Christmastime is all about traditions! One tradition my family holds near and dear is that, on Christmas Eve, a sweet treat is prepared to be enjoyed the following morning while opening presents. It’s always one of two things: donuts or cinnamon rolls. This year it will be the latter of those two and that recipe is what I’m going to be sharing with y’all today!
Now, of course, it’s hardly ever the same recipe from year to year whether it be donuts or cinnamon rolls. I am, after all, a person who likes to get creative in the kitchen. So this year, I decided to do cinnamon rolls with apples in them and a light, lovely “cream cheese” icing rather than a heavy frosting -although I do love a good frosting! The whole apples and cinnamon rolls combination thing is a match made in Heaven -which makes sense because pretty much every sweet apple recipe out there, including my own apple cake, has spices of some kind in it!
It all gets started with some warm water, white sugar, brown sugar, and a packet of yeast. These things get combined and then they get left alone for about 10 minutes so that the yeast can bloom. While the yeast is blooming, now is the perfect time to get some “butter” melted down -we’re gonna need 4 tablespoons of the stuff. It’s also a good time to prepare the Ener-G Egg Replacer, according to the instructions on the box, for 1 egg.
After the yeast has been allowed to bloom for about 10 minutes, the melted “butter” and the egg replacer you prepared a moment ago can get added along with a little apple cider vinegar and just a bit of salt. Stir to combine then it’s time to add some flour. You’re going to start with 2 cups of flour and then, should you need more (and you probably will), you’re going to add more flour, 2 tablespoons at a time. My dough required the 2 initial cups plus about 6 more tablespoons of flour to come together as you see below. When the dough has come together, place a towel over the bowl and set it somewhere to rise for 2 hours.
After 2 hours has passed, grab a round cake pan and generously grease it. Set your prepared pan aside for a moment. Next, the green apples required for the rolls can be washed, peeled, cored, and then cut up into 1/4″-1/3″ cubes. Set these aside for a moment.
On a large pastry board or your clean and dry counter top, sprinkle out some flour and then turn out your dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular-ish shape about 9 inches wide and 13 inches long. Over top of your rolled out dough, room temperature “butter” gets smeared and then brown sugar gets sprinkled on. Then, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice join the party and, last but not least, the apple cubes you cut earlier get tossed into the mix. Once the apple cubes are on, give them a gentle pat with the palms of your hands so that they hunker down into the dough a little better.
Beginning on the longer side closest to you, start rolling up the dough as tightly as you can without squishing everything out. Continue to roll the dough away from you until you have reached the end of the rectangular-ish shape. If the ends of this log o’ dough are perhaps a little thin or wonky, feel free to cut those off. To cut the rolls, cut the dough in half and then continue to halve the remaining sections until you have 8 even rolls cut.
Place your rolls into the pan you prepared earlier and then cover them tightly with plastic cling wrap. If you’re making these beauties overnight, place the covered pan into your fridge and then, in the morning, remove the pan from the fridge and let the rolls rest on the counter for 1 hour prior to baking. If you want to enjoy these rolls on the same day, let them rest for 45-60 minutes on the counter, or until doubled, and then bake them off. Either way, the temperature and time remains the same -the oven should be preheated to 350 degrees and the rolls should bake for 25-28 minutes. When the rolls are done, they will need to cool slightly before you can ice them.
Either while the rolls are baking or while they’re cooling slightly after baking, make the icing by combining “cream cheese” with almond milk, powdered sugar, and some vanilla in a bowl. Beat these ingredients together with a hand mixer and then, when ready to serve the cinnamon rolls, pour the icing on top of them evenly.
Vegan Apple Cinnamon Rolls With 'Cream Cheese' Icing
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed + 4 tablespoons brown sugar, packed (for filling)
- 1 packet active dry original yeast
- 4 tablespoons vegan “butter,” melted + 3 tablespoons vegan “butter,” room temperature (for filling)
- Ener-G Egg Replacer for 1 egg (follow instructions on box)
- 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see step 2 for details) + more for rolling out dough
- 1 1/2 green apples, washed, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4″-1/3″ cubes
- 2 generous teaspoons cinnamon
- Nutmeg to taste
- Cloves to taste
- Allspice to taste
- 4 tablespoon vegan “cream cheese”
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the warm water with white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and yeast. Stir gently to combine then let this mixture rest for about 10 minutes so that the yeast can bloom. While the yeast is blooming, melt 4 tablespoons of “butter” and prepare the Ener-G, according to the instructions on the box for 1 egg, if you haven’t done these things already.
- After the yeast has been allowed to bloom, add to the yeast mixture the melted “butter,” prepared Ener-G, apple cider vinegar, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the flour to this liquid mixture starting with 2 cups. Should you need more (and you probably will), add more flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until the dough comes together. (My dough required the 2 initial cups plus about 6 more tablespoons of flour.) When the dough has come together, place a towel over the bowl and set it somewhere to rise for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours has passed, grab a round cake pan and generously grease it. Set your prepared pan aside. Also, prepare the green apples required, if you haven’t done so already, by washing them, peeling them, coring them, and then cutting them up into 1/4″-1/3″ cubes. Set these aside for a moment. On a large pastry board or your clean and dry counter top, sprinkle out some flour and then turn out your dough. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangular-ish shape about 9 inches wide and 13 inches long. Over top of your rolled out dough, 3 tablespoons of room temperature “butter” get smeared on. Next, sprinkle across the dough evenly 4 tablespoons of brown sugar, the cinnamon, and then the nutmeg, cloves, and allspice to taste. Lastly, the apple cubes go on. Give those a gentle pat with the palms of your hands so that they secure into the top of the dough a little.
- To roll the dough up, begin on the longer side closest to you and start rolling the dough away from you as tightly as you can without squishing everything out. Continue to roll the dough until you have reached the end of the rectangular-ish shape. If the ends of this dough roll are perhaps a little thin or wonky, feel free to cut those off. To cut the rolls, cut the dough roll in half and then continue to halve the remaining sections until you have 8 even rolls cut. Place your rolls into the pan you prepared earlier and then cover them tightly with plastic cling wrap.
- If baking the rolls the next day, place the covered pan into your fridge and then, in the morning, remove the pan from the fridge and let the rolls rest on the counter for 1 hour prior to baking -get the oven preheated while they are resting on the counter. If making the rolls on the same day, let the rolls rest in their covered pan at room temperature for 45-60 minutes, or until doubled in size, then bake them off. Whether making the next day or the same day, the temperature and time remains the same -the oven should be preheated to 350 degrees and the rolls should bake for 25-28 minutes. When the rolls are done, let them cool slightly outside of the pan for about 10-15 minutes before icing.
- Either while the rolls are baking or while they’re cooling slightly after baking, make the icing by combining “cream cheese” with almond milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Beat these ingredients together with a hand mixer and then, when ready to serve the cinnamon rolls, pour the icing on top of them evenly. Cinnamon rolls will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. To reheat, if desired, microwave a single roll for 15-20 seconds.
Compassion is the Secret Ingredient 
Nice recipe
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