The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Hey everyone! It’s Bailey here from Basics with Bails and I’m back with another delicious recipe for you … The Best Cinnamon Rolls EVER! It’s always been a tradition in my family to make cinnamon rolls on Christmas day. My Memere, (French grandmother), always made the best cinnamon rolls, (dare I say, better than Cinnabon). I remember making them with her as a little girl, kneading the dough, rolling them out, and letting them rise. My Memere is actually the reason I got into baking in the first place. She loved it so much and inspired me every time we baked together. She always used real whole foods in all her baking and cooking and was so strong from all the kneading and beating she did. DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED TO MAKE THESE IF YOU’RE NOT A BAKER!!! Follow the recipe exactly, and they should come out flawless. You have never had a REAL cinnamon roll till you’ve had these babies!

Why THESE are the best cinnamon rolls:

1. The coconut brown sugar glaze

2. The creamy vegan cream cheese icing

3. They are VERY gooey

4. They are much more healthy than your traditional store-bought cinnamon roll

The ingredients in these cinnamon rolls are:

quick rise yeast

sugar

almond milk

vegan butter

pasture-raised eggs

salt

all-purpose flour

water

brown sugar

cinnamon

full fat coconut milk

vegan cream cheese

powdered icing sugar

Fool-Proof Cinnamon Roll Instructions

1. Activate the yeast

Start by warming water on the stove, or simply add lukewarm water from the tap. Approximately 115 degrees F. I rarely use a thermometer, I just ensure that the water is warm to the touch. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If the water is too cold, it won’t activate the yeast. In a small bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Add both packages of yeast to water (do not mix). Put the bowl in the oven with light on (without heat), and let stand until foamy. If it does not foam up, throw it away and start again.

2. Begin making the dough

Cream the vegan butter. Add sugar, warm water, warm almond milk, and salt. Add eggs, ensuring the mixture is not too hot or the eggs will begin to cook. Then add the yeast mixture. Begin adding the flour one cup at a time. Once you have added about 5 cups, the mixture may be too tough to mix with a spatula. Switch to using your hands, and begin kneading the dough. Knead for approximately 8 minutes, until the dough looks smooth and doesn’t fall through your fingers while holding it.

3. Let dough rise

Grease a large bowl all around the sides (bowl must be at least 3 times the size of the dough). Put a clean tee towel over the bowl and put in the oven with the oven light on (again, no heat). Let rise for 1.5-2 hours, until almost tripled in size.

4. Roll out ball of dough

Flour the surface and rolling pin. Cut the dough into 3 equal sections. Roll out the first ball of dough to approximately 14 inches by 9 inches. I use a tape measure to get the measurements accurate. Take a third of the 1/2 cup of vegan butter, and slab it on the dough spreading evenly. Then sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar (a third of the 1.5 cups brown sugar) evenly over the butter. Finish by sprinkling 1 tsp cinnamon over the brown sugar.

5. Rolling up cinnamon rolls

Starting at the long end, roll the dough up as tight as possible. Once it is tight, pinch the ends so the rolls stay together. For bigger cinnamon rolls, like seen below, cut into 2.5 inch pieces. For smaller, cut into 1.5” pieces. I use a tape measure for this step as well so make sure they are even as possible. Use a very sharp knife.

6. Let rise again

Grease a few baking dishes. For the bigger buns I use one round baking cake pan, and one 9 x 13 baking dish. Leave lots of room in between the buns (as seen here) as they will rise a lot. Cover with tee towel and put back into the oven with oven light on. Let them rise again for 60 minutes. They will double or triple in size again.

7. Make the glaze and cream cheese icing

In a medium-size bowl, whisk the full-fat coconut milk, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream together the vegan cream cheese and vegan butter. Add in the icing sugar and vanilla. Put frosting in the refrigerator till the cinnamon buns are cooked.

8. Bake them babies!

Preheat oven to 375F. Pour the coconut milk glaze mixture evenly over the cinnamon rolls. Uncovered, bake the cinnamon rolls for 14-20 minutes. If you like them gooier, like me, bake them for 14 minutes.

9. Invert, Ice and inhale!

Let cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then invert onto a serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls. Lather on the cream cheese icing. Force your friends to try them. This was an all-day baking affair and you should be BRAGGING.

Healthy Cinnamon roll substitutions

Milk

I used almond milk for the bread dough, but any non-dairy milk will work. As for the glaze, I highly recommend using full fat coconut milk. My grandmothers’ original recipe called for thick whipping cream, so I knew it was important that the non-dairy milk was thick and creamy.

Flour

You can substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour if you desire. That is the only other flour I have ever tested, so I would not recommend using any other type.

Sugar

You can also substitute the white sugar with coconut sugar or cane sugar.

NOTES

Be careful when purchasing yeast. This recipe is much quicker and easier when using quick-rise yeast, rather than traditional yeast. It will take much longer for the dough to rise if you use traditional. If your yeast doesn’t bubble or foam, make sure you restart! Your water may have been too hot and would have killed the yeast. Or too cold which would have not activated the yeast. I’d also check your yeast packages for the expiry date, to ensure they have not gone bad.

A Few More Recipes You May Like To Bake Over The Holidays

The Best (Vegan) Christmas Cookies

Maple Glazed Apple Fritters

Upside-Down Pear Gingerbread Cake

Enjoy! Bailey