I’ve been baking all my life (give or take). I can bake in my sleep. I can bake along with the best of ’em. 

But I have had the hardest time coming up with a good cinnamon roll. 

I’ve tried many different recipes and they always end up being too bready, too heavy, too doughy or too dry.

I just about gave up, figuring I must have the incurable CRBD (Cinnamon Roll Baking Disorder)….

But I tried just one more time.

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before. Must be because I also suffer from GGDS (Good Grief Duh Syndrome) and sometimes have a hard time seeing the obvious.

It finally occured to me that since my homemade soft pretzels are so, so good…maybe that dough recipe would make a good cinnamon roll. And BOY was I right! Yumm-eee.

It was one proud day when I finally made a good cinnamon roll. And the fact that it was made with whole wheat and honey was an added bonus! Healthy and delicous…what a deal!

So, just in case you also have CRBD (see above to remind yourself what that is if you have GGDS and can’t remember)…here’s the recipe that finally worked for me!

Whole Wheat Cinnamon RollsYum

1 cup water
2 Tablespoons yeast
2 teaspoons honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
4 teaspoons sea salt
8 cups whole wheat flour

Ingredients for the “innerds” of your cinnamon rolls:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup rapadura or sucanat (dehydrated cane sugar juice) (you can use white sugar if you want)
1/2 Tablespoon ground cinnamon 

Melt your butter and set it aside. Mix together the rapadura and cinnamon in a bowl.

Ooey-Gooey Frosting

1/4 cup butter
3 Tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 cups powdered sugar to make the consistency you like

Melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Whisk together until smooth. 

Okay, here’s how to make the dough…

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir this together and kind of mush the yeast around. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.

Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan. Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat this to 120 degrees.

Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir. Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes. Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.

After dough is nice and fat, punch it down and knead out all it’s bubbles. Cut the dough in half, setting one half aside. 

On a well floured surface, roll dough into a nice big rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick.

Use a pastry brush to spread 1/2 of the melted butter all over the rectangle. Sprinkle 1/2 of the rapadura/cinnamon mixture all over the butter. 

Roll up the dough.

Cut into thin slices, about 1/2 inch thick. 

Place rolls side by side on baking pan.
 

Repeat process with other 1/2 of dough.

Allow dough to rise about 30 minutes. 

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.

Allow rolls to cool a bit, then drizzle lots and lots of ooey-gooey frosting all over them.

Happy cinnamon roll baking!! Be sure to look through the “Natural Sugar Treats” section of my blog for more great recipes like this one…using great wholesome ingredients to make great treats!
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