Merry Christmas modern pioneers! Christmas is no doubt my favorite time of year. I love all the family traditions, all the Christmas cheer, the spirit of giving, all the holiday activities, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas is certainly not forgotten on my homestead! One of my family’s Christmas Eve traditions is making these grain-free cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning. We make these on Christmas Eve so that on Christmas morning, all we have to do is open our stockings and eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast. You can’t get much better than that!
This post may contain affiliate links. See our Disclosure for more information.
Modern Pioneer Family Traditions
So this modern pioneer recipe will look a little different than the usual recipe layout that I provide. This time, instead of providing recipe tips, I wanted to share with you some of my favorite holiday traditions. Some of these traditions are memories from growing up, and others are traditions that I still share with my family around the Christmas season!
Family traditions are one of my favorite parts about Christmas. They are something I look forward to every holiday season. I love spending time with my family and making memories. Some of these traditions we have been doing for as long as I can remember!
Setting up the Christmas Tree
The first family tradition that gets me in the Christmas spirit is setting up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of joining the hoards of Black Friday shoppers, my family sets up and decorates our Christmas tree! It’s a special time of working together, having fun, listening to Christmas music, and eating delicious food (usually Thanksgiving leftovers).
Our decorated Christmas tree is basically a collection of memories. We don’t have a decorating theme for our tree and each family member has their own ornaments that they put on the tree. The ornaments are typically an assortment of gifts, memoirs, homemade items, or keepsakes. We like our memory tree and it looks beautiful in our living room in front of the window.
Of course, the nativity also gets set up in our living room so that we can be reminded daily of what Christmas is really all about!
Christmas Photography
Okay, so this tradition may be more of a personal tradition, but over the years other family members have gotten into the Christmas photography spirit as well. After the Christmas tree gets set up I break out my checklist of Christmas related objects.
As a beginning photographer, my goal each holiday season would be to get a new picture of each object to symbolize what it means to me during the Christmas season. Now I focus more on capturing the Christmas mood through my food photography projects.
Some examples of Christmas items that were on my list include:
- favorite ornament
- Christmas cookies
- hot cocoa
- a wrapped gift
- the nativity
- stockings
- bells
- the Christmas tree
- snowflakes
Advent
When I was younger my mom would do an advent calendar for me and Anna. Advent would start on December first, and Anna and I would take turns opening up an advent each day. When we were really young, she would use a felt snowman that had the countdown till Christmas on it. Then she would get the flat, cardboard advents and put it on the fridge. We would open a window every day and do what it said.
Then as we got older, she switched to filling mini stockings with a little goody for each day. Eventually, she got little tins and numbered them for each day of advent. We would open one tin a day and get something special in it. Now we don’t do an advent calendar, but we still like surprising each other with an occasional small gift before Christmas!
Holiday Baking
Of course, holiday baking is another one of my favorite traditions! I love being in the kitchen, smelling all the baked goods, tasting everything, and taking pictures of pretty holiday baked goods! There are a few holiday essentials that I have to make every year. Ironically, the list of essentials keeps getting longer as I try new recipes!
Here are a few recipes that typically make it on the holiday baking list:
- grain-free gingerbread cookies
- paleo sugar cookies
- grain-free molasses cookies
- nut-free snowball cookies
- moose bars (perfect family gathering treat!)
- dairy-free fudge
Do you have any baked goods that absolutely have to be made during the holiday season?
Christmas Eve Meal
My family’s Christmas Eve dinner has turned into a family tradition over the years. On Christmas Eve, my dad will build a fire in our indoor fireplace. Then we roast hot dogs over the fire and have them with homemade baked beans and vegetables. Typically we have to sample a cinnamon roll as well and, of course break, out the holiday cookies too!
I love our Christmas Eve dinner because everyone works together and we get to eat delicious food! Not to mention we get to eat dinner in our cozy living room with a warm fire and a sparkling lighted Christmas tree!
One Early Present!
Another Christmas Eve tradition that my family does is my mom has Anna and I open up one present on Christmas Eve. In the past, that one present had always been a pair of pajamas that we would then wear that night so we could wake up on Christmas morning and open our stockings in our new pajamas. However, over the years our traditional Christmas Eve gift has changed.
It doesn’t matter what the gift is, I just enjoy the joy that it brings my family to give each other gifts and surprise each other!
Christmas Morning Cinnamon Rolls
We have finally reached the one tradition that is the star of this post, Christmas morning cinnamon rolls! Having cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Christmas morning has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. Since I love to bake, I now help make the traditional Christmas cinnamon rolls! When I first went on a low inflammation diet, I was devastated that it might ruin this holiday tradition. Thankfully, I have developed this delicious recipe for a gluten-free and grain-free cinnamon roll that has the classic taste and texture of a cinnamon roll!
Sometimes my family splurges, and we simply make gluten-free cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning instead of grain-free cinnamon rolls. Either way, I am so thankful that I didn’t have to give up this Christmas tradition because of my diet restrictions!
Grain-free Christmas Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic, grass-fed butter melted
- 2 cups Otto's Naturals cassava flour, divided
- 1 cup organic dairy-free milk
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast (1 packet)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1.5 tsp. tapioca flour (flouring your work surface)
Filling
- 6 T. coconut sugar
- 6 T. organic, grass-fed butter softened
- 1 T. ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Lightly coat a 9" glass pie plate with coconut oil or butter.
- In a small saucepan, heat the dairy-free milk until it reaches about 110°F. If it gets hotter, let it cool a few minutes so that you don't kill the yeast.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, warm milk, and sugar. Gently stir in the yeast and let it set for 1 minute. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of cassava flour and shape the moist dough into a nice round.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm location. I like to turn the light on in my oven and place a bowl of hot water in the oven along with my bowl of dough. Let the dough rest in the warm location for 30 minutes. It should get puffy and cracked.
- While the dough is resting, make the cinnamon roll filling. Combine the softened butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl. Stir until a soft paste forms.
- After the dough has rested, uncover the bowl and add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, sea salt, and baking soda. Stir until a soft, workable dough forms.
- Cut a piece of parchment paper that is at least 15" long. Lightly flour the surface with about 1.5 tsp. of tapioca flour. Place the dough ball on the floured surface. Press the dough out into a rectangle that is 12 inches tall by 14 inches wide.
- Spread the filling mixture evenly over the rectangle. Starting at the top of the rectangle, begin rolling one of the 12" sides towards you. I find it helpful to use the parchment paper to help roll up the dough.
- Cut the roll into 8 pieces. Place each piece into the pie plate so that they are touching each other. Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap and let the cinnamon rolls rest in a warm location for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the plastic wrap and preheat your oven to 325°F. Take the cinnamon rolls out of the oven while it preheats if you were letting them rest in the oven. Cover the pie plate with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover the cinnamon rolls and bake for 10 more minutes or until the edges of the rolls are slightly firm to the touch.
- Let the cinnamon rolls cool before storing them in an airtight container or serve them warm!
Where to Find the Ingredients
- Pacific organic oat milk
- Otto’s Naturals cassava flour
- Otto’s Naturals baking powder
- Anthony’s organic coconut sugar
- Redmond real salt
- Anthony’s active dry yeast
- Supplies: 9″ glass pie plate, unbleached parchment paper
Opening Stockings
When do you typically open your stocking on Christmas morning? In my family, it’s a tradition to open our stockings before breakfast. Anna and I will ask our mom and dad what the earliest time is that we can get up on Christmas morning. Once everybody is at least out of bed, we get to dig into our stockings!
After our stockings are emptied (sometimes it takes a while!), we then eat breakfast and take care of chores. Once the chores are finished, we all re-convene in the living room to continue opening gifts. My dad builds a fire in the fireplace and we take turns giving each other gifts. It’s a relaxing day filled with joy and happiness!
Special Time with Family
As if all of these traditions aren’t special enough, I still treasure as much family time as I can get. The one last tradition that I want to mention is my family’s tradition of having my grandma and grandpa over for Christmas dinner in the afternoon. Christmas dinner is a time spent gathered around the table enjoying each other’s company and eating delicious food!
I hope you enjoy this holiday season as much as I do! For me, it’s a time of joy, family, delicious food, and remembering the greatest Gift of all! These grain-free cinnamon rolls that I enjoy on Christmas morning are a just a small portion of what makes Christmas so special. However, they are still delicious to eat and simple to make, perfect for when you want to spend time doing other Christmas traditions as well! They capture the flavor of the season for me and making them every year always fills me with joy and brings back special memories!
Have a wonderful Christmas!
by Alexa
Leave a Reply