Fall bring with it crisp days, colorful leaves, juicy apples, pumpkins, and cups of hot coffee. Cinnamon rolls are a favorite in our family and you get the best of both by pairing apples and a cinnamon roll together. These rolls are soft and moist with the addition of shredded apples.

There are many varieties of apples to choose from. Some of my favorites are Honeycrisp, Gala, and Fuji! Apples are high in fiber and only have about 95 calories. I buy apples by the basket to keep on hand for fresh eating. They are such a healthy addition to packed lunches and for snacks.
Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls, THM XO, Sugar-free
- 2 cups active sourdough starter
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon THM Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon dough enhancer or 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
- 4 1/2 cups White Whole Wheat Flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, optional*
- 1 tablespoon Instant yeast—this helps them taste like the “normal” ones and assist in the rise when baking
- sprouted flour for rolling out dough
- Cinnamon Mixture:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2/3 cup THM Erythritol
- 5 tiny spoons THM Stevia
- 2 drops Loran Maple Flavoring
- 1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 4 cups shredded apples
- Brown Butter Icing—compliments of Margaret Raber/Food For Life Cookbook
- 1 stick butter, browned and cooled
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup Gentle Sweet
- 2 tiny spoons THM Stevia
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- Mix starter, water, eggs, butter, and honey together in mixer bowl. Add dough enhancer or vital wheat gluten, and vanilla. Mix well. Add 4 cups White Whole Wheat Flour. Mix. Add remaining flour in 1/4 cup increments mixing until you have a soft dough. You want a slack dough–which is softer and stickier than bread dough. You will not be able to knead this by hand. Let rest 20 minutes. Add salt and yeast. Mix for 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a lid. Let rise 5 hours and then refrigerate overnight**. Remove from fridge. Sprinkle baking soda over dough and knead in. Dust a surface with sprouted wheat flour and press dough into a large rectangle with floured hands. Blend erythitol, stevia, maple flavoring, and molasses together (don’t use xylitiol as it will leave the rolls “wet”). Brush dough with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture and shredded apples. Roll into a long jelly roll. Cut the cinnamon rolls using a piece of heavy sewing thread or dental floss—slide the thread under the roll and pull the ends across each other. Place in well greased baking pans or pans lined with parchment paper, cover and allow rise until doubled and very puffy. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 16-18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool completely. In a mixer bowl combine browned butter,* cream cheese, Gentle Sweet, and Stevia. Whip until smooth. Add cream and whip until fluffy. Ice rolls. Store in the refrigerator and these do freeze very well. 24 large rolls.
- *Adding baking soda to the dough will help to eliminate the sour taste that some people get with using sourdough starter. A properly fed starter will not have a sour taste but will have a sweet yeasty taste.
- *Browned butter is made by melting butter in a saucepan. Allow it to cook over medium heat until it is brown in color. This will give a caramel taste to the frosting.
I like to refrigerate the dough overnight as it makes it much easier to handle. If the dough is cold you can press it out on your counter without using any extra flour. That will keep the cinnamon rolls more moist as adding more flour will make them drier. If you prefer you can make them the same day you mix them. Just be sure to allow them to ferment at room temperature for seven hours to be THM approved.

This batch of dough I kneaded 4 cups shredded apples into the dough after it had fermented for 5 hours. This dough was more moist and harder to handle when pressing them out to make the rolls. However it made a very moist cinnamon roll.

For this batch of dough I pressed it out on a floured counter. Brushed it with melted butter, sprinkled the cinnamon mixture over the butter. Then I spread 4 cups shredded apples over the cinnamon. Rolled the dough up like a jelly roll. This made the dough easier to handle. You can do it either way but this way makes the dough much easier to handle.

These rolls were just cut and placed in a jelly roll pan to rise. They are allowed to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled and puffy.

Apple Cinnamon Rolls cooling and waiting for frosting!

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Sourdough Apple Cinnamon Rolls THM XO, Sugar-free
Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 cups active sourdough starter
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon dough enhancer or 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
- 4 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda optional*
- 1 tablespoon Instant yeast—this helps them taste like the “normal” ones and assist in the rise when baking
- sprouted flour for rolling out dough
Cinnamon Apple Mixture
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2/3 cup THM erythitol
- 5 tiny spoons THM Stevia
- 2 drops Loran Maple Flavoring
- 1/2 teaspoon Black-strap Molasses
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 4 cups shredded apples
Brown Butter Icing–compliments of Margaret Raber/Food For Life Cookbook
- 1/2 cup butter browned and cooled
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup THM Gentle Sweet
- 2 tiny spoons THM Stevia
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
-
Mix starter, water, eggs, butter, and honey together in mixer bowl. Add dough enhancer or vital wheat gluten, and vanilla. Mix well. Add 4 cups flour. Mix. Add remaining flour in 1/4 cup increments mixing until you have a soft dough. You want a slack dough–which is softer and stickier than bread dough. You will not be able to knead this by hand. Let rest 20 minutes. Add salt and yeast. Mix for 6 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a lid. Let rise 5 hours and then refrigerate overnight**. Remove from fridge. Sprinkle baking soda over dough and knead in. Dust a surface with sprouted wheat flour and press dough into a large rectangle with floured hands. Blend erythitol, stevia, maple flavoring, and molasses together (don’t use xylitiol as it will leave the rolls “wet”). Brush dough with butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon mixture and shredded apples. Roll into a long jelly roll. Cut the cinnamon rolls using a piece of heavy sewing thread—slide the thread under the roll and pull the ends across each other. Place in well greased baking pans, cover and let rise until doubled and very puffy. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 16-18 minutes or until very lightly browned. Cool completely. In a mixer bowl combine browned butter, cream cheese, Gentle Sweet, and Stevia. Whip until smooth. Add cream and whip until fluffy. Ice rolls. Store in the refrigerator and these do freeze very well. 24 large rolls.
You will find many more SOURDOUGH recipes in the spiral bound 600+ page Around the Family Table Cookbook. All recipes are sugar-free and label with the correct fuel. Books and sourdough starter can be purchased using this link. Buy It Now

I enjoy baking with sourdough! One question I have is about my dough rising so quickly? I mixed up a batch of these cinnamon rolls yesterday and in an hours time it was double so I kept punching it down every hour or so until I reached the five hour fermenting time and then put in the fridge. Is that the best thing to do or should I just Let it keep rising?
Yes, that is what I do if it rises fast.
Do you proof your yeast before adding to dough mixture just add granules of instant yeast? Thanks
No, I add it dry with the flour.