Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Rolls

Saturday morning sweetness. This time with cinnamon rolls incredibly without any sweetness except from fruit. I know! The cinnamon filling is made with a raisin paste and cinnamon and the dough is my easy no-yeast- no-rise bread recipe that I morph into dough for these sweet swirl rolls. I promise you that if you have been deprived from sweets, sugar, or anything decadent for a while because of health and digestive issues that you will have a shouted "hallelujah" with these sweeties :) They are such a gift of love and sweetness for any weary soul. And then I topped one with some only-fruit berry chia jam and that's when I heard the magic glitter sparkles snap.

I was recently told by a friend of another friend making something like these rolls from my recipe because of her own journey with leaving regular table sugar behind and even all of the other typical sweet alternatives. So of course I had to try it myself! Fruit is nature's best way to share sweetness in our lives. If you are one of my recipe followers, then you already know I only use sugar alternatives like honey, maple syrup, coconut palm sugar...but even still it is incredible how our bodies get addicted to even these sugars. It has been kinda of a reset for me over the past few weeks to try and eat only fruit for sweetness in my life. This is definitely a challenge for me.

I will be honest with you. I hate restrictions and rules. I basically see a rule and think how on earth can I avoid that one. I used to think that I don't intentionally try to break rules, but really I see myself now as being one of those people that just HATES having restricted boundaries...mostly because I feel trapped. Trapped by feelings that make me feel like I am stuck in a certain way of living or thinking or fill-in-the-blank... This is why I started this blog and baking GF and sharing my recipes. Because I wanted to say that if you have to eat a certain way that sometimes feels small, deprived and trapped that there are people like me out there trying to make things that can give you life, nourish you inside and out, AND will break through the boundaries of what it looks like to have to eat a certain way. Thinking bigger and outside-of-the-lines inspires me and keeps me going. So that was a little of a rant, but basically these little rolls remind me that having restrictions for the diet [for a small or forever time] doesn't have to be a sentence of misery. It can actually bring hope, joy and so much love. Happy baking friends and may you find doses of sweetness in your life that don't involve addicting qualities ;)

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Rolls Recipe

{gluten, dairy, egg, yeast, soy, nut, seed and SUGAR-free}

3 TB of psyllium husk powder

1 cup of coconut milk beverage (I use So Delicious unsweetened)

1 cup of water

1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce

2 TB of olive oil

Whisk all the above ingredients together very well in a large mixing bowl. It will turn into a pudding-like substance. Then you can add the dry ingredients...

1 1/2 cups of certified GF oat flour *I grind my own from GF rolled oats*

1 1/4 cup of rice flour

1/2 cup of tapioca flour

1/4 cup of potato starch

1 TB of corn-free baking powder

1 ts of baking soda

1 ts. of sea salt

*1/2 cup of extra flour (oat or rice/tapioca or a mix) for rolling out and kneading if need be

After you add in all the dry ingredients you will roll together, knead together and start to form a log or bad and you may need to extra flour (oat, rice, tapioca) in the kneading or rolling out process if your dough is extra sticky. So form a lump or log and start to roll out a flat dough piece on parchment paper. You want to roll out a 12-15 x 15x18 inch dough rectangle. Let it sit while you mix up the filling...

Raisin Cinnamon Paste Filling

1 cup of soft organic raisins

2 TB of ground cinnamon

1-2 TB of coconut oil

1-2 TB of hot water

In a food processor or blender put all of the above ingredients in and blend until a creamy cinnamon paste. Then spread all over the 12x18 inch rolled out piece of dough. You can leave 1-2 inches without the filling at the end closest to your body. Then, at the end farthest from your body start to pinch the first few inches of the dough pieces into a roll. You want to evenly roll the whole 18 inches of dough into a roll towards you. There is a lot of technique here, but basically you want to stretch-then roll-stretch-then roll, and you will eventually get a TIGHT roll of dough swirled with cinnamon filling. Pinch the endings of dough on each side and at the end of the dough roll. This will help the dough stick together. Then take a bread knife and cut 1 inch cuts along the roll and separate each inched roll and place it on a parchment papered baking sheet. A 15x18 baking sheet works best, or 2 12x9 baking sheets would work too. Spread out 1/2 inch apart so they bake together but they will expand a little. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown. Let the rolls sit and cool for 15 minutes and they are ready to eat!

This recipe can make 24 mini rolls or about 18 larger rolls. It just depends on how long you roll out your cinnamon log and how large you slice off the rolls from the log. If you have ever made homemade cinnamon rolls before you can use all the same techniques here with this recipe, but this dough is free of  sugar, yeast, so no rising time, and free of the pesky allergens. They turn out fabulous though!

These could be wonderfully topped with the jam I mentioned, or you could top with ghee, nut/seed apple or any other "butters", bananas, seeds, nuts, or whatever to add more flavor. You could toast them or dunk them, or even un-swirl them and eat them like a spaghetti noodle (that is done by one of my littles LOL). The options are endless ;) Or at least it is fun to think that way and imagine all the possibilites out there in the world to ENJOY food and life that you CAN enjoy!

Hope you find hope and peace today, friends! Much love xoxo