VEGAN PECAN CINNAMON ROLLS

Not going to lie, I had my first cinnamon roll only recently here in America. In Switzerland this dish is not a big thing haha but I realize that it is here! I started craving Cinnamon Rolls after watching a baking show on Netflix where they were making non vegan versions of these. I couldn’t stop thinking about them haha so I decided to try making a vegan version. In my first batch, I used yeast which made this a very long process (almost 24 hours) and I used spelt flour which made the dough look a little darker and I just wasn’t feeling it. So the second time, I tried making them with baking powder and an all purpose flour instead and this time they took me less than an hour + they looked amazing just like real cinnamon rolls! 

I noticed that my icing was a little bit too thin. It usually looks a lot whiter and is thicker in consistency so if that’s what you’re going for just add less liquid to your mixture. And make sure your powdered sugar is vegan or organic! A lot of the powdered sugars are actually not vegan, because they’re processed by bone char which is pretty gross. I got mine from Wholefoods. 🙂 

And lastly, I couldn’t resist adding some chocolate chips in one half of my cinnamon roll. This is totally optional haha and probably doesn’t resemble real cinnamon rolls haha but in case you’re wondering, it tasted amazing with chocolate chips as well! I mean what doesn’t taste amazing with chocolate?! Haha! So let’s get into the recipe. 🙂 

Vegan Pecan Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

1 cup non dairy milk (I used oat milk)

3 cups all purpose flour (and more for kneading) 

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup vegan butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

4 tsp baking powder 

Filling:

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp vegan butter, melted

1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Icing:

1 cup vegan powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp milk of choice 

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking dish with parchment paper or grease with vegan butter or oil. 
  2. Dough: In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  3. Add in softened vegan butter and using a pastry cutter or fork and knife cut butter into dry mix.
  4. Add milk and vanilla extract and mix with a wooden spoon until all ingredients are combined.
  5. If it is too thick to stir in the bowl, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it forms a ball.
  6. Bring your dough ball back to the bowl, cover with a towel and set in a warm place to let rest for 15 minutes.
  7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 16″ x 11″.
  8. Filling: Brush entire dough with melted vegan butter and sprinkle the coconut sugar and cinnamon mixture together with the chopped pecans and chocolate chips (if using) evenly over the melted butter.
  9. Carefully roll the dough up, starting with the longer side. Press the ends of the roll into the dough so that it sticks.
  10. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12 equal size pieces or 9 if you want to have them thicker and place each into your prepared baking dish. They don’t need to be touching, they will spread out while baking.
  11. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
  12. Icing: In the meantime you can prepare icing by whisking powdered sugar and non dairy milk together. Start with only 1 tbsp of milk and add more from there. You don’t want it to be too runny.
  13. Drizzle your icing over the still warm cinnamon rolls. Enjoy with a glass of cold non dairy milk. 🙂 
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