The Best Cinnamon Rolls

I’m always looking for the most ethical way to make the food I love.  Minimalist Baker has been the best resource for doing so.  She posts the most amazing recipes and most of them are vegan/vegetarian.  I highly recommend her blog!

A couple of weeks ago my nieces came to visit and I wanted to make something vegan that non-vegan/vegetarians would love. I knew Minimalist Baker wouldn’t let me down, so I searched for a cinnamon roll recipe (because who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls?!) and got to baking. I won’t lie, my expectation for these was low, but I trucked on anyway and they came out of the oven so fluffy and aromatic.  They were SO GOOD and only took about 1 1/2 hours to make from start to finish.

MAKE THESE, seriously!

The Best Cinnamon Rolls
This recipe is from: The Minimalist Baker

Ingredients

• 1 packet instant (or rapid rise) yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
• 1 cup (240 ml) unsweetened plain almond milk (if you use dairy products, you can substitute milk)
• 1/2 cup (112 g) Earth balance (vegan butter), divided (if you use dairy products, you can substitute butter)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups (408 g) unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp (63 g) organic cane sugar, divided

Directions

1. In a large sauce pan (or in a bowl in the microwave at 30 sec increments), heat the almond milk and 3 Tbsp Earth Balance until warm and melted, never reaching boiling. Remove from heat and let cool to 110 degrees F (43 C), or the temperature of bath water. It should be warm but not too hot or it will kill the yeast.
2. Transfer mixture 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 1/2 cup (68 g) 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. Rinse your mixing bowl out, coat it with your choice of 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 (see photo).
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a thin rectangle. Brush with 3 Tbsp melted Earth Balance and top with 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 – 1 Tbsp cinnamon (to taste).
5. 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 1.5 – 2 inch sections and position in a well-buttered 8×8-inch square or comparable sized round pan (you should have about 10 rolls). Brush with remaining 2 Tbsp Earth Balance (melted) and cover with plastic wrap. Set on top of the oven to let rise again while you preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C).
6. 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.
7. Optional: Frost with a simple mixture of 1 cup (112 g) organic powdered sugar and 1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) almond milk.