These tall and fluffy cinnamon roll muffins are dairy free and made with unrefined sugars. They’re drizzled with creamy vanilla icing and go great with a warm mug of coffee.
While one of my favorite things to do is take classic comforts and add a healthy spin to them, I also love trying out other ways to add a twist to these classics as well. These healthy cinnamon roll muffins are different in that cinnamon rolls are baked individually in muffin tins.
The result? Tall and fluffy cinnamon rolls that shoot up line little chimneys.
Okay so they’re not actually “muffins” in the traditional sense, but they have the same shape and are just as tasty.
This healthy cinnamon roll dough recipe is my go-to and I truly think it’s one of the best dairy-free cinnamon roll doughs out there. I’ve got a lot of competition, but I’m also biased towards myself. They’re quick-rise, which means no need to wait around for hours and hours before enjoying them! Rather, you can go from raw ingredients to fresh baked muffin-rolls in less than 90 minutes.
But actually, it has coconut oil which gives it a lovely aroma, honey for sweetness, and you can use pretty much any dairy-free milk you want (I’m partial to drinking coconut milk or oat milk since they’re so creamy). Note that drinking coconut milk ≠ coconut milk in a can. I’m sure you know the difference, but a quick one sentence reminder couldn’t hurt!
What do I need to Make Healthy Cinnamon Roll Muffins?
- In the Dough: Flour, Rapid Rise Yeast, Coconut Milk Beverage, Coconut Oil, Honey, Sea Salt, and an Egg. It’s very important that your egg is at room temperature as to not harm the yeast.
- In the Filling: Coconut Sugar, Cinnamon, and Coconut Oil. I love using coconut sugar as a better-for-you sweetener. While it’s not “healthy” since it’s still sugar, there definitely is some benefit over cane sugar. It has a lower glycemic index, which means it’ll have less of an impact on your blood glucose levels. Well & Good has a great article about it.
- In the Icing: Here is where I go all out with sweet and sticky goodness. Powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and a little splash of milk. For a lower calorie or lower sugar roll, just skip this!
How Do I Make Them?
- You’ll start by whisking together the flour, yeast, and salt. Since this is instant (rapid rise) yeast, there is no need to activate it first before using. This is a common misconception with this type of yeast, and I often see recipes have instructions to dissolve instant yeast in warm water or milk first. There’s actually no need to do this!
- Make sure that you let your egg come to room temperature before baking. I know I already mentioned this above, but a cold egg will slow down the yeast activity and prevent the dough from rising well.
- It can be difficult to know when the dough has been mixed enough. The trick here is to mix it just until it’s pulling off from the sides of the bowl. It will be tacky to the touch (but not so sticky that you can’t handle it).
- Want to add a nice crunch and nuttiness? Sprinkle some chopped pecans into the filling.
- For a lower calorie version, skip the vanilla icing.
How Do I Store Leftovers?
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container. They can be left out at room temperature for 2-3 days or will last in the fridge for a week. Just heat them before eating!
Enjoy!!
Did you make this recipe? Leave a rating, review, or take a picture and tag me on instagram @toppedwithhoney. I’d love to hear from you. 🙂
Mile High Healthy Cinnamon Roll Muffins (Dairy-Free)
Equipment
- 12-Well Muffin Tin
- Stand Mixer with Hook Attachment
Ingredients
Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 3 Cups All Purpose Flour, Measured Like This
- 1 Packet Rapid Rise Yeast, 2¼ Tsp
- ¼ Tsp Sea Salt
- ¾ Cup Drinking Coconut Milk or Oat Milk
- ¼ Cup Honey
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 Egg, at room temperature
Cinnamon Roll Filling
- ¼ Cup Coconut Sugar or Brown Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1-2 Tbsp Coconut Oil, melted
Vanilla Icing
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- ½ Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1½-2 Tsp Dairy-Free Milk
Instructions
Make the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, rapid-rise yeast, and salt.
- In a separate, microwave safe bowl or liquid measuring cup, combine the milk and honey. Microwave for 20-25 seconds, or until it is just warm to the touch (105°F-110°F).
- Add the milk and honey mixutre, melted coconut oil, and egg to the flour and use the dough hook to stir everything on medium speed until a dough starts to come together.
- Knead the dough on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, or just until it pulls off the sides of the bowl and is no longer sticky. The final dough will still be tacky, but not so sticky that you can't handle it. While the dough is kneading, lightly grease a large bowl.
- Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and let it rest for 7 minutes.
Roll and Fill
- After the dough has rested, liberally flour a flat surface like a countertop, large cutting board, or pastry board. Place the dough on the flat surface and use a rolling pin to roll it out into a large ¼" thick rectangle.
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut sugar and cinnamon. Brush the entire surface of the rolled out dough with the 1-2 tbsp of melted coconut oil, and then sprinkle an even layer of the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.
- Now it's time to roll it into a log. Staring from the short edge of your rectangle, roll the dough tightly to form a log. Use your fingers to pinch the ends to seal everything together. Cut this log into 12 equal pieces.
- Grease and flour a 12-tin muffin pan, and place one roll into each well.
- Lightly cover the muffin pan with a cloth and place it in a warm spot (such as by a window) to rise. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes, or until puffed up to at least 1.5x in size. While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- After rising, bake the rolls for 20-23 minutes, or until they start to turn light golden brown. Keep an eye on them at the 20 minute mark to make sure they're baked through so that they don't collapse once cooled, but not over-baked and dry. Remove from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tins.
Make the Icing
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk of choice until smooth. Add enough milk so that you can drizzle the icing without it being too watery.
- Using a spoon, drizzle the icing over the cinnamon roll muffins. Enjoy!
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