Paleo Cinnamon Raisin Rolls

These cinnamon rolls make a Paleo Sunday breakfast special or with a bowl of fruit make a hearty meal.  They are tasty and filling. My experience shows most people are good for two at a sitting.

The first time I made them, it took about thirty five minutes to get the assembly right. The second time, only twenty.

My eating is 90-95% Paleo. I just can't bring myself to going back after nearly three years without a head ache or feeling arthritic. In that time, I've stopped craving sweets, but, I still need to watch my calorie intake. I sometimes substitute apple sauce for some oils or minimize honey or syrup for sweetness. This recipe reflects those preferences.

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 350⁰
• Cover the raisins with water to plump them while completing other steps.
• Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Helpful Equipment:

• Food processor
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cookie sheet
• Knife
• Spatula
• Glass or cup for water
• Parchment paper
• Bowl or basket and cloth napkin or clean dish towel (thin)

Ingredients Rolls:

• ¼ - 1/2 C Raisins
• 1/2 C water
• 1 Ripe banana
• 1T Apple sauce
• 1T Coconut oil
• 1 t Vanilla
• 1 t Baking Soda
• ½ Salt
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 C Almond Flour
• ¾ C Coconut Flour
• 3T Honey
• Cinnamon

Ingredients Topping

• 2 T Honey

Mash the banana with the apple sauce, coconut oil and vanilla, I use a food processor. Add the eggs, flours and cinnamon. Mix but don't over beat.

The dough should be a bit sticky, but it can and should be picked up and made into two balls. The dough is easier to work with when its chilled. Place the balls in the freezer for ten minutes. Leave one  while you work with the other.

On parchment paper roll the first ball into a rectangle.

Drizzle half of the honey across and up and down the rectangle of dough and sprinkle dough with cinnamon, score the rectangle in 1-inch strips.

Drain the raisins which should now be plumped and place them every inch or so on each strip of dough. (You could add walnut chips at this point too.)  The dough may be dry, so it helps to use a knife as a guide to roll each strip. If a roll breaks apart, use your fingers to press and paste it together.  I like consistent sized rolls and some stretched in the making, which i cut in half or patted down before baking.

Repeat these steps with the second ball placing all rolls on the one tray.

 

Bake 24 minutes, till golden brown. Don’t expect them to rise or expand like yeast rolls.

Drizzle with honey when they come out of the oven. Some people like more of an icing, but my need for sweetness has changed since with eating Paleo for two years. You can find Paleo icing recipes on other sites.

Drape a cloth napkin over a bowl and place the rolls inside and wrap up to keep rolls warm.

Impress and enjoy!

Best Paleo Bread... So far

Finally! I've now tried at least 15 different recipes for bread with combinations of fruits and nuts.  This one turned out to be the tastiest as well as the best texture and it's the simplest to make. From the original recipe  it took my oven a little longer to bake, but that could be due to the ripeness (runniness) of the  bananas, the size of the eggs or my oven thermostat.  

I served this with a frittata (Alton Brown's Italian omelet), citrus fruit salad and champagne for a quick Christmas Eve brunch.. Easy, festive and tasty. I put honey and grass-fed cow butter (Kerrygold) on the table and noticed that guests tried both, but it doesn't need anything to sweeten or en-fatten it.

Directions, Preheat the oven at 350, line a loaf pan with parchment paper and schmear with coconut oil. 

2 Ripe bananas- ( Mine were yellow with some softening, but not blackening)

2 Eggs (I used large organic)

1/4 C Coconut Oil

2 C Almond flour

1 t Baking Powder

1/4 t salt

2 C Mix of dried fruits chopped I used (dried blueberries, cranberries, cherries and dates, all came from Trader Joes except the cherries that came from Door County, WI) BTW, Fresh fruit will not work.

2 C Mix of nuts (I used 1 C chopped walnuts, and mixed the second with pistachios, almond slices and pecans

2 T Flax seeds

Puree the bananas, add in the eggs (I used a food processor and swished the eggs a couple times and add coconut oil.  Switch to a bowl if you're using the food processor and mix in almond flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the fruits, nuts and seeds to distribute throughout. 

Once you mix the ingredients pour into the prepared loaf pan and push into corners. It doesn't rise, so what you see is what you'll get. Bake for 40 minutes. Test with 3/4 into it with a knife to see if cooked through, it;s not if ingredients stick to the blade. If so, put in for a few more minutes. 

After cooling it, wrap in plastic and refrigerate. Cut with a serrated (rippled) knife. 

In several other recipes that I've tried, at this point the bread crumbles. Not this recipe. The consistency is firm and chewy, and not dry or a mouth workout. 

If you make it, let me know the combo of fruit and nuts you used and if you'd recommend them. 

Thanks.