We sure do love cinnamon rolls (who doesn’t?). But – let’s be honest – with the way they’re typically made (i.e. FULL of sugar!) they resemble dessert much more than breakfast. In general it’s hard to understand how so many items with all the qualities of a dessert (donuts, coffee cake, store bought muffins, etc.) can be passed off as breakfast, but for some reason that’s just the way it is these days. Loads of refined sugar is unfortunately not a good way to start the day for anyone!
But, just because we try to avoid eating refined sugar for breakfast, this doesn’t mean we have to miss out on a special holiday breakfast that’s a tradition for many – cinnamon rolls! My daughter and I had fun experimenting with a way to make cinnamon rolls that would turn out to be both healthier and delicious. I wasn’t even planning on posting the recipe on the blog, but after sharing it on social media and seeing how many others were on the same quest … well, Merry Christmas a little early from our family to yours! :) Thanks for being such an amazing group of blog readers!
Whole-Wheat Pecan Maple Cinnamon Rolls (w/o refined sugar!)
We sure do love cinnamon rolls (who doesn't?). But the way they're typically made (i.e. FULL of sugar!) they resemble dessert much more than breakfast...
Ingredients
The Dough
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, + more for rolling out the dough (regular whole-wheat flour will work as well
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
The Filling
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2/3 cup pecans, crushed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon
The Frosting
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan melt the butter for the dough. Remove from heat and stir in the milk, syrup and yeast. Set aside.
- In a large stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the flour and salt. Drop in the eggs and the butter/milk mixture and mix to combine. If very sticky to the touch add more flour (a tablespoon at a time) until it forms one ball that can easily be handled. Transfer the dough ball to a bowl that's been greased with butter, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter for the filling then stir in the pecans, maple syrup, and cinnamon.
- When ready, roll out the dough onto a floured surface to a rectangle about 14X9" in size. Cut and pinch together pieces if needed to make an even rectangle.
- Evenly brush the filling mixture over top then, starting on the long side, roll over the dough until the seam side is facing down. Carefully cut pieces between 3/4" and 1" thick and place cut side up in greased baking dish. Reshape as needed. Let rise for another 30 minutes. (At this point you could cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge overnight.)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Mix together the frosting ingredients until smooth and immediately pour over top allowing it to seep down into the crevices. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Hi,
Do you think I could make this recipe for mini cinnamon rolls??
Thanks!
Sure, that should work.
I made the dough in my bread machine in the dough setting which is 1:20 minutes . I had to add maybe 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour I didn’t mesure but the dough was super wet. When it was done I rolled it and spread the butter mixture , and refrigerated for the next day . When I melted the butter I added 1 table spoon of organic coconut sugar and refrigerated until my dough was rising . . Well if I would do it again I would beat the butter with the coconut sugar than add the maple syrup . It was too thin that when I rolled it the butter mixture was going everywhere , very hard to roll without losing your butter mixture , I baked it for 25 minutes at 350 and I should have taken it out at 21 Minutes . . I don’t like sweet and I like super healthy but it was a tad dry and lacked of flavor . I think you still can add 1 or even 2 more table spoon of cinnamon . My cinnamon was brand new and it didn’t taste cinnamon enough . I never eat this kind of breakfast I had my daughter over just for a quick breakfast but I don’t think I would make this again . It was good but not moist enough . Maybe it’s just me but it’s still a good recipe .
Thanks .
Anyone have any ideas for a meat roll? Like the one on the back of the Bisquick box but with whole wheat flour?
REALLY good! Surprisingly good, actually. I was a bit worried when they didn’t seem to rise right after the dough was made or after the roll was made and cut (before going in the fridge overnight) but they turned out great after baking. I will add a bit more butter to the filling next time as it came out slightly dry for our taste (we prefer it a bit more gooey). Otherwise, we loved them! The flavor was spot on! Thanks for a great recipe!
My son won’t eat things with nuts in them. Not allergic, just doesn’t like the texture. Will the filling work without the pecans? Should I increase the amount of butter/syrup/cinnamon to have enough?
It should work fine without adapting the ingredients, otherwise.
I looked really hard to find a cinnamon roll recipe without refined sugar, and I was so excited to find this one! They taste great! I’ll have to make them a new Christmas Tradition. Thank you!
this is a good yeasted cake recipe, but the fluffy and delicious cinnamon rolls you might be comparing to memory, these are not. thinking it has something to do with the amount of eggs in the recipe. 100 days of food usually has great health-forward recipes, but this one was a miss. just wanted to reach out there to any other people who actually tried this recipe and found it to be a failure and let you know that you’re not alone!
I just made these. I needed to add a lot more liquid as the dough didn’t come together. Have I done anythign wrong here?
Curious is 3 tablespoons of cinnamon makes these on the spicier side? I’m waiting to add the full amount until I taste the filling.
I have no milk (shopping this AM) so I used my grass fed half and half…. hoping it will make it softer/creamier texture to dough.
Making these now can’t wait to have when my family wakes up
I don’t feel they are stronger than other cinnamon rolls I’ve had.
These are great! I even sprinkled about 1/2 cup raisins on top of the filling before rolling the dough up. YUM!
Looks amazing! Such a comforting treat.
These were really good for whole wheat and no sugar! I’m not really good with yeast, but these turned out great! There was quite a mess trying to roll the dough with the melted butter/cinnamon mixture, but I scooped it off my pastry mat and put it on top before baking. I put them all in side by side in a 9×13 and they were slightly overdone for my taste. Will decrease the baking time slightly next time. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made these for Christmas morning and they were great. My family said they could definitely tell that they had whole wheat in them, but loved them. The icing added that great sweetness and they were just overall terrific. Thanks for sharing!!
These look really good! Would they work with whole spelt flour?
Hi. We’ve not used spelt with these but it should work fine.
We made these for breakfast on Christmas morning. I made the dough in my bread machine and then rolled them out and kept them in the fridge overnight. They hadn’t risen much overnight so I was a bit worried they may not turn out. But, after coming out of the oven they were fluffy,light and airy…..and delicious!! They were great the next day as well. We will definitely make these again. Thanks for a great recipe!
Do u think they would freeze well?
Yes, they should freeze just fine.
Yay! I’m so excited to try this! It is one thing we have not switched to “clean” because it takes forever to make! We love cinnamon rolls! Thanks!
I’m really excited to try this recipe! Thank you for all the work you do for our well being!
They look wonderful. What size pan?
An 11×14 should work.
Thank you for this. It’s exactly what I was looking for! Quick question-do you think the recipe would turn out when using coconut oil instead of butter? Thank you!
While we’ve not done so in this recipe, we can typically use them interchangeably.
I had been searching for a good Christmas morning pastry and was thrilled you posted this, after seeing the picture on Instagram. Thank you!