Lo-Fat, Lo-Calorie Cinnamon Rolls
From Lisa Lillien’s Hungry Girl:200 Under 200
Gooey Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Icing
For Dough:
1 package Pillbury Reduced Fat Crescent refrigerated dough
16 sprays I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! spray
For Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 cup Splenda no calorie sweetener
1/2 tablespoon light whipped butter or light buttery spread, room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
For Icing:
1/4 cup Cool Whip Free, thawed
3 tablespoons fat-free cream cheese, room temp
1 tablespoon Splenda no calorie sweetener (granulated)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make filling, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring well to make sure the butter gets mixed in evenly. Set aside.
To make icing, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix until smooth and blended. Place in the fridge to chill and set.
Prepare a dry surface by sprinkling it with a small amount of flour to prevent sticking. Remove dough from package and kneed into a ball.
Using a rolling pin dusted lightly with flour, very firmly roll out dough into a thin sheet about 8 inches by 12 inches. Spray the dough’s surface evenly with butter spray.
Spread filling out evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges.
Starting with the long side of the dough, roll it up tightly, forming a log. Once dough is completely rolled up, pinch along the seam to seal.
Turn the log over so that the seam is facing down. Using a very sharp knife, cut log into 8 even pieces. pinch the side seams to seal if necessary.
Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes.
Remove foil and return pan to oven. Bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cinnamon rolls have risen and are slightly browned on top.
Evenly distribute icing over cinnamon rolls and then enjoy!
Makes 8 servings. Nutritional value per serving: 126 calories; 5g fat; 308mg sodium; 18.5g carbs; ‹0.5g fiber; 6.5g sugars; 3g protein.
Beanie’s Critique:
A great starting point of a recipe. I don’t always follow every direction as my attention span is limited. I did not knead and re-roll the dough, I just rolled the dough straight from the package as much as I comfortably could, pinching the seams as I went. I also skipped the 1/8 tsp of salt.
As I cannot have soy, I used light whipped butter where Ms. Lillien asks for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter! spray but I have to find an alternative to the Cool Whip Free. The only other bone I have to pick is the icing. It’s just a bit weird and has a funny after-taste. I’m going to try to fix this while keeping the calorie count as close to original recipe as I can by using less brown sugar in the filling and making the icing out of Splenda and regular confectioners sugar. I’ll let you know how it goes. All in all, this is a pretty yummy recipe and a nice alternative to the bajillion-calorie Cinnabuns and Pillbury Cinnamon Buns. So far the only ones who have tried this is myself and Auntie (who took most of them home with her).
March 20th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Okay, so I made these this morning and did the filling with half the amount of brown sugar replaced with Splenda and twice the amount of cinnamon and for the icing I used 1/4 cup confectioners sugar and 1/4 cup Splenda with 1 1/2 tablespoons warm water. This does up the calorie count a bit but I like it better than the original recipe and it’s still fewer calories than a Nutrisystem breakfast IF you can eat only one. It helps to make ‘em, then bag and refrigerate all but one so they’re not sitting in front of you trying to get you to eat them. Devilish little things.