The Inspiration Behind These Sticky Buns
A few years ago on a flight home from California, I caught an episode of Bobby Flay making some mouth-watering Blackberry-Hazelnut Sticky Buns….and boy did I get a hankering for one of his ooey-gooey, sweet treats! As a strictly gluten-free and egg-less girl, most of these kind of baked goods are hard to come by in your typical or even your not so typical bakery.
Ready in Under 45 minutes
But after that episode I was on a mission to make some these little delights from scratch–gluten-free and eggless. I should also mention, as an Aries I don’t always have the patience with working with the rising of yeast-y recipes :), so after a little digging online, I found a quick and easy 45 Minute Cinnamon Roll {from scratch} recipe that did not require yeast, so I combined it with Bobby Flay’s recipe and voila…I came up with my own version of sticky buns that are DELICIOUS, gluten-free and filled with so much goodness!
Filled with Goodness
What I LOVE about this GF Blueberry-Walnut Cinnamon Roll recipe is how the berries cook inside the rolls to make a jam like filling–it’s just so delicious and different! I also like that I can switch out the berries and nuts depending on what I have–one of my other favorite combinations is Blackberry-Pecan. And I’m happy to report that I’ve also tried baking them sugar-free using this Monk sugar and they still turned out awesome!
Needless to say, these little guys don’t last long in my home. I hope you enjoy making them as much as indulging in them :).
xo,
Kajal
p.s. I’ve listed both gluten-free and gluten options for baking….I’d love to hear how your recipe turns out, so leave a comment below!
Quick and Easy, GF, Blueberry-Walnut Cinnamon Rolls {from scratch!}
- 2½ - 3 cups Bob's Red Mill GF 1-to-1 all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting*
- 6 Tbsp granulated sugar , divided
- 1¼ tsp baking powder
- I tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp + ⅛ tsp salt , divided
- 8 Tbsp salted butter , melted
- ¾ cup packed light-brown sugar
- 2½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1¼ cup milk
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups washed and dried blueberries
- ¾ cups chopped walnuts
- 1 recipe Cream Cheese Glaze, recipe follows
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush a 9-inch cake or pie pan with 1 Tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with 1 tbsp brown sugar, set aside. In a mixing bowl whisk together 2½ cups flour, 2 Tbsp granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and ½ tsp salt, set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl whisk together light-brown sugar, remaining ¼ cup granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ⅛ tsp salt. Add in 1 Tbsp melted butter, 1 tsp vanilla and blend mixture together with your fingertips or a fork until mixture is well blended and evenly moistened, set aside.
- Measure out milk into a liquid measuring cup and add 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar and let sit 2 minutes. Then stir in 2 Tbsp melted butter. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms and liquid has been absorbed. Then, knead mixture in bowl by hand just until smooth, about 30 seconds - dough will be sticky but if it's too sticky to work with add in more flour, up to ½ cup as needed.
- Sprinkle a clean work surface with a fair amount of flour. Pat the dough with your hands into a 12 x 9-inch rectangle. Brush top of dough with 2 Tbsp melted butter then sprinkle evenly with brown sugar mixture, coming within a ½ inch of the border on all sides. Then sprinkle berries and nuts and evenly, making sure to keep the border open all all sides. Then lightly press the filling into the dough---be gentle! Starting on the long side, roll dough (using a bench scraper or metal spatula to loosen dough from work surface if necessary) snugly and gently to opposite end. Gluten free dough is delicate, so take your time and if little tears happen then quickly just pinch together to bind the tear. Once rolled, pinch the end seam to seal. Roll the log seam side down and cut dough into 8 equal portions. I start in the middle and then just keep proceeding to cut the pieces in half so that they are all about the same size.
- Place 1 roll in the center of the prepared baking dish, then place remaining 7 rolls around it. Brush tops of rolls with remaining 2 Tbsp butter. Bake in preheated oven 25-27 minutes until edges are golden brown. (After baking you can invert the rolls using a plate onto a wire rack but I just served them without flipping). Serve warm with a dollop or smear of the Cream Cheese Frosting. Store in an airtight container and reheat in toaster oven (on a piece of foil) for best results.
3 oz cream cheese , softened
3 Tbsp butter , softened
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
optional: pinch of lemon or orange zest
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Directions:
In a mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer set on medium speed, blend together cream cheese and butter until well combine and slightly fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until well combine. Store in an airtight container.
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OTHER NOTES
*If you are not making this recipe Gluten Free, then I would just use your favorite All-Purpose Flour and keep the same proportions.
To make Vegan: replace milk with almond milk, butter with coconut butter, and cream cheese with Tofutti Cream Cheese.
p.s.s. I’d love to hear from you, so don’t forget to leave a comment :)!
