Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

I have been wanting to make cinnamon rolls for quite some time. I am not sure why I was so intimidated. I guess it was because I wasn’t sure if I could get the cinnamon roll crust right. You see, in my vegan cinnamon rolls, I did not want to rely on Earth Balance. I wanted to use coconut oil instead. I am pretty happy with the results of these Vegan Cinnamon Rolls.

Spelt Cinnamon Rolls

I used spelt flour in these vegan cinnamon rolls, so they are not completely gluten-free. I wanted to perfect the recipe before attempting to make the cinnamon rolls gluten-free. This would be a fantastic weekend breakfast! The recipe is adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie and Veggie and the Beast.

Ingredients

For the rolls:
3 cups spelt flour
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 pkg yeast
1 egg (I used a flax egg)
2-3 T coconut sugar
2 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
For the filling:
1/3 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like a lot)
For the icing:
1 cup cashews soaked overnight
2 T maple syrup
Instructions

Mix the dry ingredients for the dough in one bowl

In a saucepan, heat the almond milk.
Once it starts to bubble, add in the coconut oil.
Let the almond mixture cool slightly, and then add it and the flax egg to the dry ingredients.
Mix until a dough starts to form.
Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes
Place the dough in a bowl covered with a damp towel and allow it to rise. You can tell it’s good when you can poke it, and it holds its shape. (About 20 minutes)
Meanwhile, mix the cinnamon and coconut sugar for the filling.
Once the dough has risen, roll it out onto a floured surface.
Brush the dough with water and sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top.
Roll up the dough and cut into pieces using a bench scraper.
Preheat oven to 375.
Place the rolls in a greased pie plate and let them rise another 20 minutes.
Once the dough is ready, bake it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

While the rolls are cooking, in a blender, blend up the cashews and maple syrup to make the icing. If it seems a little thick, you can thin it out with a small amount of milk. Pour the icing over the rolls while they are still warm out of the oven.

These rolls should be stored in the fridge. You can probably freeze them (minus the icing) for longer storage. If the icing thickens up after it’s stored in the fridge, just add a bit more milk and blend until smooth.