New Year's Treat: Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls.  I love them so much that I contemplate taking them from my children.  Below is my current go-to cinnamon roll recipe, and it is vegan to boot.  The original that I adapted was for sweet potato in the dough, which is what I made this week, but I have made them with pumpkin and squash as well.  If you do opt to use something in the gourd family, make sure it is orange when cooked, because no matter how good green cinnamon rolls taste, no one wants to eat them.

This recipe is vegan as it is written.  The biggest upside to me of making them this way is there is no need to refrigerate them, and room temperature is better for their texture.  However, if you choose to, you can use butter in place of the shortening in the filling, or cream cheese or cow's milk in the glaze, but be safe about storing them if you do so.  The only animal product (are bees animals?) that I routinely use in these is honey instead of the agave, but that doesn't affect their shelf stability.  However, I do recommend refrigerating them if you are going to have them around for more than two days.

 Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

Dough:

1/2 cup warm water (about body temperature)

1 cup mashed sweet potato

2 tablespoons agave (or honey, if you choose)

1 package of yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 to 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Filling:

1/4 cup all vegetable shortening

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon each to taste: cloves, nutmeg, mace, allspice

Cinnamon Glaze:

3 tablespoon all vegetable shortening

1/2 to 1 tablespoon almond milk

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vannilla

~ 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (this is a guess as I always go by how it flows)

To make the dough, dissolve the yeast in the water in your mixing bowl, add sweet potato, agave, and oil, and let stand for 5 minutes to proof.  Mix in the flours and salt and then knead for dough until smooth, which is about 7 minutes.  Move dough into an oiled bowl, cover with a lint free towel, and let rise until doubled (~60 minutes).  When dough is doubled, punch down, recover, and allow to rise until doubled (~40 minutes).

Mix together shortening, brown sugar, cinnamon, and other spices in a small mixing bowl.  Grease inside of a 9 by 13 baking dish.  Then turn dough out onto a clean work surface, and roll into a flat rectangle approximately 12 by 15 inches.  Try to avoid using extra flour unless needed to keep dough from sticking.  When flattened, spread shortening mixture on the upside of the dough evenly, edge to edge.

Working with the wide side of the dough, roll lengthwise into a log or cylinder.  Slice into 1 1/4 inch wide slices, rolling between cuts to keep dough in the round.  Place into baking dish with a cut side up.  I usually end up with two end pieces that are smaller than the rest, and I place those between larger ones to even out the spacing inside the pan.  When evenly spaced in the pan, cover with towel and allow to rise about 45 minutes, until doubled.  Then preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for approximately 20 minutes, until lightly golden.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes.  Then combine shortening, almond milk,cinnamon, and vanilla in a bowl.  Slowly add powdered sugar until it reaches a loose frosting-like consistency.  Spoon glaze over the tops of the cinnamon rolls.  The heat of the cooling rolls will loosen the glaze slightly more and allow it to seep into the cracks between the layers.  Allow to cool to room temperature before serving.

If you want to save on calories and sugar, feel free to skip the glaze as they are wonderful without it.  My children prefer them glazed or frosted, but I like them either way.  They make a great breakfast with a serving of mixed berries and a protein of choice.  They are also a delicious midnight snack.  As my partner says, "I love them."