The other day I was chatting with a friend about childhood memories when Grandy’s came up.
When I was a kid, we’d make trips to our local theme park, Busch Gardens, quite often. And we always, ALWAYS stopped for breakfast before heading into the park at a place called Grandy’s nearby. Although it’s not there anymore. I have fond memories of those breakfast stops- full of excitement and anticipation of what was to come that day- and full of the BEST cinnamon rolls ever.
These cinnamon buns were SO delicious. They melted in your mouth and were the perfect way to start a day of sight-seeing, animals, and roller coaster rides. I hadn’t thought about Grandy’s in years, but ever since those fond childhood memories popped into my mind, I have been thinking about cinnamon buns.
I’m a foodie. What can I say? It doesn’t take much to ignite a craving!
I’ve made a few low carb, sugar free, keto diet friendly cinnamon rolls in the past that turned out AMAZING, so I knew I’d have some options to satisfy my nostalgic craving. I decided to make a batch of these today, adding a little spin as a nod to the most wonderful time of the yeeeeearrrrr: pumpkin and warm spices!
These cinnamon rolls are soft and gooey, sweet and buttery- just like all cinnamon rolls should be! And the addition of pumpkin puree, golden monkfruit sweetener, and warm fall spices just takes these rolls to another level of deliciousness!
Get the recipe below! And as you read the directions, if you need a visual on how to flatten and roll the dough, here you go!
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 tbsp. baking powder
- 2 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 oz cream cheese, cubed
- 2 large eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 2 tbsp. cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup no-calorie sweetener (I used Truvia or Golden Monkfruit)
- pinch of salt
- cooking spray for greasing pan
- wax paper or parchment paper
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Stir together almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Combine shredded mozzarella and cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes, stirring once in between.
- Let the cheese mixture cool for a minute, and then add in the eggs and the almond flour mixture and stir until all combined into a dough.
- Place the dough on a sheet pan lined with wax paper (or parchment paper) sprayed with non-stick spray. Place another piece of paper over the dough and press with hands until flat. Remove top layer of paper and then set aside.
- Stir together pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla extract, butter, and sweetener. Spread onto the flattened dough.
- Carefully use the bottom layer of wax paper to help roll the dough lengthwise to make one long roll. Use a sharp knife to slice 1 inch pieces from the roll.
- Place each piece with the filling side facing up side by side into a greased round cake pan. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.
- Optional- Top with powdered no calorie sweetener (I used Swerve) mixed with a little water or milk to form an icing to drizzle over the cinnamon rolls!