VEGAN CINNAMON ROLLS

(Think Cinnabon but healthier)

Tried my hand at making cinnamon rolls from scratch last weekend and oh my were they good! 🤤
If I had used a cream cheese frosting, I don’t think you’d be able to tell it apart from a real cinnabon, but I didn’t want to over indulge that much 😉

According to the original recipe, the dough can be made the night before, so you can have nice warm buns for breakfast the next day without the fuss.

I cooked some fresh apples 🍎 to make the mousse and added raisins to make it a nearly zero-waste recipe, but you could modify the filling.

1 cup milk of choice
2 tablespoon sweetener of choice
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 ½ cups flour (see note)
2 tablespoon baking powder
½ cup sugar of choice
¾ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
4 tablespoon oil, butter spread, or applesauce (I cooked fresh apples to make the mousse)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoon flour (see note)
¼ cup sugar of choice
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup raisins, optional
2/3 cup butter spread or applesauce (I cooked fresh apples to make the mousse)

Notes:
The recipe works with regular all purpose, spelt, or whole wheat pastry flour. I haven’t tried others, but be sure to report back if you experiment!
For the first 2 tablespoons sweetener, you can use sugar, pure maple syrup, agave, etc. – don’t use a sugar-free sub because it will not feed the yeast.
The butter/oil version is much more decadent (and still just 230 calories each!), but applesauce or almond butter work if you prefer a healthier-tasting version that’s oil-free.

Warm milk in a bowl (not boiling – 110°F if you have a candy thermometer). Stir in the sweetener, sprinkle yeast on top, and set aside 5 minutes. (If it doesn’t bubble up, either your yeast is no good or milk was too hot or cold) In a new bowl, combine 2 ½ cups flour, baking powder, ½ cup sugar, the salt, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.
Stir oil/butter and vanilla into the milk mixture, then stir into the dry-ingredient bowl to form a dough. If needed (depending on flour used), add more flour until it’s dry enough to form into a ball. Place ball in a greased bowl, cover loosely, and set in a warm place for 1 hour, during which time it should double in size.

After the dough has risen, punch to deflate. Knead with your hands for 5 minutes, adding the 5 tablespoons flour as you knead so the dough isn’t sticking to your hands. On a floured surface, roll dough into a very thin rectangle (just under ¼ in). Stir together all remaining ingredients, and spread over the dough. Cut long strips, then roll each up as tightly as possible. Place in a greased 9 × 13 pan. Loosely cover 30 minutes OR cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 ºF. (160 ºC).
Bake rolls 20 minutes.
Serve hot – Frosting options are listed above in this post. If you make them, be sure to leave a review or rate the recipe. I hope you love them!

Recipe plosted by Genevieve Diedericks
Photo: Genevieve Diedericks