Oh, wow. Wow. I think I’ve found a new ally in the kitchen, for baking anyway: Blanched almond flour.
So far I’ve had success using a coarser almond meal in the morning glory muffins, where a denser texture is perfectly okay. But for some baked goods, a finer grind, something closer to actual wheat flour, is what’s needed. I hadn’t had any luck in local stores trying to find this (which I thought was odd, considering I was trying places like Whole Foods, Galloway’s and Famous Foods). When I spotted a recipe on the Urban Poser blog for Paleo cinnamon rolls that looked absolutely delicious, finally I was motivated enough to get my credit card out and place an order online for the blanched almond flour.
I’m so glad I did.
The blanched almond flour is super fine, noticeably finer than the almond meal I’d been using. I made a few changes to the cinnamon roll recipe, but they turned out really, really ridiculously well. Better than I expected. I love it when that happens. They’re definitely not like the stretchy pull-apart kind of buns, like the ones I devoured when I was at UBC.
These were more biscuit-y for sure. But they were soft, and, with the cinnamon-honey-pecan center, they were so good that I didn’t care about them not being so soft and stretchy. Not one bit.
I agree -- these are the best cinnamon rolls around when you're going Paleo. This recipe is adapted from The Urban Poser.
Ingredients
- 3-1/4 cups blanched almond flour (I used Honeyville brand)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup currants or raisins (optional)
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a large stand mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat together the coconut oil, honey and eggs.
- Add the egg mixture to the almond flour mixture. Blend together with the paddle attachment until the dough is smooth. It will be quite sticky.
- Sandwich the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle, approximately 9×13 inches. Peel off the top piece of parchment paper.
- Drizzle the honey evenly over the dough, then spread the honey out with your hands so that it covers the whole surface. Sprinkle the chopped pecans and currents or raisins (if using) evenly over the dough, then sprinkle the cinnamon on top.
- Starting at the long edge closest to you, carefully roll the dough like a jelly roll, keeping it as tight as you can at the beginning. The dough isn’t elastic like a wheat dough, so go slowly and gently, patching up small holes in the dough if you get them.
- Once the dough is completely rolled up, even it out a bit with your hands, being careful not to tear the dough. With a serrated knife, cut slices about 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick.
- Lay the rolls cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the rolls are golden on the top and the dough in the center of the rolls is soft but not doughy.
- Remove the rolls from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
- If you like, drizzle the rolls with a glaze. (I went outside the Paleo rules here and made one with powdered sugar and milk.)
Notes
When you're ready to cut them from the roll, get a ruler out to measure out even slices so they bake uniformly. If these bake too long, they'll get really hard....like hockey pucks. Watch the oven, and err on the side of having these slightly underdone.
More on the Paleo diet challenge:
Why I’m doing it in the first place
My plan for the 30 days
I love these. Finally a bakery like treat that doesn’t taste like a brick!
I went a step further and cooked down some apples with honey and cinnamon and had that as a filling. They were divine.
Yum, Amanda. I love your apple-cinnamon filling idea — a nice twist on the regular cinnamon bun, and another way to enjoy these. Thanks!
I made these from the Urban Poser with a meringue icing (whipped eggwhite with hot honey). DELICIOUS!
Great idea, Marianne! How much honey did you use? I ran across 2 recipes — both with 2 egg whites, but one recipe used 1/2 cup honey:
http://www.healthhomehappy.com/2010/10/simple-meringue-frosting-refined-sugar-free.html
…and one recipe used 1 cup honey:
http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/06/honey-meringue-frosting-recipe-youd.html
That’s a big variation in proportions. I’m wondering what worked for you. Thanks!
This recipe looks really good!.
Thanks, Kelly! They tasted delicious too. Almond flour rocks!
Hi, today we have a silly day called, the cinnamon rolls-day, in Sweden and I wanted to bake healthy buns for my family. I tried this recipe and everyone just loved it, it’s the best rolls we’ve ever eaten..thank you so much!! My eldest daughter usually never likes the healthy pasterys I make but these where the most delicious buns she’ve ever eaten. thank you!!
Mirjam, thank you for your kind comment. I’m thrilled to see our blog reaching all the way to Sweden. Very cool! And what a great idea, a cinnamon rolls day — I wish we had something like that here. So glad the cinnamon rolls worked out for you. Thanks again!
Hello, not sure you will see this comment, as I don’t see any other discussions since 2003 in regards to your delicious looking chocolate chip cookies. We must be fully sugar free right now, including honey, so wondering if you think xylitol would be an acceptable substitution for this recipe. Thanks for your help. Merry Christmas.
Anne,
We did see your comment, and both Kris and I drew a blank on xylitol. Neither one of us has ever used it. I’m sorry we can’t be more helpful. Merry Christmas to you too. Eve