Fantastic Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls!

There were a few things I really missed making and eating when we had to start going gluten-free.  One was chocolate chip cookies.  The other was cinnamon rolls.  I mean, tasty, puffy, melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon rolls.  Thanks to the trial and error of the authors of Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking (I have tried a lot of gluten-free cookbooks and theirs is the only one I genuinely like) and my own modifications, what you have here is some fantastically delicious cinnamon rolls that taste oh-so-similar to those I used to make and love.  I should add that my friend, Julie, who is a fabulous baker, has approved these cinnamon rolls - so much so that she asked me if she was actually eating a gluten-free cinnamon roll or if these were regular ones (which I haven't made in years... ;) )What a compliment! 

Delicious Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting on top! Yum! 

Fantastic Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

(Dough portion of the recipe is borrowed from Artisanal Gluten-Free Cooking minus my adjustments with flours.  I’ve tried a few adjustments to the recipe, but this method works really well. It’s very similar to one I used to use (pre-gluten-free) that we loved.  I’ve made my own modifications for fillings and frosting!  We prefer this version the best!

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9x13 pan.

Place in a cereal bowl:

3 eggs (still in shells)

Pour warm/hot water over eggs.  This will bring them to room temperature.

In a 2 cup measuring cup, heat until just scalding (90 seconds in the microwave should do it):

¾ cup milk

Immediately add to hot milk:

½ cup butter, chopped into smaller pieces

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

In a small measuring cup or bowl combine:

1/3 cup warm water (110-115F)

4 tsp rapid rise yeast or active dry yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

Let yeast rest 5 minutes to foam and allow milk mixture to cool a bit.  

Meanwhile, mix in a large bowl:

4 ½ cups Kristin’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix * (see below for measurement amounts for just this recipe)

2 tsp xanthan gum (this is in addition to the xanthan gum in the flour mix)

Add to the flour mixture:

3 warmed eggs

Milk mixture (with sugar/salt/butter)

Yeast mixture

Mix well with a spoon, using the back of the spoon to help make the mixture nice and smooth.  Let this sit just a moment while you prepare the filling.

Melt in a small bowl:

¼ cup butter

Mix together in a separate bowl:

¾ cup brown sugar (light brown or dark brown work well)

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Line two large sheets of plastic wrap side by side on the counter, overlapping a bit.   2-3 foot long pieces work well.  

Spoon out large scoops of the dough and place along the middle of the plastic wrap. 

Pull out another two large sheets of slightly overlapping plastic wrap to cover the dough.  You’ll then flatten out the dough between the sheets until you have – more or less – a two foot long piece of dough that is flattened to somewhere between 10-15 inches wide.  Try to make it nice and even.  You have to slightly adjust the plastic wrap as you’re doing this, since it sometimes gets caught underneath the dough.  But, you’ll find the dough doesn’t stick to the cling wrap, which is fantastic!  Carefully remove the top layer of plastic wrap, setting it aside to use to cover the rolls as they rise.

Pour and spread melted butter over the dough. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. 

You can see how easily the plastic wrap comes off the dough!  Spread butter, then cinnamon mixture.

Carefully roll up the dough, so you have one two-foot long roll of dough.   Pulling up the plastic wrap can help you get the dough to roll over if you’re finding it’s sticking to your hands a bit.   Once you have your long roll of dough, pat the ends slightly to flatten the messy ends.   Use a serrated knife to cut dough into 16 pieces. (i.e. cut in half, cut each half in half, continue until you have 16 slices)

You can use the plastic wrap to help you roll it up. I roll it most of the way using the wrap on the far side, then use the side of the wrap closest to me to roll up the last part.  Slice evenly.  

Place carefully in pan as evenly spaced as you can manage.  Press down slightly on the tops to flatten a bit. 

Pre and post pressing down slightly on the tops to flatten

Cover pan with plastic wrap and set in a warm location to rise 25-30 minutes. 

Post-rise, you can compare with the picture above to see how much they rise.

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned on tops.   You can make the cream cheese frosting (recipe below) while it’s baking.

Remove from oven and put on a wire rack to cool. 

You can either:

1. Add the frosting right away and it oozes into the cinnamon rolls

2. Let cool, then add frosting.  

These freeze really well and heat up quickly in the microwave!  We pop them into tupperwares once cooled and pull out and reheat on a plate for snacks/breakfast/treats.  Enjoy!

 

Fresh from the oven and frosted. Yum!

Cream Cheese Frosting (this is a very generous amount, so halve the recipe if you want a lighter bit of frosting/glaze):

In a bowl, warm in the microwave 20 seconds, or let sit to come to room temperature:

3 oz cream cheese

2 Tbsp butter

Add, and mix with a spoon until smooth (ish):

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Carefully add, ½ cup at a time:

2 cups powdered sugar

Milk, to desired consistency (add 1-2 tsp at a time)

Some people like a runny glaze, so they’ll find they end up adding more milk, others like a thick topping for cinnamon rolls, so you’ll just leave out the milk or add very little.  Enjoy!

* If you don’t want to make up the flour mix since you’d have to make it twice for this recipe, just use the following: 

2 cups brown rice flour

1 cup sorghum flour

¾ cup + 1 Tbsp cornstarch

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp potato starch

¼ cup + 1 Tbsp tapioca starch

1 ½ tsp xanthan gum (ideally measure 1 1/3 tsp)