Cottage Cheese Protein Cinnamon Rolls
⏱ 45 min💪 11g protein per roll🔥 ~215 cal🍽 8 rolls
The dough is blended cottage cheese and self-rising flour, nothing else. It behaves like a biscuit dough, bakes in 25 minutes, and skips yeast entirely. The protein comes from the cottage cheese and from the frosting, not from powder in the dough, which is the mistake that turns most protein cinnamon rolls into bricks.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) 2% cottage cheese
- 1 1/2 cups (190g) self-rising flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 4 oz (113g) light cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1 scoop (30g) vanilla protein powder
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350F and grease an 8 inch round pan. Blend the cottage cheese alone for 60 seconds until it is completely smooth with no curd left.
- Stir the blended cottage cheese into the self-rising flour with a fork until shaggy, then knead on a floured counter for 2 to 3 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon at a time until the dough is tacky but not sticky.
- Roll into a 12x8 inch rectangle about 1/4 inch thick, brush with the melted butter, and sprinkle evenly with the brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up from the long edge and cut 8 rolls with unflavored dental floss.
- Arrange the rolls cut side up in the pan and bake 22 to 25 minutes, until the tops are golden and the centers read about 200F.
- While they bake, beat the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, protein powder, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Frost the rolls when they are warm but no longer hot, since hot rolls melt protein frosting into a puddle.
- Store covered in the fridge up to 4 days and reheat individual rolls for 20 seconds in the microwave.
Tips
- Keep protein powder out of the dough. It has no gluten and it competes for water, and past about 2 tablespoons in a batch this size the rolls bake dense and dry. The powder belongs in the frosting where nothing heats it.
- Blend the cottage cheese by itself before the flour goes anywhere near it. Leftover curds turn into wet pockets that steam during the bake and tear the spiral when you slice it.
- No self-rising flour? Whisk 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour with 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and whisk it for a full 30 seconds so the leavening is evenly distributed.
FAQ
- Do these taste like cottage cheese?
- No. Blended cottage cheese reads as a slight buttermilk tang, closer to a biscuit than to anything savory, and the cinnamon filling covers it completely.
- Can I use nonfat cottage cheese?
- Yes, though the dough comes out wetter and you will need 2 to 3 extra tablespoons of flour. The rolls also bake up a bit less tender.
- Why is my frosting runny?
- Usually the rolls were still hot. Whey-based frosting thins out fast with heat, so let the pan cool 10 minutes first, and chill the frosting 10 minutes if it still looks loose.
- Can I assemble them the night before?
- Yes. Cut the rolls, cover the pan, and refrigerate overnight. Baking powder loses some lift after sitting, so add about 3 minutes to the bake time.
