Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

There are few things better than breakfast foods.  Well, okay, maybe family, friends, and sunshine are a little better, but on the food spectrum I'll take breakfast over other meals any old day.

I'm a half and half kind of girl when it comes to sweet and savory.  I like to start with something savory that has some sustenance to counteract the sugar from the sweet.  I love going to breakfast with my mom because she's exactly the same (probably where I got it), so one of us orders savory, the other orders sweet and we split.  For a few sweet hours, it's perfection!

Last weekend I was in the mood to make something sweet for breakfast.  I pulled up some of my bookmarked recipes and let the kids pick which one looked the best to them.  Sawyer is easily swayed by his super cool, do-no-wrong, big brother, so really it was up to Colin.  These cinnamon rolls beat out donuts!  I have to admit I was surprised.  But I'm glad they did because they were delicious.  Just the right amount of sweetness, with just the right amount of dough.  These aren't going to be Cinnabon knock-offs, but I promise you'll feel much better after eating one of these than you would with one of those!

I opted for the icing because cinnamon rolls just aren't cinnamon rolls without a little glaze or icing.  The glaze absorbed right into the dough, making them even softer and moist.

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 15-17 minutes
Yield: 8 rolls
{print recipe}

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 T. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup "buttermilk" (Mix 1 T vinegar with almond milk to make 1 1/4 cups. Let sit for 5 minutes.)
• 6 T melted vegan margarine
• 2 T melted vegan margarine
• 2 T sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• 2 T water
• 3/4 -1 cup powdered sugar

Cooking Directions:

1. First, make your "buttermilk". Measure 1 Tbsp of white or apple cider vinegar into a 2 cup measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup to 1 1/4 cups with almond milk. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Mix all of dry ingredients together in a large bowl; then add in the melted margarine and the "buttermilk".
3. Kneading it for a few minutes, it should become a bit smooth and more elastic than wet. If it still seems wet, go ahead and add some more flour.
4. Once it's a bit neater, roll it out into a roughly 12x9 rectangle, about a 1/2-thick. It doesn't need to be perfect. After that, top the dough rectangle with melted margarine and your mixture of cinnamon and sugar and roll it up.
5. Cut the roll into 8 pieces. (A great tip: use some dental floss to cut the rolls. Just wrap it around the roll and pull the two ends across and it will cut the rolls very nice and neatly.)
6. Put your perfectly-cut rolls in a greased baking pan and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 - 17 minutes.
7. While they're in the oven, you can mix your glaze with however much powdered sugar you want, thinned with just a bit of water. Pour it over the rolls while they're fresh out of the oven, so it gives them a nice caramelized layer and absorbs into the roll.

**Linking up with Jam Hands, What's Cookin' Wednesday, Allergy Free Wednesdays, and Healthy Vegan Friday.