Nothing spells comfort food more than an old-fashioned cinnamon bun, and these healthier Apple Honey Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns made with local apples are perfect for cold winter mornings (perhaps Christmas morning?!).
Healthier Cinnamon Rolls
I clearly recall the day that I spent with my grandma Laurin (my Dad’s mom) learning how to make her famous cinnamon buns from the expert herself: I was 16 years old, and was just starting to learn about health and nutrition. I rolled out the dough according to my grandma’s orders, and watched in absolute horror as she spread HANDFULS of butter over the dough. My jaw dropped further as she added the brown sugar in huge scoops and sprinkled it with cinnamon before rolling it all up. NO WONDER they tasted so damned good!
Fast-forward to this week when I decided it was time that I re-work this recipe to be a bit healthier and include some Okanagan apples, which seemed like a match made in heaven; yes?
Jump to Recipe
I’ve learned many things in life, and my most recent revelation is that a cinnamon bun can only be so healthy before it’s not really a cinnamon bun any longer, at which point it’s also just not worth it in my books. My first attempt was an epic fail: dry, crusty, and not sweet enough. Blah. After many batches of bread and boxes of apples later, I found the right balance that is much healthier than my grandma Laurin’s, but still tastes sinfully good!
The Best Cinnamon Rolls
If you are looking for the best cinnamon rolls around, you HAVE to try my grandma’s old-fashioned recipe. Her original recipe for Granny’s Cinnamon Buns is on my blog if you are leaning towards the ultimate splurge. I make them occasionally with zero guilt and enjoy every single bite! She was famous for her cinnamon buns. I miss those games of crib and baking with her.
Baking with Apples
I’m a big fan of apples, and am so grateful to live in Kelowna where I have unlimited access to the best apples in the world here in Kelowna! There are endless varieties of apples: I used Gala apples for this recipe and they worked perfectly, but most apple varieties will work well here.
Some of my all-time favourite apple recipes are:
Apple Honey Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns
Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Buns
These whole wheat cinnamon buns are slightly healthier than a traditional cinnamon bun but just as delicious!
Ingredients
Step 1:
- 3/4 cup boiling water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg (well beaten)
Step 2:
- 3/4 cup lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
Step 3:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups all-purpose flour
Filling Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter (softened)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 cups packed grated peeled apple (I used Gala)
- 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
- 1/4 cup honey
Glaze (optional)
- 1 cup icing sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-4 teaspoons milk
Instructions
Step 1
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Combine the water, honey, butter and salt together in a small bowl, stir to combine and set aside to cool completely. Whisk in the egg once cooled.
Step 2
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Combine the water and sugar in a glass measuring cup or small bowl and sprinkle with the yeast.
Step 3
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In a large bowl, combine the cooled mixture from Step 1 along with the yeast mixture from Step 2 and stir in the whole wheat flour.
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Gradually add the remaining all-purpose flour until the dough gets too difficult to stir in the bowl. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface and knead by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding more all purpose flour as needed.
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Place the dough in a large greased bowl, cover with a clean dish towel, and place in a draft-free warm area to rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough once and repeat.
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Grease a 9×13" baking dish. On a lightly floured surface (use all-purpose flour for this), roll out your dough to form a rectangle, approximately 12" x 24". Again, it doesn't have to be exact!
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For the filling: spread the butter evenly on the dough to cover and sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon to evenly coat the dough. Top with an even layer of the shredded apple and raisins if using, and drizzle with honey. Roll the dough into a long log from the longest edge of your rectangle until it is completely and tightly rolled. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll into 12 even rolls. Place the rolls cut side up evenly in the pan as pictured, cover with a clean towel, and allow them to rise in a slightly warm and draft-free area until they are doubled in size.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Once doubled, bake for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned. Immediately turn the pan over onto a sheet of parchment paper on the counter once you remove them from the oven if not glazing; otherwise keep the buns in the pan and glaze. Make the glaze by whisking together the icing sugar, vanilla and milk, one teaspoon at a time, until the glaze is a thick but "drizzable" consistency.
Recipe Notes
You may omit the egg if desired
Hi Tori,
These look amazing! I can’t wait to try them. I was wondering if the bibs could be prepped in advance and then popped in the oven on the morning? If so, how would you suggest going about it?
Also, do you think I could make them gluten free? If so what flours would you suggest?
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Would also love an answer to this question!
Oh auto correct! Buns not bibs. Lol
hi i keep trying to print this recipe to make christmas morning and it says the print link doesn’t work. Any fix on your side?
sorry I am looking into it!
updated question: do you think these would taste as good if using gluten free flour? or spelt flour instead?
I am not sure you would have to try it as baking with gluten free flour yields different results – I would love to know how it turns out if you try it!
I tried with gluten free flour…not as lovely as I had hoped. They were not fluffy but more dense like a cookie. I’m thinking the yeast was unable to react the same with the different flour. Added some frosting and kids still gobbled them up…more of cinnamon apple cookie swirl ;-). I’ll have to try with regular wheat flour next time.
BTW, tried your chicken with butternut squash last night and it was divine 👌🏼…the whole family was in ❤️.
Hi Jess thanks for the feedback, I must say I’m not surprised:(. Gluten in the flour makes it soft and elastic (hence why you knead dough), which is always a challenge when you make bread from gluten free flour. BUT I’m happy that the chicken was a hit in the house! Hopefully you have a chance to try the cinnamon buns with regular flour as I think you will be much more happy with the results! Happy Weekend! Tori
Hi, do you have the nutritional information for this recipe?
No sorry Jen I don’t.
What kind of yeast do you use?
Fast rising – whoops I will add that!
Hi Tori!
I was wondering if you would share your Gma Laurin’s original recipe as well?
Hi Lisa! I’ll be honest, it’s pretty darned rich! Basically it’s the recipe for my perfect white buns rolled out according to the same instructions here and SLATHERED with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon before being rolled up the same way as these ones. Sadly the more brown sugar and butter the better they are, there’s a direct correlation that I wish wasn’t the case lol!
Sorry to be annoying, but is the measurement for the rectangle of dough 1 inch x 2 inch? Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll be making it this afternoon 🙂
Hi Lana, those were foot measurements but I changed it to inches to make it easier!
Another great recipe Tori! I made this for a Sunday brunch and it was a huge hit with both adults and kids! I think I saw in one of your stories that I could omit egg in this recipe to make vegan (subbing vegan butter of course) would love to know if you e tried it with success!!!
Would it be possible to prep this the night before and pop it in the oven for Christmas morning? If so, what would the steps be for that? Thank you very much 🙂
Hi Courtney! Yes – just form your buns, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. Bring to room temp, uncover (make sure they have risen to double, but no more – leave out to finish the rise if they haven’t doubled) and bake. I tend to recommend using a bit less yeast to control the rise more, but the rise time always varies depending on your yeast and the ambient temperature/temp of your fridge. I hope this helps!
Tori
Hi Tori,
Do you use traditional active dry yeast or quick rise instant yeast? And in step 3, #3 it says to punch down dough once after an hour and repeat…do I cover again after punching down and do another rise for an hour and punch down again before rolling out?