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These sweet rolls are so soft, delicious and made with ONLY NATURAL SUGAR! So delicious even your diet will be impressed!
Why Only Natural Sugar?
If you are new here you may be thinking- why only natural sugar?
Long story short, my husband was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in his early twenties. He put on a very powerful medication with some scary side effects. While the meds helped they did not completely dissolve symptoms and because the side effects were quite dangerous he decided to come off all medication. He listened to his body to figure out what causes his flare ups and now controls his UC completely by diet.
**disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting you should ditch your meds if you have UC or a similar illness. Please use discretion if you are considering alternatives to conventional medicine.
The one thing that will cause a flare up faster than anything is ANY form of processed sugar. Because of this I am making it my mission to provide him and others in a similar situation with amazing, healthy alternatives to processed sugar and nasty tasting sweeteners. If you know someone who would benefit from this kind of content please share the blog post with them!
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Preferred Alternatives to Processed Sugar
The fake stuff just does not cut it. Am I right or am I right? Not to mention the scary things we have all heard/read about aspartame, sucralose, and the like!
My most preferred natural sugar is honey. The more local the better. You just can not beat the health advantages, or the taste! We use honey to sweeten basically anything my husband eats- his coffee, bread, desserts.
Besides honey another growing favorite in our home is quickly becoming monk fruit sweetener. I have recently been experimenting with monk fruit in dessert recipes as well as monk fruit/honey combinations. The flavor is a bit strong so I prefer to use a bit less than a 1:1 ratio. (Click here for a link to our favorite brand.)
Organic cane sugar is another option in our home but we use it sparingly because it does seem to cause issues if used too often. Maple syrup is also quickly becoming a favorite for baked goods like cookies (great substitute for brown sugar), sweet breads, and more! My favorite brand comes form Thrive Market, a company that is dedicated to providing healthy, organic options at great prices! Use my link and get 40% off your first order. (Click Here!)
My advice would be to experiment with all forms of natural sugar depending on WHY you are avoiding sugar. If it is due to diabetes it is probably best to avoid cane sugar. If you are avoiding due to another health issue, try one form at a time and monitor results. (Moderation is key!). If you are avoiding sugar as a preference or diet all three forms are completely safe and healthy options!
Blueberry Cream Cheese Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water or milk
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1 stick butter grated or cubed very small
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Filling
- 1 cup blueberries
- 4 oz no sugar added cream cheese
- 1/2 cup honey or monk fruit sweetener
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in warm water.
- Add eggs and honey to yeast mixture.
- Grate or cube butter.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add four cups to yeast mixture. Add 1/4 cup at a time until you have a slightly sticky dough (dough should somewhat stick to hands but not to the sides of the bowl).
- Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch on a flour surface. Add clumps of grated or cubed butter and gently press it into the dough with your hands. Fold the dough in half (the buttery part should be on the inside, floury part should be on the outside of your fold). Roll out again. Add more clumps of grated butter to the surface and press in until smooth. Fold again. Repeat this process until butter is gone.
- Fold dough into thirds and shape into a ball. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled. (About 30 minutes to an hour.)
- While dough is rising cut cream cheese into cubes.
- Combine honey (or monk fruit sweetener), cream cheese, and blueberries.
- After dough has risen, punch down, and roll out onto a flat, floured surface. (You will want lots of flour to keep from sticking.) Dough should be around 1/4-1/2 in thickness. You want a nice rectangle as even on all sides as possible (for uniform size rolls).
- Top the dough with the filling.
- Using a knife or pizza cutter cut strips horizontally across your rectangle.
- Roll strips and add them to a greased 9×13 pan.
- Allow rolls to rise until doubled (around one hour).
- Bake on 350℉ for 20-30 minutes.
