November is still scary movie season, right? In that case, we need to talk about Crimson Peak. I saw this movie over the weekend thinking it would be really creepy but I should have known better. Any time you introduce well-known actors into a scary movie, they focus so much on having a quality story line and throw in like 3 scary scenes. I'm not saying you can't have a good story line if it's really scary though. Sinister pulls this off perfectly! (By the way, "Snakes don't have feet" - best line of any scary movie ever! Less funny out of context, I guess). I really thought Crimson Peak was going to be all about the creepy ghosts in the previews but it was really just a slow drawn out mystery - not what I expected at all. To put things into perspective, my mom is equally obsessed with scary movies but only watches them with her head under a blanket. Well, I only had to uncover her eyes once! I can't say this scary movie season has been a complete waste though. I recently re-watched As Above So Below, It, Sinister, and Drag Me to Hell (horror/comedy). How did I miss Unfriended while it was in theaters? I bet that was a good one. It would probably keep me off my computer late at night too.
Remember how I said I've been obsessing over cinnamon rolls? It's still a problem. I bought another pack of gluten free cinnamon rolls from the store and ended up hiding the last one in the back of the basement freezer because they made me break out so badly. It's definitely out of sight but not out of mind. I've been in this situation before and it won't be long before I lose all self-control and start trying to chizzle little frozen cinnamon roll bites off with a fork. The good new is, now I have two recipes I can make myself. These apple cinnamon rolls as well as my pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I can't even tell you how many times I made this recipe and everything just melted in the oven. So glad I finally figured it out! These were actually made a few months ago but sometimes I have a few recipes on hand in case I don't have time to make anything new. With the season going by so fast, I realized I had to post these soon.
I have a gross story to tell you. As I was typing up this recipe, it reminded me of the first recipe I ever made up. I was probably in the 4th grade and I was staying the night with a friend down the street. We went into the kitchen late that night and decided we wanted to make our own recipe. We started with a slice of bread and started looking for toppings. Chocolate syrup? Of course! Sugar? Yes! Cinnamon? Fancy! I swear, it was all her idea. She made me do it. To make things worse, it wasn't like the sugar was just sprinkled on the way you would finish off a cookie or something. You literally had to hold the bread flat to keep the sugar from pouring off. I got a cavity just from typing that sentence. But look at me now! Topping dough with sugar, cinnamon, and maple butter - I haven't changed a bit! I'm just doing things in a more socially acceptable way these days.
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PinIngredients
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil, divided
- ½ apple
- 2 C tapioca starch, plus extra for dusting
- 1 C almond flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- ½ Tbsp cinnamon
- ¼ C coconut sugar
- 3 Tbsp maple butter, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil.
- Dice apple very small and cook in coconut oil until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
- In a mixing bowl, combine almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, and salt. Make a dent in the middle of the mixture and add the 3 eggs to the dent. Use a fork or biscuit cutter to combine until you have lot of small pieces of dough. Knead those pieces into a ball of dough, using your hands. You can add a very tiny amount of water (1 teaspoon at a time) but only if the dough won't form a ball. Adding too much liquid makes the dough sticky and it could melt.
- Dust a clean work surface and rolling pin with extra starch. Roll out the dough into a square about ¼ inch thick.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil and brush onto the dough, avoiding a half inch on the side of the dough farthest from you. Sprinkle the cinnamon, coconut sugar, then apples evenly on top of the oil.
- Gently lift the side of the dough closest to you and roll into a log. Cut dough in half then cut each of those halves into thirds so you have 6 evenly sized cinnamon rolls.
- Line a small metal baking dish with parchment paper. Place cinnamon rolls in the dish cut side down and bake for 15 minutes.
- Once cinnamon rolls are slightly cooled, melt the maple butter for a few seconds in the microwave. Drizzle this on top of the cinnamon rolls and serve.
Hahaha!! Love it! These cinnamon rolls sound divine right now and so comforting on a cold windy day like today. Your cinnamon rolls are delicious, I should know, I have eaten them!
Very good and last in the refrigerator for a while.BTW, Crimson Peak was really good! (or at least pretty good!)
Only one of your statements is true ;) ok, the scary scenes were "pretty good" but the other 98% of the movie was dumb
You never said what to do with the cooked apples. Do I put them inside with the cinnamon, sugar and oil, or on top with the maple syrup?
I am wondering if I can substitute the almond flour with coconut flour?
Thanks for catching that, Benedetta! I just fixed it. Yes, you will want them inside the dough on top of the cinnamon and sugar, the same way you would use raisins in raisin cinnamon rolls.
Unfortunately, coconut flour would not be a good substitution for almond flour in this recipe. It is too absorbent while almond flour simply adds structure to the dough. Do you need nut-free? Sometimes I finely grind up de-shelled sunflower seeds instead. Saves a little money too which is a bonus. Just be prepared for your dough to turn green :)
Also, just want to make sure you are using maple butter and not maple syrup on top. Maple syrup is too thin. Maple butter is just like a glaze and will stick to the cinnamon rolls. Let me know if you have any other questions while making the recipe!
These look good. Do you think I could make the dough the night before and bake them in the morning? I made your bagel recipe, and it's the best Paleo bread recipe by far (hands down) - and actually tastes like a yummy, doughy bagel! Your blog is funny. Thanks!
Thanks so much, Laurie! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the bagels. Those are one of my favorites. The dough can’t be made ahead of time because it uses baking powder as a leavener which is activated once it comes in contact with moisture. So the dough won’t rise much if it’s not baked right away. You could mix the dry ingredients the night before. It’s the same dough as the bagels so it’s not as complex as a traditional dough where you’d have to work with yeast. I hope that helps and that you enjoy the cinnamon rolls!
Hello,
I have a large family, and am wondering, can I double or triple the recipe and have similar results as above? Also, your base dough sounds like the perfect thing to make a GF version of Italian Chicken Braid —I’ve not been able to make it since my Celiac diagnosis.
Thank you for sharing your recipes. ????????
Hey Gayle!
I double the dough recipe all the time when I make chicken & dumplings and bagels and it turns out great. Tripling might get a little hard to knead but if so, just split the dough in half after it’s mixed and knead each half separately.
I would also make 3 separate “logs” of cinnamon rolls to cut because rolling up all the dough at once will make it more prone to breaking. It takes some practice to manipulate this one and the level of moisture and starch added can make a huge difference.
Let me know if you have more questions. Hope this helps!