Since I’ve made this somewhat recently, I thought I’d share this recipe. It’s completely healthy and (almost) zero calories! Amazing, right? Well, at least it’s officially better for you than the run of the mill cinnamon roll. Our family loves when I make this, especially since it’s a fun alternative to the single-serve cinnamon roll too. Sort of like a cake, sort of like a cinnamon roll, sort of like you’re eating your veggies. YEEESSS!! Come to mama.
So everyone makes fun of the way that I say that everything I make is “so easy” (you know who you are, people!). Therefore I preface this by saying, this recipe is a bit of a pain in the rear (i.e. there are a lot of steps), HOWEVER, yes, it’s easy. Honestly! Don’t let the length of the recipe intimidate you. And it’s oh so worth trying!!
Healthy-ish Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls
- 4½ tsp dry yeast (or 2 envelopes)
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5½ cup flour (can add about ¼ cup gluten to increase chewiness if you'd like)
- 1½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato (Boil 1 large, peeled, and cubed sweet potato, then mash)
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk (I usually just put 1-2 Tbs white vinegar into a measuring cup and fill to the 1 cup line with milk)
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter, softened (½ stick)
- 1 Tbs vanilla
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Tbs cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter, softened (½ stick)
Caramel Glaze
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup butter (1 stick)
- ¼ cup evaporated milk (I usually use heavy cream since I always have it on hand!)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
Stir together yeast, water, and 1 tsp sugar into Kitchen-aide mixing bowl with dough hook and let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
Add flour through vanilla into mixing bowl. START OFF with about 4 1/2 cups of flour, and then add as much flour as needed to form a dough.
Once dough is formed and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl, knead with well floured hands 4-5 times to form a ball, then add enough oil to the outside of the ball to grease. Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, around 1 hour.
Stir together 2/3 cup sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Divide dough in half, and roll out one portion into a 16X12 inch rectangle. Spread 2 Tbs of softened butter over the rolled out dough. Sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Cut dough lengthwise into 6 strips.
Loosely coil 1 strip and place in center of a lightly greased 10 inch round pan. Loosely coil remaining dough strips, one at a time, around center strip.
Repeat with the remaining dough half, butter, and sugar mixture.
Cover and let rise again, about 15-20 minutes.
Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Prepare Caramel Glaze, below, and brush over swirls.
Caramel Glaze
Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth-ish. Use immediately over swirls.