Classic Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

When I lived in San Diego, and before I was vegan, our annual trip to the county fair always started at the cinnamon roll stand. These cinnamon rolls were thick, tender, loaded with cinnamon, and topped with a gooey icing. I looked forward to them for weeks before the fair. After I become vegan, cinnamon rolls fell off my radar: at that time, I couldn’t find vegan cinnamon rolls and it seemed like far too much work to make them.

Cinnamon roll dough ready to be rolled up

Then I saw this recipe for Easy Cinnamon Rolls from the Minimalist Baker website. Oh. my. They were perfect…well, almost. I make them a little bit differently, but they’re still just as easy. These are the main reason I’ve thought about buying a bread machine–so I could set up the dough the night before and have it ready for final assembly in the morning. Given a choice, my husband would have these every morning.

These are wonderful with a cream cheese frosting, but we can’t get vegan cream cheese here and I rarely think far enough ahead to make it. I used to just make a simple glaze from powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and a touch of vanilla. Then I discovered the wonders of a peanut butter glaze (below). Yes, peanut butter on cinnamon rolls. You’re welcome.

Tip: whenever I cover a yeast bread or dough to let it rise, I use a plastic shower cap–the kind they give you in hotels. I find that I can reuse shower caps several times, which I can’t do with regular plastic wrap. The little elastic band holds the shower cap in place nicely.