These AIP Cinnamon Swirl Squares are paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, and a cinnamon lover’s dream! Sure to satisfy your sweet cravings without any refined sugar, they’re light, soft and delicious.
If you are a cinnamon and/or a coffee cake fan, this recipe is for you. These AIP Cinnamon Swirl Squares are delicious and so comforting. I love that they’re not too sweet, and that the hefty dose of cinnamon is blood sugar balancing. Serve as an afternoon snack with a cup of tea, or as delicious dessert. Any way and any time, they’re truly scrumptious!
The texture of these is so soft and they definitely melt in your mouth. It is important to allow these to cool completely before cutting into them after baking. This allows the gelatin to set and the batter to firm up a bit more.
Here’s what you’ll need for these cinnamon swirl squares:
- coconut butter, melted
- full fat, additive free coconut milk – this is key for the texture
- unsweetened applesauce
- palm shortening – oil won’t work the same here.
- cassava flour – I recommend Bob’s red mill or Otto’s
- tigernut flour
- coconut sugar
- gelatin
FAQs for these Cinnamon Squares
Can I substitute…
I don’t recommend any substitutions in this recipe and cannot guarantee the same results if you choose to make any. The palm shortening is especially important here to create a soft texture and oil will not work in the same way.
Can I use a different size pan?
I’ve made these in both a 9×6 pan and a standard 8×4 loaf pan – both took between 22-23 minutes to bake. If can use a larger sized pan squares will be flatter and you might need to reduce the baking time.
How do I store these?
You can store in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 4-5 days. I have not tried freezing these.
Looking for more AIP desserts? You might enjoy:
If you tried these AIP Cinnamon Swirl Squares, I would love if you would give it a star rating and short review. Don’t forget to snap a picture of the finished product! You can share it with me on Instagram by tagging @healmedelicious.
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AIP Cinnamon Swirl Squares (paleo, grain-free)
- Total Time: 47 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
Description
These amazing AIP Cinnamon Swirl Squares are paleo, grain-free, dairy-free, and a cinnamon lover’s dream! Sure to satisfy your sweet cravings without any refined sugar, they’re light, soft and delicious.
Ingredients
Batter
- 1/2 cup coconut butter, melted*
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup palm shortening**
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk (additive free)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups cassava flour
- 1/4 cup tigernut flour
- 3/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 gelatin egg (1 TBSP gelatin, 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup hot water)
Cinnamon swirl
- 1/4 cup + 2 TBSP coconut sugar
- 2 TBSP cinnamon
- 3 TBSP coconut milk
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a 9×6 pan with parchment paper. You can also use a standard loaf pan (8 x 4-inch) but will get less squares and they will be much thicker.
- To the bowl of a stand mixer or food processor, add melted coconut butter, unsweetened applesauce, palm shortening, full fat coconut milk and vanilla. Beat/pulse until smooth.
- In a large bowl, combine cassava flour, tigernut flour, sea salt and baking soda.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquid ingredients. Stir to combine. Batter will be very thick.
- Make gelatin egg by mixing apple cider vinegar with gelatin powder. Pour in hot water and whisk with a fork until all the gelatin is dissolved and the mixture is frothy. Fold gelatin egg into batter. Batter should loosen a bit but will still be thick.
- In a separate bowl, make cinnamon swirl by combining coconut sugar, cinnamon and coconut milk.
- Scoop a few spoonfuls of the thick, plain batter into the prepared pan and smooth into a thin layer with a spatula.
- Drop alternate spoonfuls of the batter and the cinnamon mixture on top the bottom layer. Top with the remaining plain batter and use a spatula to smooth the top.
- Place in the middle rack of the preheated oven and set timer for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, once the batter has begun to soften, open oven and use a butter knife to run through the batter 4-5 times to create a swirl in the cinnamon. Bake for 19-21 minutes further. ***
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares to allow batter to set and prevent crumbling.
Notes
*Ensure your coconut butter is completely melted before blending. You can run the jar under hot water to achieve this.
** Palm oil will not work here. I do not recommend any substitutions to the palm shortening in this recipe as this is what creates the soft, cake-like texture.
***You can also do this before baking, but the batter will be much thicker and more difficult to run through with a knife.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
Keywords: cinnamon swirl, cinnamon cake, coffee cake, aip, paleo, egg-free, dairy-free, grain-free, tea cake, pound cake, loaf
do you think that almond flour would work in place of tigernut? I tolerate almonds and lately no where around me has tigernut anymore.
I haven’t tried, but it is the closest in texture to tigernut flour. let me know if you try it!
This looks amazing! I need to try this recipe.
Hello. Question about the coconut milk. I make my own at home and it’s not as thick as the canned type. It’s more of a traditional milk consistency. Will that affect the texture? Thanks!
Hi Michaela, if the milk isn’t as full fat/thick it can affect the texture but i’ve only ever made this with canned milk. I’d just make sure I was using enough of the coconut pulp when making your own to ensure the fat content is still there
First recipe for healthier sweets craving sub! I followed recipe exactly, however, and ended up with the bottom layer looking undercooked and kinda gooey. One possibility is that since my oven seems to run hot, I kept the temp at 360F, for 25 min (9×6), OR since It was my first time using a gelatin egg I may have mixed that incorrectly. They were not overly sweet-just enough to make me believe I had cheated on this AIP lifestyle and make it through my evening craving hours.
★★★★★
These are delicious! When they first baked I thought the texture was a little too gummy but once they set in the fridge overnight they were more cakey with a sort of gooey cinnamon roll experience. The flavor is great and they’re rich without being too sugary. I baked mine in an 8×8”pan and it worked fine.
★★★★★
Can the tigernut flour be omitted?
unfortunately no, not in this recipe
I used the recipe exactly and mine came out soft/mushy inside….outside was nice tho. Nothing like the pic which looks fluffy and light 🙁
★★
Hi, As far as the coconut milk, would canned coconut milk be okay? Looking forward to trying this!
Hi Claudia, yes once it’s additive free, full fat and shaken up/stirred so that it’s not chunky it will be fine.
My batter was more a dough and they came out very dense. No fluffy here. I even cooked it 10 min longer as it looked raw. Which cassava flour did you use? I’m at sea level so could that be an issue if you are at a higher elevation?
Hi Glori. Sorry to hear that, these are definitely supposed to be light and moist. I’m above sea level but not considered high altitude so don’t think that is the issue you had. I use Otto’s or Bob’s red mill flour. Did you use palm shortening and softened coconut butter?
I used Otto’s used red palm oil and softened the coconut butter. Maybe it was the palm oil instead of shortening?
Ah yes, the shortening is key here for the texture.
Thanks for sharing! Do they keep long?
not in my house lol. They keep fine in the fridge in a sealed container for 3-4 days. I would recommend reheating before serving.
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy a fall treat while sticking to the diet!
Thanks Suzanne, hope you can try them!
Do you think I could double the batch and freeze squares for later? Do you think it would freeze well?
Hey Carly! I think they could technically be frozen but I would recommend eating these fresh/within a few days just because the texture is so soft and delicious that they might be mushy when thawed.
I’ve been craving French toast and this satisfied my craving for now. It’s moist and I love the cinnamon kick. My husband said the bottom was like a marshmallow texture. I used unfiltered homemade walnut milk because I needed to use it up. My kids loved it too and wanted more. Now I have some for lunchbox treats.
★★★★★
Thanks Megan! So happy you and your fam enjoyed <3
If one can tolerate eggs could a real egg be substituted for the gelatin egg? If so would you add it in at the same point in the directions?
Hi Amanda, I can’t tolerate eggs so I haven’t tried and can’t say for sure. If I had to guess I’d say just add it in with the liquid ingredients. Do let me know if you try!
Hi! This is delicious, but the description and images are conflicting. You can’t achieve squares like those pictured from a loaf pan. Following those directions, it’s impossible to get the beautiful swirl in a loaf (cinnamon swirl is buried too deep). Further, the batter is pretty dry, so I’m not sure I would have gotten the swirl if using an 8 x 8 pan. Will try again and tweak, but I don’t think it makes sense to call these squares and then instruct to use a loaf pan. Using a loaf pan, it’s going to be a loaf/cake, not squares.
★★★
Hey Lauren! Glad you found these delicious. The reason I recommend a loaf pan (as I have used in these pics) is to create additional height since these don’t have much baking soda. You can definitely use another shape pan but the squares will be flatter ?
Hi,
Thank you for all your recipes!! My daughter is on a gf and df diet and I’m always searching for easy goodies to make for her. The only ingredient I have difficulty finding here in Toronto, CA is the palm shortening. Is there any substitute I can use??
Hi Kaneez, I get mine at natura market.ca here in Canada!
This recipe is so easy and sooooo goooooood! My non-AIP husband loves it as much as I do! 🙂
★★★★★
Thank you Claire. And, same! Hehe ?
These were so delicious! They were so fluffy and moist…the only problem is they didn’t last long in our house! 😉 I agree, next time I would add more batter to the bottom layer, but they did bake so well. I will be making these often!
★★★★★
This is a real and common problem 🙂 Thanks for your review!
I love these bars! I really like that the only sweetener, is in the cinnamon swirl part. I’ll make them again for sure, I may put more batter/crust down though before I add the cinnamon swirl next time. Thanks for creating and sharing this recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks, Meaghan. I’m so happy you liked the minimal sweetener. Really trying to develop recipes with the least amount of added sugars (even when they’re not refined sugars!)
Sooo yummy!! Will definitely be making again and again!
★★★★★
I made these for my son for breakfast tomorrow, but I snuck a bite from a corner! Wow – great flavor and texture, this reminded me of fresh baked gooey cinnamon rolls. I will be making this regularly now, and I think it will replace my labor-intensive paleo cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning! Thank you, Nicole!
★★★★★
Amazing, Anna! So glad you enjoyed and thanks for letting me know 🙂
My mom said the same thing – these are like cinnamon rolls! Delicious.