Because today is my birthday, I wanted to share something extra-special. Yes, that’s right, it’s my birthday! Today I join the ‘Dirty Thirty’ club. I won’t lie, I was downright dreading my thirtieth birthday up until today. When I was younger, 30 just seemed so mature, so grown up, so responsible.
When my dad called last night to give me his requisite rendition of how I was born, he began with, “I remember 30 years ago when….”
“Whoa,” I wanted to interrupt. “Maybe for my ego’s sake we could pretend that it was 24 years ago…” I don’t know why, but 24 just sounds so much better. It’s not a milestone birthday in any way, and at 24, you’re maturing, but you’re still young enough to be expected to have fun and not take life too seriously.
Putting my ego aside, I honestly don’t feel any older than 24! While I do attribute my health to the type of lifestyle I choose to live–eating healthy, exercise pretty regularly, etc.–I also think that it’s so important to indulge every now and again, too. So, when I was trying to think of something special to make for my birthday, I chose to remake one of my all-time favorites: cinnamon rolls.
Now, I know that these cinnamon rolls aren’t exactly the healthiest in the world, but they’re vegan and gluten-free and significantly lower in sugar, making them an amazingly tasty and certainly birthday-(or even holiday-)worthy treat….especially when you don’t hog them all to yourself like I did 
- ~~Dough:
- 1 cup brown rice flour
- 1 cup sorghum flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- ½ cup arrowroot powder
- 1-2 Tbs. coconut sugar or xylitol, or other granulated sugar (optional)
- 1 Tbs. flaxseed meal (optional)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 1½ tsp. xanthan gum
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup warmed coconut oil
- ⅔ cup applesauce or pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- ~~Filling:
- 1 cup raisins or chopped dates
- ¼ cup maple syrup or coconut sugar
- 1½ tsp. cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt and nutmeg
- ~~Icing:
- ¼ cup coconut butter
- 2-3 Tbs. almond milk
- ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
- 10 drops liquid stevia or 1 Tbs. maple syrup
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan. Also, spread a large sheet of parchment across a flat surface.
- Combine the almond milk and vinegar and allow the milk to sour for at least 10 minutes.
- To make the dough: Combine the dry ingredients (brown rice flour through salt) together in a large mixing bowl. Spoon out ½ cup of flour to reserve for later. Combine the wet ingredients (soured almond milk through vanilla extract) in a separate bowl and whisk together. *Be sure to use warm or room temperature coconut oil and not melted, which will make the dough too wet. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a wooden spoon or spatula to combine everything until dough is formed.
- Sprinkle almost all of the reserved ½ cup of flour onto your large sheet of parchment paper. Place the dough onto the parchment paper and work the flour into the dough using your hands. Sprinkle the remaining flour onto the parchment to prevent the dough from sticking. Press the dough out into a large rectangle, approximately ½-inch thick.
- To make the filling, add all of the ingredients to your food processor and blend until the mixture is somewhat smooth. Pour the mixture on the dough and use your finger to spread the filling evenly, leaving about an inch of uncovered dough on the edges closest to and furthest from you.
- Now it’s time to roll the dough! Lift up the edge of the parchment paper that’s closest to you and gently tuck the dough in as you go, which will help to create a tighter roll in the beginning. Continue slowly lifting the parchment paper, using it to guide the dough as you roll. Be sure to do this slowly and carefully!
- Once your done rolling the dough, use a sharp knife to gently slice the dough into 2-inch-thick rolls. Once sliced, place the rolls into cake pan. Press down gently onto the tops of the rolls. If you like your cinnamon rolls a bit more crisp on the outside, brush melted coconut oil onto the tops of the rolls before baking.
- Bake in the preheated oven for approx. 20 minutes. Watch the rolls carefully and remove from the oven when they begin to brown a bit on the edges. When ready, remove from the oven and allow the rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- While waiting on the rolls, prepare your icing. Melt the coconut butter in a double broiler or in a small bowl placed in hot (not boiling) water. Once the coconut butter has melted, add the almond milk, vanilla extract, and stevia and whisk everything together until smooth and pourable.
- When the rolls are ready, drizzle the icing on top, serve, and enjoy!
*Recipe adapted from here
