Rolls
Note: One thing I want to point out is that I have only made this with flax seed as a binder and I have not used Ener-G egg replacer. I have no idea if this recipe turns out exactly the same or comparably if Ener-G were to be used instead. Because the flax has worked so well for me and because I have not been able to taste it (I hate the taste of flax) I just haven’t allowed myself to try the alternate method. If you do try it with Ener-G please report back to let us know how the rolls turned out for you.
- 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- ½ cup unbleached sugar
- 1 cup vegan milk, warmed
- 2 eggs worth of egg replacer OR 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds whisked together with 6 tablespoons hot water
- ⅓ cup vegan butter, melted
- 4½ cups unbleached flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup vegan butter, softened
- Optional: chocolate chips, raisins, nuts
Frosting
Note: If, like me, you don’t care that much for icing or prefer to let your cinnamon or chocolate rolls shine on their own, then these are perfectly fine without. I will say, however, that this is a good icing recipe and I sometimes will have some. The reason why I probably like it is because it isn’t just about the sugar. The Tofutti cream cheese and the vegan butter give it a smooth and creamy flavor that you wouldn’t get if it were just a plain sugar icing.
- About 3/8 (3 ounces) of a container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
- ¼ cup vegan butter, softened
- 1½ cup vegan powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Mix yeast, sugar, and heated vegan milk in a large mixing bowl and let stand until foamy. Add egg replacer, melted vegan butter, flour, and salt.
Letting the yeast activate, then adding the other dry ingredients
Mix well and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough should be firm and smooth, not sticky.
Mixing the dough in the Kitchenaid Mixer
Set the dough aside in a covered bowl and let double in size.
I allowed my dough to sit for about an hour to an hour and a half
After the dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured work surface, cover, and let rest for 10 more minutes.
Letting the dough rest
Meanwhile, divide your brown sugar into two small bowls.
Getting ready to mix my cinnamon/chocolate roll fillings
Mix the cinnamon into one bowl of brown sugar, and mix the cocoa powder and vanilla into the other bowl of brown sugar.
Fillings are now ready!
Note: If you just want to do cinnamon rolls, increase your cinnamon to 2 tablespoons and mix it into the full amount of brown sugar, omitting the cocoa powder and vanilla extract. If you just want to do chocolate rolls, increase the cocoa to 2 tablespoons, the vanilla to 2 teaspoons, then mix it into the full amount of brown sugar, and omit the cinnamon.
After the dough has rested, get it into a shape that you can easily divide into two equal halves with a knife or by pulling it apart with your hands.
Dividing the dough in half
Note: If you are doing only one type of roll (i.e. cinnamon rolls) you will notneed to divide your dough in half.
Take one half of the dough and roll it out into a rectangle. Here I am using the Vic Firth French Rolling Pin which I am totally and completely in love with.
Rolling out my cinnamon and chocolate roll dough
Spread dough with vegan butter, then sprinkle each dough evenly with one of the sugar mixtures.
Adding the filling to the cinnamon and chocolate rolls
You can add other items to your filling, like chocolate chips or raisins. I didn’t have any chocolate chips on hand, but I did have Trader Joe’s dark chocolate, which I just chopped up into chip-sized chunks.
I’ve added raisins to the cinnamon roll filling, and chocolate pieces to the chocolate roll filling
Roll the dough on the longer side.
Rolling the cinnamon and chocolate rolls
Cut the rolls so that you have even slices. I like to cut straight down the middle first (1), then cut straight down the middle of the two sections (2), and finally cut down the middle of the four sections (3). In the end you should have eight evenly sized rolls (or thereabouts) if you follow this method.
Cutting the rolls
Place rolls in a lightly greased baking pan (or two). (A cookie sheet also works fine.) Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tip: Use a pie pan or a larger pan where your rolls are allowed to expand. I found that the chocolate rolls made in the pie pan were fatter than the cinnamon rolls made in the straight-sided glass dish.
Allowing the cinnamon and chocolate rolls to rise
Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Cinnamon (bottom) and chocolate (top) rolls straight out of the oven
While rolls are baking, beat together Tofutti, vegan butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.
Making the vegan cream cheese frosting
Unless I’m told a better recipe exists or I somehow lose this recipe, I will never try another. The rolls are amazingly fluffy and gooey and are just perfect straight out of the oven. If you were to take these to your non-vegan friends no one would be the wiser. These taste and have the consistency of what you or they would expect in a cinnamon roll, and there’s no reason for them to suspect that they are vegan. They are seriously that good and perfect.
This is a great foundational recipe, too, because once you have dough that works this well, you can get very creative. I recently saw on The Pioneer Woman Cooks a marmalade/butter filling and an orange flavored icing. I think you could do other jams (strawberry jam sounds great!) or you could try fresh fruit. You could probably do vegan caramel or toffee. If you like coffee, you could probably even go there, too. But for me, my absolute favorite is just the basic, gooey cinnamon roll. Perfection.
