Food Wednesday, Healthy2day Wednesday, Hearth & Soul Blog Hop, Keep it Real Thursday

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm sorry, but this recipe turned me off...using a microwave, canola oil, and salt? How healthy is that? I know, I can, and will substitute, but I tho't all addrd recipes are aupposed to be healthy.

Heather {Healthy Family Cookin} said...

Interesting comments and concerns. Using a microwave to heat water doesn't seem to raise any red flags as far as health concerns go for me personally, but I understand that different people have their own concerns. And canola oil is actually one of the healthier oils for our bodies from what I've learned. Our bodies need fats and salts and my personal health goals including eliminating the bad fats and extra salts from processed foods rather than trying to eliminate all fat and all salt all together. Thanks for your taking time to leave your concerns though and have a nice day.

Will and Natalie Giddens said...

I think this looks awesome!

Ellen said...

Looks like a great recipe, been wanting to try making them. I was wondering if I can replace the oat flour and gluten flour with whole wheat flour? Anyone try it that way? Thanks!

Heather {Healthy Family Cookin} said...

You should be okay to do that Ellen - flours are easy to exchange as long as you don't change the gluten content in yeast breads. But you should be good to go with whole wheat flour. I usually still put a bit of gluten flour in when I make them with whole wheat flour, but you could put a cup or so of white flour instead. Let me know what you think. Thanks!

Unknown said...

I was wondering if I could make these, freeze them (uncooked) and then the night before, put them in the fridge, wake up and pop them in the oven? Do you think it would work?

Heather {Healthy Family Cookin} said...

I'm not sure Kayt. Let me know how it goes. I bet you could make them the day before, put them in the refrigerator and then pull them out to rise and bake the next day. I'm not sure about freezing them first uncooked. I've frozen them after cooking and they are yummy warmed up. Good luck !

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