This recipe is really a case in point. I have long despaired of having anything really resembling a good cinnamon roll after being diagnosed with diabetes. I made one early attempt, with a combination of almond flour and coconut flour, back in the early days of this blog. They were…okay. At the time, I thought maybe they were the best I could do using low carb and gluten free ingredients. A little later, I did attempt a sweet roll using carbalose flour, but that does contain gluten and I am moving further and further away from using any gluten products at all. So for the time being, I gave up. I was very pleased with my Cinnamon Roll Scones and thought that they were an excellent replacement in taste, if not exactly in appearance and texture.
And then, when I was making another recipe altogether, I recognized something about the dough I was working with that I thought might make a good cinnamon roll. It was the way it both rose and spread during baking that caught my eye, and I thought that if I rolled it out carefully and filled it with melted butter, cinnamon and granulated erythritol, it might just do the trick. Now I will tell you that these are cinnamon rolls of the biscuit dough variety. I have never attempted a yeast dough with almond flour, or with any gluten free flour at all. But traditional wheat flour biscuit dough makes wonderful cinnamon rolls and I knew that if I could just nail an almond flour biscuit dough, I could make a decent low carb cinnamon roll. And so it was, a few weeks back, that a biscuit-y type recipe turned out well enough for me to think it might just translate.
The Results: I really loved these. They were tender and moist and perfectly cinnamon-y. Again, they aren’t like yeast dough, but very similar to cinnamon rolls made with biscuit dough. They don’t rise and spread all that much, but I am not sure I really care because flavour and texture were spot on. And my kids loved them too, which is always worth some bonus points in my eyes. To be able to have a cinnamon roll with my coffee in the morning was just heavenly.
Almond Flour Cinnamon Rolls – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 cups almond flour
- 3 tbsp granular Swerve Sweetener, or other granulated erythritol
- 3 tbsp unflavored whey protein powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 tbsp brown sugar substitute, I used Ideal
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener, or other powdered erythritol
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease an 8-inch round cake pan with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, Swerve, whey protein, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum.
- Stir in eggs and butter until dough comes together. It will be quite sticky.
- Turn out dough onto a large piece of parchment, and then pat into a rough rectangle.
- Top with another piece of parchment and roll out to about 10x8 inches. Peel off top piece of parchment paper.
- Brush dough with melted butter, then sprinkle with brown sugar substitute and cinnamon, going almost right to edges.
- Starting with the far, longer edge of your dough, gently lift away from the parchment and roll up tightly towards you. Pinch the seam to seal.
- Using a sharp knife, carefully cut into 8 equal portions. Place in prepared cake pan, just barely touching each other, and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, or until just golden brown. Remove and let cool 10 minutes.
- For the Frosting, beat all ingredients in a medium bowl and then pipe or spread onto warm rolls.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
Free Bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
Sign up for your favorite recipes delivered straight to your inbox plus get our FREE bonus: Secrets to Keto Baking!
I made these today with xylitol and hemp protein powder and yuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!! Thank you!
Would this work by using strictly stevia as a sweetener? I hear sweetleaf has no bitter after taste in the original no added flavor extract form and it also comes with flavors like vanilla and toffee which are popular, has anybody tried this?
I am interested in using SweetLeaf too instead of Swerve. Swerve has some pretty bad reviews on Amazon, with complaints of a “cooling” (mint-like) aftertaste that lasts for hours and GI distress. Not to mention, Swerve is more expensive. I have used SweetLeaf liquid stevia for years and LOVE it!!
As someone who has used just about every natural low carb sweetener on the market, I think you should try things for yourself. I get zero cooling effect from Swerve, although I know some people still do experience it, whereas I got a ton from straight erythritol. Every palate is different and you don’t know what will work for you. But you can use SweetLeaf here instead of Swerve, if you choose.
Wow, these look so delectable. I really miss cinnamon rolls. Your posts are fantastic 🙂
Try using peanut flour. I use it quite a bit, makes GREAT pancakes. Mixes well with almond flour too. [needs extra moistner, like more eggs, in recipes]. My favorite brand is protein plus…best flavor IMHO.
you are on buzzfeed http://www.buzzfeed.com/mikaelas/10-childhood-treats-made-healthy-2r7d
These had a great texture, but mine were very salty. I’m planning to try them again with half the salt and baking soda. Did anyone else have this problem?
Yes, Michele, I thought mine were a bit salty too. I hesitated putting the salt in at all after a whole teaspoon of soda AND two of baking powder. But I went ahead – and now think doing what you’ve suggested will be a good idea next time around. Otherwise they were pretty good!
I made these again today with half the baking soda and half the salt. They were much better!
Very good recipe, Carolyn! Thank you so much!
I made these this morning. They were delicious by itself (no icing) but they spread when it cooked…A LOT. So it took a bit longer to cook. The icing had no taste to me; it tasted like plain old cream cheese. I put some on one roll and I didn’t like it. I must be weird.lol.
I made these just now, and they are REALLY good, and not nearly as hard as I thought they would be. I didn’t have the Xanther Gum, so I used Gar Gum, but will get some Xanther next time I’m at a store that has it. I’m out of brown sugar now, so may make these for christmas morning and just use regular WheyLow. I think my boys would love them. Thank you!
Oh my goodness! These look so good. I wish I can make these but I found out a year ago that my son is allergic to peanuts and treenuts. He is also gluten free (so am I). Finding recipes are really hard but this has caught my eye. Is there another gluten-free flour that I can use in place of the almond flour?
There would be no direct substitution for any other GF flour, because they have very different properties. But if you can find a gluten free biscuit recipe, you could probably make it and roll it out the way I did here, fill and roll up again. That might work.
Okay, I will see if I can experiment with that. Also, on the whey protein powder, there is a brand that I use that has a “cinnamon bun” flavor. Is it okay that I use that instead? It is the only brand that I like and they don’t sell unflavored. It is sweetened with stevia.
I really want to try these but I dont have any unflavored protein powder. Do you think they would still come out ok if I omit that ingredient?
I don’t think they will rise very much if you don’t add some sort of protein. Do you have any vanilla protein powder? That will give them a distinct vanilla flavour though…
I do have some vanilla protein powder…..I might just go buy some unflavored to put in here. I really want mine to look and taste good 🙂
I made these this morning!!! They were FANTASTIC!!
So glad to hear it!
My (far more talented than I) 14 year old daughter who loves to cook made these for me after I showed her the recipe. Yum!!! My husband and I are so happy to be able to have cinnamon rolls again! Now I’ll be asking her to make them every weekend :). Thanks for the great recipe.
So glad!
Hi, I was just wondering if I could make these with erythritol instead of the brown sugar substitute?
Sure! That would work just fine.
I made your cinnamon rolls this weekend and I must say they are fantastic! I used to love making cinnamon rolls back in my wheat/sugar eating days and have missed being able to make such a tasty treat. But these were wonderful, thanks for making and sharing such a great recipe. I think the next time I make them I will put the dough in the fridge to firm up a bit before a roll it out. I did struggle a bit with cutting the rolls but they taste really great even if they look a little smooshed, lol.
My mum is diabetic so when I’m buying something for the family to eat, I don’t like to leave her out. She’s more of a savory person anyway but cinnamon is a big hit all round, so I knew cinnamon rolls like these would be perfect. I noticed as well, like someone above, that mine were quite sticky as well which I wasn’t really expecting, so I might butter the pan next time if only to save on the washing up effort. Great recipe, did the trick.
I hadn’t had a cinnamon roll for a year due to my new low carb life style, a decent cinnamon roll And coffee seemed too much to ask for considering my clutzness in the kitchen especially with baking and my lack of time. I saw these on your blog and decided to wake myself up at 5am the next morning to attempt this recipe, I was that excited. THEY ARE SO GOOD. I would almost say life changing. I’m so glad to have discovered your blog (thru Maria.) And now I see you have the next missing link in my old pastry repertoire …white chocolate scones (which I will add blueberries.) Please never stop sharing your culinary prowess.