This amazing Paleo Cinnamon Bun Muffin recipe is the perfect shortcut for a healthy cinnamon roll and makes a delicious breakfast treat! One of my favorite readers Courtney recently suggested that I create a gluten free cinnamon roll recipe. She said it would be perfect for Christmas morning. Since we’re smack in the middle of Hanukkah that wasn’t something I had thought about. Thanks Courtney!
So, here’s my Paleo Cinnamon Bun Muffin recipe. I hope you all enjoy it during the holidays.
Cinnamon Bun Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 cup blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil or palm shortening
- ¼ cup agave nectar or honey
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping
- 2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil or palm shortening
Instructions
Muffins
- Combine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl
- In a large bowl blend together oil, agave, eggs, and vanilla
- Blend dry ingredients into wet and scoop a scant ¼ cup at a time into paper lined muffin cups
Cinnamon Topping
- Combine agave, cinnamon, and oil in a small bowl
- Spoon topping onto muffins
- Bake muffins for 8-12 minutes at 350°F
- Cool muffins for 2 hours then frost with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
One of my favorite periodicals, The Christian Science Monitor just ran a Best Cookbooks of 2009 article mentioning The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook, what a delight to find my book in there.
And in television news, I was on two shows today (demoing recipes from my gluten free cookbook) the first show was Good Day Colorado and the second, Daybreak on the Deuce. You can watch both appearances below.
Finally, to top these muffins off, stay tuned for my next post with my yummy gluten free Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting recipe.
Andrea says
These look amazing.. Do you think I could try replacing the shortening/grape seed oil with coconut oil?
Rebecca Bishop says
Andrea, I made with the coconut oil instead, the full flavor virgin, and really liked the subtle nuance added by it. Had no problem. Even with the short time and lower heat of the oven temps, I still did not want to expose grape seed oil to heating. I prefer very stable oils to use in cooking and baking and coconut oil just happens to be one of the best and the best flavor IMO ;)
Marianne Chapman says
I just made these muffins without the cream cheese frosting. They are delicious! I did not sift the flour. I used avocado oil instead of the suggested oils. My daycare children and I love them. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Veronica says
Can I replace almond flour with rice and tapioca flour??? Give me the proportions please!!
KatKins says
Oh my goodness just looking to see if anyone had replaced veg shortening for butter! thanks for posting.
Rachel says
This is a paleo blog. Paleo eating DOES NOT include rice and tapioca is iffy, as it is high carb.
Elena does not answer this type of question, as she clearly states at the comments section.
I suggest you check a GF blog . . . Good luck.
Elana says
Hi Veronica, thanks so much for your comment, I really appreciate it! Unfortunately, I haven’t cooked with rice flour or tapioca flour since 2001, so I’m not a great resource for information on that. If you do experiment, please stop back by and let us know how it goes! I’m sure there are others here that would like this type of information :-)
Kathy says
Dear Elena Pantry I made your cinnamon bun muffins today as muffin tops I used butter and palm sugar in the topping and butter in the batter just because it was what I had and they came out fantastic. Haven’t frosted them yet but I am going to change the cream cheese frosting by using Orange juice concentrate cream cheese and a bit of honey if needed. Thx for this great recipe.
Michelle Taylor says
Elana, I love your recipes! I have a daughter who has Celiac and she’s allergic to all nuts. Do you have any recipes for baked good that don’t call for almond and/or nut flour?
Elana Amsterdam says
Hi Michelle,
I do! Here’s a link to my “nut-free recipes”
https://elanaspantry.com/diets/nut-free/
You can find that and more info on special diets on the far left side of the navigation bar at the top of my site :-)
Elana
Mountain Mama says
Awesome muffins! I made a double recipe and filled all 12 muffins. They turned out so moist with that nutty bite. My 4 boys ate them up within 10 minutes so they didn’t make it to the frosting stage.
Rachel says
I made these into donuts, and they were amazing! Thank you!!
martine says
these came out okay. next time i plan to add more cinnamon and to swirl the “topping” into the whole muffin before baking because then each section has more flavor. :)
Daniela says
Just wished to thank you for this website. I just made the muffins but I put 1 cup of coconut and probably half a cup of breadfruit flour instead. I live in Mauritius and breadfruit flour is available and apparently gluten free. Like in other of your recipes that I’ve tried, I simply added ingredients without any exact measuring and everything so far worked out fine. : ) Really happy! Thanks again!
Daniela says
Just wished to thank you for this website. I just made the muffins but I put 1 cup of coconut and probably half a cup of breadfruit flour instead. I live in Mauritius and breadfruit flour is available and apparently gluten free. Like in other of your recipes that I’ve tried, I simply added ingredients without any exactmeasuring and everything so far worked out fine. : ) Really happy! Thanks again!