RECIPE: [EASY & VEGAN] CINNAMON ROLLS

My life has just gained one more reason to be happy: vegan cinnamon rolls. Think of butter (the vegan one, not as bad as it sounds), sugar and cinnamon, rolled up in a fluffy bun. And yes, here is the recipe, in case you need a late night treat before starting into the new week (and oh wow, for me also the new semester..!). Or a reason to look forward to a Monday afternoon spent baking.

Peppi and I found the recipe on the "Minimalist Baker" and due to the fact that we were missing some ingredients (yes, not using yeast DOES make a difference) ours werent as fluffy as they should have been. But oh well, skills come with practice, right? And believe me, fresh out of the oven they still tasted heavenly.

Ingredients for 8-12 cinnamon rolls:

2 1/4 packet instant (or rapid rise) yeast

240ml unsweetened plain almond milk

112 g of vegan butter (we used soy butter)

1/4 tsp salt

410 g unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

65 g organic cane sugar

1. In a large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp vegan butter until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to 43 °C, or the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast.

2. Transfer mix to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle on yeast. Let activate for 10 minutes, then add 1 Tbsp sugar and the salt and stir.

3. Next add in flour 65g at a time, stirring as you go. The dough will be sticky. When it is too thick to stir, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for a minute or so until it forms a loose ball. 

4. Rinse your mixing bowl out, coat it with canola or grapeseed oil, and add your dough ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 Tbsp melted butter and top with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 - 1 Tbsp cinnamon (to taste).

6. Starting at one end, tightly roll up the dough and situate seam side down. Then with a serrated knife or a string of floss, cut the dough into 4-6 cm sections and position in a well-buttered (we used coconut oil for this) baking dish. 

7. Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp butter (melted) and cover with plastic wrap. Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 175°C.

8. Once the oven is hot, bake rolls for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes and then serve immediately.

Optional: Frost with dairy free cream cheese frosting or a simple mixture of 100g organic powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp almond milk. 

Another option: Sprinkle with Coconut Flakes. SO good. 

(Credits to the Minimalist Baker!!)