Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls | My Little Celebration

For two weeks I’ve been craving a cinnamon roll.
A big, fat, juicy one with a gooey center and lots of frosting.

But since there are no fabulous bakeries in town,
I was forced to make a batch myself one Saturday morning
with my friend, Rebecca, and her puppy, Nick.

What a terrible problem to have.

When he wasn’t on guard duty, Nick looked on curiously as we danced around each other in the kitchen, sipping coffee, singing ‘Flight of the Conchords’ songs and getting messy with our whole wheat dough. And after running a quick errand to the Asian market, this is what when we returned to.

Dough overload! Looks like the yeast got all yeasty and doubled over. Not a bad problem to have, I suppose – especially considering all my previous cinnamon roll attempts have yielded flat, cracker-like rolls.

After making some more coffee we rolled out our dough, piled on the butter,  brown sugar and cinnamon mixture, and rolllllled it up into fat pastry roll. It was so giant it took both of us to move it from counter to cutting board.

And some 30 minutes later in the oven, we had a hot pan of whole wheat cinnamon rolls on our hands. All that was left to do was frost – and frost, we did.

Wow, these were incredible. I loved the sight heartiness and nutty flavor the whole wheat flour gave them. They were so fluffy and moist. The cinnamon to sugar ratio was spot on, and the easy-to-make glaze sent them over-the-top.

Just one serving wasn’t enough. I had to have two rolls to satisfy my cravings. And they did not disappoint.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls
From the Hope Mennonite Cookbook | yields 2 dozen

Ingredients
2 packages yeast (I used rapid rise, but either works)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water, divided
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2/3 cup honey (I used part honey, agave, and maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
6-7 cups whole wheat flour

Filling Mixture
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-4 Tablespoons milk

Method | Dissolve yeast and sugar in 1 cup of warm water. Add oil, honey, salt, eggs, remaining 1 cup water, and 2 cups of flour. Beat for 5 minutes on medium speed. Add remaining flour, beat for 5 minutes more. Switch to wooden spoon if it becomes too stiff. Let rise until doubled (at least 1-2 hours). Mix brown sugar mixture: place brown sugar, sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon in mixing bowl and mix until combined. Roll out dough in a large rectangle and cover with mixture. Roll up and cut into 1-1.5 inch rolls. Place in butter baking pan and bake in 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes and prepare icing. Then ice and eat immediately.

The pictures say it all. You will LOVE these cinnamon rolls. I promise.

Enjoy,

Dana