Cinnamon-Almond Rolls

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By food editor Bessie Baker Cook

I have enjoyed puttering around the kitchen trying to make a new "twist" on cinnamon rolls. One of my favorite variations on the traditional cinnamon roll has been to use almond butter in place of real butter. 

You can get almond butter in a jar, or in some stores there are nut grinders that you can use to make your own.  If you have the right kind of juicer, or an attachment to a heavy-duty mixer, you can make your own at home, which is what I did. 

Make a bread dough, and roll out as you would with your favorite cinnamon roll recipe. Do not use butter. Instead, use your almond butter. This may be difficult, as it is not very soft. My method was to dab-and-spread as much as possible, but not every bit of dough was covered (just remember you are going to roll this up on itself, so every serving will get some almond butter). You do not want it in thick globs, of course. 

Now, instead of sugar, use honey. If you do not want to mess with spreading it, just drizzle it all over. Now use a generous amount of cinnamon over that, and sliced almonds on top of that, if desired. It is not necessary, since you have so much almond already, but it does add a slight crunch and looks nice. If you want, you could add raisins. 

Roll up the dough, slice, and place on greased baking sheet to rise. Then bake as you normally would. If yours turns out the way mine does, it will have an intense "almond extract" scent and taste delicious!

Note: This is a good recipe to make for those who do not eat dairy, if you make the dough without dairy products.