Tasty Thursday: Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls are AMAZING!!  They are lower in calorie and fat than one you can get in the grocery store or gas station.  Yes, Kwik Trip gas stations around here and cinnamon rolls are an evil mix for me!  Here's a healthier version just for you!

Ingredients:

For roll dough:
3 Cups Carbquik Baking Mix
1/2 Cup Sweetener (Truvia, Splenda, Ideal or whatever you use)
1 cup warm water
1 T sugar (will be eaten by yeast)
1 packet yeast
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 T Vital Wheat Gluten (super cheap and can be bought at supermarket, found near flour)


For filling:
1/2 cup Sweetener (Truvia, Splenda, Ideal, etc.)
1/2 cup brown sugar substitute (Ideal Brown, Brown sugar twin, etc.) (could likely use another 1/2 cup reg. sweetener)
1 T + 1 tsp. melted butter

For icing:
1 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened in microwave
3 T half and half
1-2 tsp. water
1/2 cup Sweetener (I recommend Splenda granules as the granules will dissolve)
1 tsp. vanilla




Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prep yeast by dissolving sugar into warm water and stirring in yeast. Allow to proof (get bubbly).
3. In large bowl (preferably stand mixer with kneading attachment), add Carbquik, sweetener, vital wheat gluten and vanilla. Slowly pour in proofed yeast mixture and mix until a dough forms. Knead for about 5-7 minutes (can do it by hands if you need to).
4. Use a tiny bit of Carbquik to "flour" your counter and roll out dough 'til it's about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick (get it as rectangular as you can).
5. Mix filling ingredients into a paste and spread onto rolled-out dough. This might take a while because the paste is thick, but make sure you get some on every inch of dough.
6. Carefully roll the dough into a log.
7. Cut the log into 12 slices, about 1/2-1 inch thick each (depending on how long it is). Place the slices (rolls) into a greased cake or pie pan with sides touching. Discard the ends of the log if needed.
8. Cover with a paper towel and put on the stove (no burners on) to allow to very slightly rise for about 15 minutes. The rolls will only rise slightly.
8. Bake at 350 for approximately 15-18 minutes or until rolls are golden.
9. While rolls bake, prepare icing. Use whip attachment on mixer to beat together half and half, neufchatel cheese, water and vanilla until smooth. Add in sweetener and beat for about 2 minutes to make sure it completely dissolves.
10. Remove rolls from oven and spread icing over the top.

ENJOY!!

Makes 12 rolls. Each has 120 calories, 4 net carbs, 11 grams of fiber, 7 grams of fat and 5 g protein per roll.