Cranberry Nut Cinnamon Rolls – KETO (Carolyn)

Servings:  8  |  Net Carbs 4.3

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 recipe dough from Keto Bagels
• 3 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• ½ cup Brown Swerve (or regular Swerve)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup fresh cranberries finely chopped (use a food processor if you can)
• ⅓ cup chopped toasted pecans

Cream Cheese Icing

• 2 ounces cream cheese softened
• 3 tablespoon powdered Swerve Sweetener
• ¼ cup heavy whipping cream room temperature
• 1 teaspoon orange zest (optional)
• Water to thin as necessary

Instructions:

Dough:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper. Lay a large silicone mat on a work surface and lightly grease the mat to help prevent the dough from sticking.

Follow the directions for the bagel dough except add the powdered sweetener in along coconut flour in 

Step 1. Add the vanilla extract in 

Step 2. Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and knead a few times until uniform. Cover with parchment or waxed paper and roll out to a large rectangle, about 15 by 12 inches.

Filling:

Brush the triangle with the melted butter and sprinkle with the sweetener and the cinnamon, leaving a ½ inch border all around the dough. Sprinkle with the chopped cranberries and pecans. 

Starting at a long end, roll the dough up tightly and pinch the seam closed. Use a very sharp knife to slice into 8 even rolls (I always cut about 1 inch off the ends of the roll as those don't have a lot of filling. This allows you to cut more even slices). 

Place the rolls in the prepared baking pan and bake about 30 minutes, until the rolls have puffed and spread a bit, and the tops are golden brown. Remove and let cool. 

Cream Cheese Icing:

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese with the sweetener until well combined. Beat in the heavy cream and the orange zest, if using. 

Beat in enough water to thin to a pour-able consistency. Drizzle icing over the rolls. 

Notes:

Coconut flour can be a tricky keto flour to work with, because it can vary a great deal brand to brand. I always ALWAYS use Bob’s Red Mill as it produces the most consistent results in baked goods. If you use another brand, you may find that you need to work in a little more flour as you knead the dough. If your dough is particularly greasy and sticky, sprinkle with a tablespoon or so more coconut flour and work it in with your hands.

Accurate measuring is key. Even when you use the same brand every time, you can mis-measure easily when using volume measurements. Weight is the most accurate way to measure dry ingredients but not all of us own kitchen scales. So again, you may need to work in a bit more flour as you knead the dough. It’s always good to have the bag of coconut flour handy to sprinkle your dough with a little extra.

Grease the work surface.You need your dough to come up easily as you roll it into a log. When it comes to any fathead dough, I find that the easiest way to ensure release from the work surface is to brush it with oil. I usually brush with a little avocado oil, but you could spray with coconut oil spray too.

Cover with parchment for rolling out. Once the cinnamon roll dough is ready to be shaped, you want to use some parchment or some waxed paper before you roll it. If you don’t, it may stick to your rolling pin and ruining what you’ve already done.

Brush the dough with melted butter. This helps the filling stick and also makes it gooey and delicious during baking. I used Brown Swerve for the sweetener in these keto rolls but you can easily use any granulated sweetener.

Roll up carefully and pinch the seam. It’s easiest to start with the long end that’s farthest from you and to roll the dough toward yourself. If it’s sticking a bit, get a sharp knife or offset spatula to help lift it as you go. Roll as tightly as you can and be sure to pinch the seam shut so it doesn’t unravel during baking.

Use a sharp knife to cut. A good large sharp knife will easily cut through this coconut flour dough and make clean round rolls. I always cut of the very end bits of the dough log, because they don’t have much filling to them. That way I get 8 even rolls perfect for baking.