My Autumn Favorites series this month has been so much fun for me because I have been able to make all our favorite recipes again! And since not all of these recipes are always very healthy (as in, we should only eat them once a year), I love coming across yummy and healthy not too terribly desserts!

When I first made these, I wouldn’t tell my husband what was in them. I just told him they were cinnamon rolls and let him taste them first. Once they passed his rather picky taste test, I told him they were whole wheat! You see, if I had told him that at the beginning he would have been biased against them from the beginning.

But our family loves them and I envision making these for many years to come for our family! So yummy and really not that bad for you compared to the ones made with lots of sugar and white flour.

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Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients for the rolls:

1/2 Cup warm water
1 Tablespoon of Yeast
2 Tablespoon of Honey
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey
1 1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon of salt
4 1/2 Cups of Whole Wheat Flour (I used King Arthur white whole wheat as it’s a bit lighter)
1 Cup of butter
1 Cup of Sugar
5 Tablespoons Cinnamon

Ingredients for Frosting:

16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of milk
3/4 cup of honey

Directions:

1) In a large bowl, mix together the water, yeast and 2 Tablespoons of honey. Let stand for 10 minutes.

2) While your yeast mixture is activating, melt 1/4 cup of  butter in a large saucepan over medium/high heat.

3) Add in 1/4 cup honey, salt, and 1 1/4 cup milk. Heat until everything is melted but do not let it boil.

4) Pour this milk mixture into the yeast bowl and mix.

5) Mix in your flour to this bowl and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes. Dough should be slightly sticky still but firm enough to roll out flat on a counter. Add bit more dough if needed.

6) Roll your dough into a round ball and place in a bowl, covered, and allow it to rise for an hour and a half. The dough will roughly double in size.

7) Knead your dough until smooth again. Then roll your dough out onto a well floured surface.

8) Roll your dough out into a large rectangle. Since this is whole what, you want to roll it fairly thin or it might be a bit thick once done. Roll it out to about 1/4″ thick.

9) In a small saucepan, melt 1 cup butter. Meanwhile mix together the 1 cup of sugar and 5 Tablespoons cinnamon in a small bowl.

10) When butter is melted, brush butter over the top of your dough. Generously sprinkle your cinnamon/sugar mixture on top to make the inside of your rolls.

I didn’t add nearly enough cinnamon/sugar to this one for our taste. But if you want to cut out some sugar, only use half of the mixture like I did in the picture below.

11) Now start with one side and tightly roll your dough up.

12) Now cut your dough into about 1/2 inch thick pieces and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Then let rise for about 30 minutes. With 10-15 minutes to go, start preheating your oven to 350 degrees.

13) Cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. They will be lightly golden on top and so yummy smelling! My hubby was drooling over them in the oven!

To Make the Frosting:

1) Mix the cream cheese, milk, and honey with a beater until smooth.

2) Add to hot cinnamon rolls and enjoy!

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