These gluten free and Paleo cinnamon rolls are an easy weekend breakfast treat suitable for a variety of diets, including dairy free and nut free. Enjoy on a winter morning!
Heat ¼ cup water slightly to 110°. It will reach this temperature very quickly, so don’t overheat! If you get the water too hot it will kill the yeast, so you want to test your temperature with an instant read thermometer and allow to cool as needed until it reaches 110 degrees. Remove from heat.
Over the top of the mixture, sprinkle yeast and let it bloom for about 8 minutes. See notes if your mixture doesn’t foam and get thick.
Meanwhile, combine the melted palm shortening, whisked eggs, and coconut milk. Slightly heat the mixture, but test the temperature to make sure it doesn’t go over 110°F. Add yeast mixture to the shortening mixture and whisk carefully to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl add cassava flour, arrowroot starch, coconut sugar, and salt then stir to combine. Sift to make sure any large clumps are broken up.
Slowly add wet ingredients to the flour mixture in two batches, stirring until flour is just incorporated before adding the next batch. Dough should be very soft but not overly sticky. Since this is a gluten free cinnamon roll, you’ll need to form it into a ball. It won’t work it’s way into a ball on it’s own like a gluten cinnamon roll would. Cover with a tea towel then set somewhere warm to double in volume, about 1 hour. I like to turn on the oven to the lowest setting for 1-2 minutes. Then turn off the oven and place the dough to rise in there. If the oven is too warm, leave the door cracked open It normally takes about 60 minutes for the dough to rise. You can also place the pan on a heating pad to keep warm.
For the filling, combine the coconut sugar, cinnamon, and palm shortening in a small bowl then set aside.
Once the dough has risen (it will likely have cracks in the dough), place the ball on a large sheet of parchment paper, and roll the dough into a ¼” thick rectangle, roughly 24x15”. Do not press this dough too thin.
Spread filling mixture onto the dough, leaving 1” border on one of the long sides without any of the filling.
Using the parchment paper, gently roll the dough from from one of the long sides towards the border without filling. Continue to roll the dough into a log using the parchment paper instead of your hands until you reach the bottom. Lightly pinch the seams of the dough together then slice the log into quarters (see notes for slicing tips).
Slice each quarter into thirds for 12 slices total then arrange the slices in a pie pan oiled with palm shortening.
Place rolls back on the heating pad or in the warm oven to rise until puffy, about 30-40 minutes.
Remove the rolls from the oven, and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls for 17-20 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
Let rolls cool for 15 minutes in the pie pan, then make the icing. Add ingredients for the icing in a bowl then whisk until smooth. Spoon icing on top of the rolls and serve warm.
Notes
If your yeast mixture does not foam, it is most likely that your yeast was old, or the temperature of the water was too cool or too warm.If you use a knife to slice your rolls, cut in one motion instead of sawing. If you use dental floss to slice your rolls, first note: choose unflavored. Now, you’ll slide the floss under the log width wise, with two ends of floss free on either side. Hold each end of the floss, and cross one over to the opposite side of the log, then carefully and quickly pull the two floss ends until it ‘cuts’ through the log.