What a “gluten-free” holiday looks like in our house + paleo date-pecan cinnamon rolls

What a “gluten-free” holiday looks like in our house + paleo date-pecan cinnamon rolls

I get asked a lot how we handle the holidays being gluten-free. Let’s face it, most holiday memories include big fat crescent rolls, sugar cookies, casseroles, pies and many more gluten filled items.

My new motto: simplicity.

I simply do not try to recreate all those items…I find that all that does is stress me out, leaves me in carb and sugar shock and a lot of the items will never compare to their gluten- filled counter parts. So instead, my husband and I came up with a simple holiday menu that included items that we could prep the night before.

I thought I would share what our Christmas day menu looked like. It was fresh and not over-loaded with carbs, but yet included items like a paleo date-pecan cinnamon roll that my three boys absolutely loved. We ate a late breakfast and an early dinner, cutting our meals down to two instead of three. And I ran out Christmas Eve afternoon to our local Earth Fare to get any remaining fresh ingredient. We has ordered their holiday deal that featured a beautiful cut of fresh standing rib roast, so we had to run in already to pick that up.

Breakfast was fully prepped on Christmas Eve and included a breakfast casserole and paleo cinnamon rolls.

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Potato-Egg Breakfast Casserole:

The breakfast casserole was made with shredded potatoes, instead of bread. I first boiled the potatoes, chilled them and ran them through my food processor with the shredder blade. I layered the potatoes on the bottom of a 13 x 9 pan and topped with 12 whisked eggs, 1 cup of almond milk, 2 cups of shredded cheese, bacon pieces and chopped green onions. All I had to do Christmas morning was pop it into the oven at 350 for about 45-50 minutes.

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this is what my youngest son, thought of the cinnamon rolls!

 

Paleo Date-Pecan Cinnamon Rolls:

*Recipe below.

We also made these the night before and had them on a baking sheet in the fridge ready to pop into the oven.

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Dinner Menu:

  • Standing Rib Roast
  • Grilled Zucchini and Asparagus
  • Roasted potato wedges with Italian herbs
  • Sparkling cider just for fun

We have made it a tradition to buy a nice cut of meat; either steaks or prime rib and either grill veggies or roast them (depending on Indiana weather). It makes dinner, simple, yet full of flavor.

What a “gluten-free” holiday looks like in our house + paleo date-pecan cinnamon rolls
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert/Pastry
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • Dough:
  • 2 cups of almond flour
  • ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp. coconut flour
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • ¼ cup coconut sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • pinch of sea salt
  • Filling:
  • 6-8 large Dates, Soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
  • ½ cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Soak your dates in hot water for about 30 minutes.
  2. Add hydrated dates a few teaspoons of date water and cinnamon to a mini food processor and puree. Set aside.
  3. Whisk together the wet ingredients (egg, coconut oil & vanilla) in a medium bowl.
  4. Add the combined dry ingredients (almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt) and stir well to combine.
  5. Roll out the dough on parchment paper and create a long rectangle.
  6. Spread the date and cinnamon mixture evenly across the rolled out dough and sprinkle with finely chopped pecan pieces.
  7. Using the parchment paper to help, carefully roll up the dough into a log.
  8. Using a sharp knife cut 1-inch thick rolls.
  9. Preheat oven to 325
  10. Place sliced cinnamon rolls on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
  11. Bake for about 15-18 minutes until begin to lightly brown*
  12. Remove from oven and drizzle with glaze and more finely chopped pecans. (For the gaze, I just whisked a little almond milk with coconut sugar).
  13. Best served warm!
  14. *Our rolls took a little longer to bake, because I refrigerated them over-night and put them into the oven still cold.
  15. **These will not rise and puff up like a traditional cinnamon roll.

 

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