Healthy Homemade Cinnamon Roll Cookies Recipe
A healthy take on traditional cinnamon rolls in chewy sugar cookie form, these healthy, easy Cinnamon Roll Cookies are vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, refined sugar-free, and paleo.
Servings: 8 -10 cookies
Ingredients
Cinnamon Filling
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup runny tahini
- 1/8 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon you can use up to 1 tsp if you're a cinnamon lover
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
Vanilla Cookie Batter
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup smooth creamy almond butter
- 1/8 cup date syrup or blackstrap molasses
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
Icing
- coconut butter warmed
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar + water by the tablespoon to stir.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F while you prepare your batters. We'll prepare each dough separately.
- In a large bowl, whisk together liquid ingredients until smooth. Sift in dry ingredients and using a spatula, mix until a dough forms. You can start to use your hands to work the dough as needed. Set your ball of dough to the side and prepare the next batter the same way.
- If the doughs feel really soft, give it some time in the refrigerator to firm up a little bit before working.
- First, roll out your vanilla dough on parchment paper to create a long, rectangular shape. Next, roll out your cinnamon filling dough and lay over top of the vanilla dough. Start to roll up the doughs, using the parchment paper to help lift the dough and roll forward, until one roll is formed. Make sure the roll is quite tight!
- Slice the roll to create cookie shapes, about 1/2 inch thick, or thicker if you prefer a chewy cookie. Flatten out slightly to seal any air pockets and place on baking tray.
- Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are just browning. Remember the cookies will continue to bake once out of the oven, so don't be tempted to over bake them, especially if you like them soft.
- Let cool before enjoying for at least 10-15 minutes.
- Ice with coconut butter or other icing of choice if desired using a piping bag or spoon while warm.
Notes
Secrets to Success
- As mentioned, we're using almond flour in this recipe to make things grain-free and paleo. If you prefer, you can opt to use oat flour instead, making sure to adjust by adding more or less as needed to achieve a workable dough. Also, if you're looking for oat-based cookies, be sure to check out the list below for recipes that may be more up your alley!
- Because the dough can be quite sticky, I highly recommend working with parchment paper, or a silicone baking mat underneath for best results. If your dough feels too soft to work with, try refrigerating the dough for about 10 minutes first. When I bake these cookies on a warmer day or work with my hands a lot, the dough tends to warm up and can become difficult to work with.
- If you'd like to make this recipe nut-free, you can by all means use tahini for both batters. Keep in mind that the almond butter is used primarily also to add dark color to the inner cinnamon swirl. The same goes for the use of different sweeteners (maple versus date syrup or molasses).
- I notice a bit of a textural difference between tahini, which tends to be of a higher fat content and smoother, and almond butter, usually a bit thicker. Add more or less flour to compensate for the difference.
- And finally, if you're not feeling up to creating the swirl, feel free to create one batter by combining all of the listed ingredients. The cookie will taste just as delicious. Trust me!