Orange Currant Cinnamon Rolls

I’ve been thinking of brunch recipes we could have on Christmas morning and I knew I wanted to make some cinnamon rolls. However, you can’t just wing it on the day of – trust me, I’ve tried that and it doesn’t always work. These were actually supposed to be scones but I wasn’t paying attention and following my standard cinnamon roll recipe so once I got in the middle of making the dough I knew I had to commit! Good thing I was spacing because these are great! I’m sure they’d be awesome as a scone too but the cinnamon roll works so great, we may not try the scone! I was missing my "Granny Grunt" this morning and decided to use her plate for my picture. The holidays are hard when loved ones are gone but its little things that make you remember and enjoy their spirit! This makes 12 cinnamon rolls.

Orange Currant Rolls

Dough

1 cup white rice flour

¾ cup amaranth flour

½ cup potato starch

½ cup arrowroot starch

1 Tbsp xanthan gum

1 Tbsp yeast (1 packet)

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup stevia

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 egg

¼ cup applesauce

¾ cup almond milk

½ cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Filling

¼ cup coconut oil, melted

½ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon

½ cup dried currants

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp coconut oil, melted (or butter)

Juice and Zest from one orange

• Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix together water, almond milk and yeast for dough and let set for a few minutes. Add in applesauce, coconut oil, egg and vanilla to dry mix and blend well.
•  Pour in milk mixture and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes. 
• This part is key. Put a large rectangle piece of plastic wrap onto your counter or tabletop to roll the dough on. Pour dough onto plastic wrap and spread into a rectangle. Place another sheet of plastic wrap onto dough. Roll out into a thin rectangle. Remove top layer of plastic wrap.
• Spread the coconut oil for filling over the dough. Sprinkle on coconut sugar, cinnamon and currants. Take the long side of the dough and roll over the rest. 
• A trick here is to roll the dough using the edges of the plastic wrap. The dough is sticky and hard to roll if you use your hands. Cut dough log into 1” pieces. 
• In a greased 9x13 pan, place rolls cut side down. Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until browned on top. 
• Mix together icing ingredients and spread over warm rolls. 

Cranberry Sweet Rolls - Gluten Free

I used to be a sucker for Hostess or Little Debbie snack cakes. It’s not something I’m real proud of now but I LOVED them. My favorites had to be the Oatmeal Cream Pies and those Cherry Sweet Rolls. Oh my gosh – so good! I don’t need to tell you about their nutritional values I’m sure. These Cranberry Rolls are my Christmas version of my old favorite breakfast treat! Plus a lot healthier… These can easily be made ahead and baked Christmas morning. This makes about 12 rolls. 

1 cup white rice flour

½ cup white sorghum flour
¾ cup tapioca starch
½ cup arrowroot starch
¼ cup stevia or sugar
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 pkt active dry yeast
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
¼ cup applesauce
½ cup water, warm
½ cup milk, warm
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
Filling
1 Tbsp coconut oil
½ cup cranberry sauce (Here’s my homemade recipe)
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
3 tsp almond milk

• In a small bowl, combine yeast, milk and water and set aside for about 5 minutes.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining dry dough ingredients. Add in egg, applesauce, oil, vanilla and yeast mixture.
• Blend over medium speed for about 2 minutes.
• Place dough onto a clean, floured surface and roll out into a ¼” thick rectangle.
• Spread coconut oil over dough and top with sugar, cinnamon and cranberry sauce. Roll up dough lengthwise and cut into about 1” thick slices.
• Place rolls cut side down  in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Let rise for about 30 minutes.
• Bake at 350°F for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.
• While rolls are baking, mix together icing ingredients. Let rolls cool about 10 minutes  and drizzle icing over tops and serve.

Gluten Free Chive-Onion Dinner Rolls

If you remember from some of my very first posts, I love bread and I had to have it at every meal. Now, it’s more of a small craving and I only need it occasionally to satisfy me. I have found some decent tasting freezer rolls that are gluten free. However, I wanted to make some of my own. These turned out pretty good. The dough is a good base and I will be using it more to make different variations. I liked the addition of the chives and onions to give the rolls added flavor. This makes about 8-10 rolls

¾ cup white rice flour

¾ cup brown rice flour
½ cup potato starch
½ cup tapioca starch
1 pkg yeast
1 cup warm water
1 egg
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp fresh chives
1 tsp red onion, finely chopped

• In a small bowl, combine warm water and yeast; let sit for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine flours, potato starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum and sea salt.
• Over medium speed, mix together dry ingredients and yeast mixture.
• Add in egg, vinegar and olive oil. Blend for about 4 minutes.
• While mixture is blending, add in chives and onion.
• Separate dough into small balls (about 8-10) and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour. Bake at 350°F for about 15 minutes.

Cucumber Spring Rolls

These cute little guys are perfect for lunch or a snack. I get tired of eating salads for lunch at work so one day I decided to throw these rolls together. They turned out great. My son also enjoyed eating them as they were more “fun” than most of the things we have for lunch. Serve these with some ranch dressing or try my Asian Sesame dressing (found with this salad). They are also just fine by themselves. Depending on how thick you slice your cucumber, this makes about 6 rolls.

1 large cucumber

2 radishes
4 baby carrots
1/4 cup cabbage

• Using a mandolin, slice the cucumbers lengthwise (about 1/8” thick). Discard the slices with a lot of seeds, if desired.
• Chop radishes, carrots and cabbage into thin strips.
• Place a slice of cucumber on a cutting board and sprinkle on radishes, carrots and cabbage.
• Carefully roll up cucumber slice and secure with a toothpick.
• Don’t fill the slices too thick or they won’t roll very well.