What would you do for a warm, gooey cinnamon roll with sweet icing melting down the sides?
Before you were gluten-free, this may have been an easy fix: head to your local bakery, run to grandma’s house, or pop open the can, right? C’mon, nothing to be ashamed of, many of us have done it. No judgement here.
Waking up to a house filled with a cinnamon-sugar sweet dough aroma is rewarding in itself and is almost enough to satisfy the craving. ALMOST enough, but who are we kidding? Wafting aroma alone is just NOT going to cut it!
What? A gluten-free cinnamon roll, too daunting a task? Intimidated? Overwhelmed?
Naah! If I can do it, there are NO excuses for you. Sorry!
Having grown a little tired of working with the typical gluten-free batter, one specific goal for this recipe was to have a dough that could be rolled, shaped, and cut. Should we start the betting on whether or not I succeeded? Whaddaya think?
Cheer me on as we tour a fantastic photo voyage to sweet cinnamon nirvana!
To make the dough you will need to start with:
- 2 1/2 cups Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
Combine all the dry ingredients in your mixer bowl.
Add 4 tablespoons soft butter, blending on low speed until you have coarse crumbs.
Whisk the following ingredients together:
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 cup warm milk, plus extra for brushing on dough
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon Buttery Sweet Dough Flavor
and add to the crumb mixture, mixing to combine at first and then
increasing the speed to medium for about 1 minute, in order to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients.
You should end up with a soft, sticky dough that will need to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until visibly puffy.
While the dough rests and rises, combine the following ingredients to make the filling:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons soft butter
When the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly greased piece of parchment paper, and press it gently into an 8″ x 16″ rectangle. I made the mistake of using plastic wrap here, thinking it would be easier to roll, but it was a wrinkly nightmare, so go with the parchment paper for sure!
You have the advantage of learning from my boo-boos instead of making them. I’ll make plenty of mistakes so you won’t have to!
Brush milk over the surface of the dough to prevent the rolls from gaping and separating from the filling when they bake. Then, spread the filling over the dough, leaving a 1/2″ to 1″ border of filling-free dough around the edges.
Speaking of errors, can you tell where I almost screwed up in the above photo? What fun it would have been to scrape all the cinnamon filling from the dough so that I could apply the milk? I caught myself JUST in time! A little sprinkle of filling, and no harm done.
The actual recipe you are seeing makes double this amount of filling, but what you see pictured here is only a single batch. Cinnamon roll filling is ONE situation where less is NOT more!
With the long edge of the parchment (or in my unfortunate case, plastic) closest to you, roll the dough forward allowing the paper to do the work for you.
The dough should release from the paper as you roll …
and be ever so cooperative.
When the rolling is completed, cut the log into 8 equal rolls using a sharp serrated knife or dental floss.
To use the floss, draw it under the dough and pull each end simultaneously across the top to cut the rolls.
Again, no need to weep at the sight of this shy helping of cinnamon goodness – remember, yours will generously be doubled!
This cross-section of dough reveals a successful rise, as you can see the holes and bubbles throughout the roll – EXACTLY what we want!
For best results, place each roll into the well of a lightly greased muffin pan – the rolls will rise higher with the support of the pan.
Allow the rolls to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Toward the end of the rise, preheat your oven to 350°F.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. While the rolls are baking, make the icing by mixing the following with an electric mixer until smooth:
- 6 tablespoons soft cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup soft butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Ice the rolls immediately and serve warm!
This smaller batch recipe will hopefully encourage these rolls to be eaten up quickly, as they won’t hold up for long at room temperature. If you plan to rewarm them for later use, keep them icing-free until you do so.
Our model above is laced with the icing drizzle, a bit dainty and still showing off the swirl of dark, spicy cinnamon; but by all means, slather the stuff on any way you like it – there will surely be plenty!
You’ve waited long enough – now indulge!
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