G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls recipe was adapted from other cinnamon rolls recipes by our webmaster to have a more heathful profile overall for baking a yeast-based cinnamon roll.
Each 3+” diameter cinnamon roll from the adapted recipe features an overall lower fat and lower saturated fat content than other typical cinnamon rolls, features applesauce as a replacement for fat in the actual dough, is higher in whole grain content through the use of some* white whole wheat flour to replace some of the all-purpose unbleached flour, is lower in overall sugars, yet when iced still offers the appeal of those typical mall or rest stop type cinnamon roll bakery offerings.
*Next we’re going to try increasing the proportion of white whole wheat flour in the recipe to see if we can’t get closer to having half whole grains in the rolls.
The following approximate nutrient content was quickly calculated using the free Lose It! app version 3.9.3 since we know that is a favorite of many and was a 2012 First Place winner in the Surgeon General’s Healthy App Challenge in the category of Fitness/Physical Activity.
G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls UNiced recipe (roll shown above, which is low-fat) will come in at ~ 200 calories/roll w/ ~>110 mg sodium. Using whole eggs, the total fat will come in ~<2 g w/ ~0.3 g saturated fat, ~36 mg cholesterol. Each roll also has ~6 g protein, ~40 g CHO, which includes ~<3 g fiber and ~<10 g sugars. We’d like to decrease the sugar profile.
G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls recipe ICED (roll shown at bottom of blog post below) will come in at ~<250 calories/roll w/ ~>139 mg sodium. Using whole eggs & the icing, the total fat will come in ~<5.5 g w/ ~1.6 g saturated fat, ~>40 mg cholesterol. Each roll also has ~6 g protein, ~43 g CHO, which includes ~<3 g fiber and ~>12 g sugars. We still need to work on tweaking the icing to decrease that fat and sugar profile.
All photographs used in this blog post, including the one above of an UNiced cinnamon roll are ©2012 courtesy of the staff at sensorynutrition.com
A very famous brand of “bakery style” yeast based “classic” cream cheese frosted cinnamon roll contains ~880 calories per roll, reflecting ~320 calories coming from ~36 grams of fat, ~17 g of which are saturated fat, and each roll contains ~830 mg of sodium.
Others have tried to cut the caloric content of those “classic” cinnamon rolls in half, but we felt that large, re-imagined cinnamon rolls coming in at ~450 calories each with NO whole grains was still missing the mark. Still, we might play with the idea of using some fat-free or reduced fat cream cheese in any icing in the future, although then we would likely use refrigerator storage for the rolls if they were iced. We might even toy with using some buttermilk powder in future dough batches to see how that would affect the flavor profile, and personally at least one of us does like adding lemon extract to some batters or doughs.
A typical chemically risen (via baking powder) refrigerated dough higher fat retail or commercial version “ready-to-bake” type cinnamon roll has ~90-100 calories from fat (reflecting ~9-10-11 grams of fat, some of which (~3.5 g) typically will be saturated fat and some of which (~2.5 g) typically will be trans-fat) and the total caloric content is typically around ~290 calories. Each baking powder based cinnamon roll will typically contain close to 460 mg of sodium. It may also have added food coloring/dyes and artificial flavor as well. It will usually be made from bleached all-purpose flour with no whole grain flour whatsoever.
Commercial versions of refrigerated dough higher fat cinnamon rolls that are just “baked off” at the store have instructions that include to brush baked rolls with a mixture of 2 parts water with 1 part corn syrup to give them a sheen and hold in moisture for increased shelf life.
Please note that this recipe below is adapted from the original version of a Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls recipe found at allrecipes.com with some inspiration from two recipes from Fleischmann’s (Low-Fat Cinnamon Rolls and Low-Fat Cinnamon Rolls).
G’s Heavenly Cinnamon Rolls
Equipment:
- Kitchenaid Stand Mixer;
- 4-5 qt mixing stainless steel mixing bowl;
- see-through glass measuring cup;
- measuring spoons and cups;
- couple of clean lightweight linen kitchen cloth towels;
- mixing paddle (we prefer the paddle to a dough hook for this recipe);
- pastry brush
- rolling pin;
- couple of baking pans preferably 9″x13″ and 8″x8″;
- kneading surface;
- silicone mixing and scraping spatula;
- sharp knife to cut roll of dough into 12 pieces (our knives are kept sharp so we don’t need a serrated edge knife to cut the dough) and
- sanitized cutting surface;
- oven safe mitts;
- wire cooling racks for pans and then for rolls;
- food safe plastic wrap;
- calibrated food thermometer;
- baking oven (or even if need be, tabletop oven).
(Tip: make sure before you do anything else that whatever baking pans you plan to use will fit in your oven so check while oven is cool. A toaster size tabletop oven would need multiple small baking pans sized to fit it, while a regular size home oven will need two baking pans sized to fit in it without blocking air flow in the larger oven). (Although the recipe will mention Active Dry Yeast, for even faster rising, look into Rapid Rise Yeast, which is what we use). If you use a tabletop oven and will need to use 3 smaller baking pans, then while any pan of rolls bakes, any risen raw shaped cinnamon rolls in pans can be temporarily stored in the refrigerator and removed a few minutes before going into the oven–this will prevent the risen raw rolls from over-rising.
- 350° F oven
- Spray with cooking spray or grease a 9″x13″ baking pan & a 8″x8″ pan (8 rolls fit into a 9″x13″ pan, 4 rolls fit in 8″x8″ pan)
- Yield: 12 – 3+” diameter cinnamon rolls
Dough Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp granulated white sugar (divided into 1 Tbsp each)
- 2.5 tsp granulated yeast (= to one – ~0.25 oz. pkt. of active dry yeast, or instant dry yeast)
- 3/4 cup warm water (100°F – 110°F)
- 2 whole large eggs (or 4 egg whites) (Note: you can reconstitute dried egg product)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (+ up to an extra 1/4 c. for dusting the pastry board w/ flour + kneading)
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
Oiling the bowl: 1.5 tsp olive oil set aside for this purpose
Filling Ingredients:
- 2.5 Tbsp real maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon (use a fine shaker to shake on and make sure dough is evenly covered)
- Optional If desired, 1/4 – 1/2 c. raisins
Icing Ingredients:
- 6 Tbsp powdered sugar aka 10X sugar or confectioner’s sugar
- 4 Tbsp. butter (unsalted, softened); or margarine, softened; or part butter+part oil spread (the latter is what we used)
- 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Method:
First proof the yeast. In either a microwave safe larger than 1 cup up to 2 cup glass measuring cup or a small glass bowl, Stir 1 Tbsp of the sugar into warm water (100°F up to 110°F) which is ~40°C , then add the dry yeast granules. Let stand for 5 minutes or until the yeast hydrates and begins to grow forming a creamy foam.
Using a stand mixer, in a large 4-5 qt. mixing bowl, beat together the whole eggs (or egg whites), applesauce, salt, and the remaining 1 Tbsp. of granulated white sugar; then stir in the proofed yeast mixture. On low speed, beat in 1 cup of the all-purpose flour mixture until there is no flour visible. Stir in the the 1 cup of white wheat flour and then the remaining 1 cup of all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition to form a sticky dough. Turn all of the sticky dough mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and be sure to get the dough sticking to the mixing paddle or dough hook.
Knead by hand until fairly smooth, but still a tad sticky, ~ 5 minutes.
Lightly oil another large bowl or use the dough bowl, then place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a dry or light barely damp clean kitchen cloth towel and let rise in a warm place (105°F) for 30 – 45 minutes. A slightly warmed (NOT hot) oven that is turned off works well. After dough is risen, punch it down.
After dough has risen, turn punched down dough out of bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll the dough into a 12″ high x 24″ wide rectangle.
Brush (using a pastry brush) or spread (using a silicone spatula) or even drizzle on the maple syrup evenly over the dough; sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon & brown sugar. Also, if desired, sprinkle evenly with some raisins.
Beginning with the long side, roll the dough tightly into a long log shape, then pinch to seal the seam. Cut the 24″ log roll of dough into 12 equal size pieces of 2″ each.
Place the rolls into the prepared pans (end pieces should have cut side down). Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise in a warm, draft-free location, such as a warmed, but NOT hot turned off preheated oven (with rack(s) adjusted)–that way even in winter these rolls will rise in a timely manner.
Remove pans of risen rolls (which now will be barely touching each other) from warm, draft-free location such as turned off oven; turn empty oven on to preheat it to 350°F (175°C). Only a baking rack in proper baking position should be in there, plus your oven thermometer hanging on that rack several rungs above the bottom of the oven.
When the oven reaches 350° F, bake rolls in the oven just until they are done and start to turn golden brown on the tops. Remove pans to wire cooling racks and then remove the rolls to cookie type wire cooling racks.
If desired, drizzle cinnamon rolls with icing mixture while still slightly warm if you want the icing to melt in (the warmth of the cinnamon rolls melts the optional icing which then acts more as a glaze, making it less likely to transfer away if cinnamon rolls are stacked in storage).
We don’t recommend stacking these cinnamon rolls.
When totally cool, Store in a covered air tight shallow plastic container–see through is preferable so you can tell at a glance when to make more;)
Note: since the sodium content of the rolls is minimal, the rolls can only be kept about 2-5 days at ambient room temperature (longer in a cooler room and less time in a warmer room) since they lack extra preservatives. If longer term storage is desired, wrap appropriately individually and freeze.
Enjoy!
We hope you have enjoyed this “picture based” recipe blog post. A big TY to our webmaster for agreeing to be photographed (using her iPhone!) while preparing these yeast-based cinnamon rolls in her home kitchen.
Well Wishes and “Happy Holidaze” from all of us at Sensory Nutrition!
P.S. If you’d like to see another of our “picture based” recipes, check out a previous blog post for Homemade Wheat Based Rolls.
P.P.S. For more information about baking with yeast, feel free to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of our blog series “Fearless Holiday Baking With Yeast”