These apple cinnamon roll muffins make the perfect fall treat! They’re super gooey in the center like a cinnamon roll and fluffy on the outside. Each individual roll is baked in a muffin tin, making them super easy, fuss-free, and they all come out perfectly shaped! They are gluten and refined sugar free and paleo!
Why you’ll love these apple cinnamon roll muffins
- They’re baked in a muffin tin, making them so easy!
- Think apple muffin meets cinnamon roll – so tasty!
- They’re paleo, gluten free, and made with wholesome ingredients.
- These will make your house smell heavenly 😉
What is a cinnamon roll muffin?
Think, cinnamon rolls made even cuter and a little easier! You make the dough, roll it and cut them into pieces like a typical cinnamon roll, but you bake each individual roll in a muffin tin. They turn out so fluffy and perfect, while making them easier to remove and store individually!
What type of flour to use for these apple cinnamon roll muffins
These have only been tested and successfully made with the Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Flour. I have found the best success with this. I highly recommend it. If you choose to sub a differently flour, I cannot garauntee they will turn out 🙁
You can find this flour at most grocery stores (kroger, whole foods, etc). I buy mine in bulk on amazon, here.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Apples: You can use any apple you like.
- Bob’s Red Mill Paleo baking flour: See note above. There are no 1:1 subs i’ve tested.
- Coconut sugar: You can sub regular brown sugar
- Maple syrup: You can sub honey or agave
- Coconut oil: You can sub ghee, grass-fed butter, vegan butter, etc.
- Egg
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, & baking soda
- Vanilla extract
- Apple cider vinegar
- Monk fruit powdered sugar: You can use regular powdered sugar if you’re not worried about them being refined sugar free. However, I love this brand!
How to make apple cinnamon roll muffins
- Dice the apples into small cubes and saute a few minutes until softened.
- Mix together the dough ingredients. Roll out into a flat rectangle.
- Mix together the filling ingredients. Spread over the dough.
- Roll the dough up into a log and place in the fridge for 1-3 hours or overnight.
- Cut the log into pieces and place each one in your muffin tin.
- Bake!
Storing leftover cinnamon roll muffins
Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge. Reheat prior to eating!
More recipes you’ll love!
Healthy samoa caramel apple slices
Apple crisp smoothie (high protein)
Pumpkin magic shell yogurt cup
Starbucks pumpkin spice scones
Healthy pumpkin streusel muffins
Apple cinnamon roll muffins (gluten free, paleo)
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 1/3 cups Bob's Red Mill Paleo baking flour *See notes. this recipes has ONLY been tested with this flour! Its linked in the blog post!
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 3-4 Tbsp milk of choice, warmed
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, ghee, vegan butter, etc. melted
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 egg room temp
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Filling
- 1 apple, diced into tiny cubes
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 5 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered monk fruit sweetener *or regular powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp milk, as needed
Instructions
Filling
- Add the oil to small pan. Then add the diced apple cubes and a pinch of cinnamon. Cook a few minutes until the apples soften.
- Add the apples to a small bowl along with the remaining filling ingredients. Mix well. Set aside.
Dough
- To make the dough, add all ingredients, besides the milk, to a food processor, processing until it comes together. Add 2-4 tbsp of milk, as needed until you have a moist but workable dough. Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour. Place the dough on it, then place another piece of parchment over top.
- Roll the dough out into a flat rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over top, leaving 1/4" around the edges so the filling doesn't spread out.
- Roll the dough up into a log, using the parchment paper. Place the log in the fridge for 2-3 hours (or the freezer for an hour).
- when ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350f.
- Cut the log into rolls. Grease your muffin tin and add a roll to each one.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes. There's a big difference here because ovens always vary. The center should feel set and the outsides should be golden. Remove from the oven and let cool a bit before removing.
- Mix together the powdered sugar and milk until you get a glaze consistency. Drizzle over top and enjoy!
I tried this and the batter and filling tasted great, but the dough was SO soft and mushy so couldn’t be rolled at all. No idea how your ended up like rolls😂 But think this recipe only works with exactly Red Mill’s flour, must be the starches in it. I used my own mix of almond, coconut and starch flour (tried to replicate from the back of Red Mill’s ingredient list), but it doesn’t work at all, even tried to add real flour😂 The be ended up just putting the mixture into muffin tins, then add the filling on top…will let you know how that went😊 Would love to know if anyone can make this work with a different flour than Red Mill, and could it perhaps just be substituted with regular flour?🙏
Hi! yessss as noted in the post, this recipe has ONLY been tested with that specific flour! Which is probably why yours didn’t turn out! 🙁 I feel like a 1:1 gluten free flour may work the same. But i can’t guarantee the results if the same ingredients aren’t used! Appreciate you trying them and leaving a review!! <3
Also, I can work on another version that uses other flours rather than this one!