Spelt Cinnamon Buns with Pecan-Maple Topping

When I switched over to healthy eating, I never thought I’d get to eat cinnamon buns again. But just like all carb-lovers out there, the recollection of Cinnabon and even homemade cinnamon buns has stayed vivid in my mind.

Without resorting to the unhealthy type, though, cinnamon buns’ special combination of soft nectarous dough, slippery caramel sauce, and comforting spices just seemed out of my grasp.

Though we often eat gluten-free, spelt is now our grain of choice. Spelt contains little gluten and which is generally easier on the digestive system because it is a less-processed grain. This is especially true when fermented into sourdough- which I have tried continually, but my sourdough starter always flops to my great disappointment!

However, I’ve had a trusty healthy spelt dough recipe that I’ve been experimenting with. This is quite similar to the dough we use to make bread, or challah. I’ve also tweaked it for a babka recipe, or sweet braided chocolate bread. That recipe is in high demand and I’ll also be posting it soon!

On a whim when I had extra challah dough, I experimented with filling the dough with a sticky cinnamon mixture. And boy, was it well-received!

I’ve now been fending off requests for this constantly. It will definitely become a staple treat!

Look how delicious those are. Who else hogs the melty, undercooked ones in the very middle??

Undercooked doughy desserts are one of my favorite foods, right alongside runny egg yolks 😉

I really think this is about as healthy as cinnamon buns can get when using real gluten!

Note:

• I cooked this in my trusty cast-iron skillet, just for fun to see what it did for the texture! Usually cast-iron adds a “crisp” or “crust” element to baked goods when used in the oven.
• In this case I really don’t think the cast-iron was any better. Regular glass pyrex dishes or stainless steel will be just perfect!
• You will have much more dough than you need for 1 batch! Freeze the extra or make a huge batch of cinnamon buns for your freezer.

The main players here are:

Spelt flour- I use organic because all grains are generally highly pesticided.

Avocado or Coconut Oil– Our healthy fats! (there are no eggs in this recipe) You want to include plenty of healthy fats in anything carby/sugary to keep your blood sugar balanced.

It’s up to you whether you’d like to use coconut or avocado oil- really about the flavor more than anything else! Avocado oil has a neutral taste, while you’ll taste the coconut a little bit.

In a pinch I’ve used olive oil, but don’t recommend it. The flavors just don’t work well.

Vanilla extract in the dough gives it a really delicious dessert-like flavor.

Salt- I prefer pink Himalayan sea salt since it contains more trace nutrients than plain table salt. Get a good quality one though, they’re not all created equal.

In the filling, I used spices like cinnamon and cloves. This gives it an autumnal, cozy flavor.

And for sweetener, we’re using raw honey and coconut sugar. These are both much lower-glycemic than any refined sugars.

All right, let me know how they turn out!