Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls

[This post is sponsored by my wonderful friends at Bob’s Red Mill! We’re using their Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour for these Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls.]

WHO’S READY TO CELEBRATE?!

Today, December 18th, is a very special day. Not only is it myyyy birthday, it’s Fooduzzi’s birthday, too! 

And I mean, c’mon. Is there a better way to celebrate than with Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls?

I. Think. Not.

I started Fooduzzi on my birthday three years ago with (surprise of all surprises) an oatmeal recipe. The plating was terrible, the lighting was crap, but it’s still one of my all-time favorite posts here on the blog.

Why? Because I did it. The blog I had been dreaming about creating for at least a year became a reality three years ago today.

I feel like I’m kind of a lazy person. I love nothing more than sitting on the couch in front of a Parks & Rec rerun and just vegging out for a couple of hours.

But not three years ago. Three years ago I decided to do. And since then, things have gotten hella delicious:

• We made cookies. Like, a lot of cookies.
• We learned to love quinoa. Even if it’s only when it’s drenched in honey mustard dressing.
• We made fried rice out of chickpeas.
• We made lots of buffalo chickpea recipes.
• We found some yummy ways to make tacos.
• We. Used. A. Ton. Of. Hummus.
• We also made hummus with peanut butter.
• We made colorful and magical foods.
• We made vegan cheese. Twice.
• And we learned how to embrace and love that #plantbasedlyfe.

So today: we celebrate.

Yes, these cinnamon rolls are a gift to me (#selflove) & to Fooduzzi, but more importantly, they’re a gift to you.

Thank you for your support these past three years. Thank you for making my recipes and sharing them with your family. You are all my favorite ever.

OKAY. Let’s get into this seductive cinnamon roll situation, shall we?

Cinnamon rolls. They look super impressive and also kinda scary. Not gonna lie, before I made this recipe, I was all, “I’m going to epically screw this up.” And tbh, I absolutely did the first time. But I battled through and the final result was so much more delicious than I could have anticipated.

If you’ve never made cinnamon rolls before and are a bit nervous, I get it. But once we break it down into three bite-sized pieces, it’ll be a lot more manageable. Pinky promise.

1. The dough. Cinnamon rolls are a yeasted dough, meaning that the leavener is yeast rather than baking soda or baking powder. Yeast is a bit weird because you have to let it get all happy and foamy in some warm water + a pinch of sugar.

Let’s nerd-out for a sec. This foamy/happy yeast is actually performing a cool chemical reaction. Yeast likes to munch on sugar (uh, who doesn’t), and once it metabolizes the sugar, the yeast produces CO2 and alcohol, giving our delightful baked good its lift.

This is all to say that yeast isn’t scary. Once you add it to your water/sugar mixture, it literally just sits there and does its thing. You can do this.

Our other dough ingredients are pretty self-explanatory for a cinnamon roll recipe: sugar, vegan butter, Organic Unbleached White All Purpose Flour Bob’s Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour (affiliate link) (the same stuff we used in these!), almond milk, and egg replacer. I used Bob’s Red Mill Vegan Egg Replacer here, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the results. This egg replacer is the best; I always have it on-hand for cookies, rolls, breads, etc. I have a feeling it can be replaced in this recipe with 2 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill arrowroot flour + 4 Tbsp. water OR 2 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill flaxseed meal + 4 Tbsp. water. I haven’t tried either yet, but I intend to! If you try it, let us know how it goes in the comments.

Once you mix all of the ingredients together, you let the dough rise for an hour in a warm area.

Dough: done.

2. The filling. THE most important part of this whole cinnamon roll process, right? You only need three ingredients for the filling: brown sugar, cinnamon, and…peanut butter. Yes, these rolls are stuffed with PEANUT BUTTER. Can you even?

In your normal, everyday cinnamon roll recipe, regular ol’ butter takes the place of the peanut butter. But we’re celebrating you today, friend. Let’s jazz it up.

Once you roll your dough out (no need to buy a rolling pin if you don’t have one – I used a wine bottle), you spread on the peanut butter and sprinkle with your brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Then you roll the dough tight.

Filling: finished.

3. The glaze. After you bake the rolls (they take less than 30 minutes!!!), you mix up the glaze ingredients: powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and almond milk. You can drizzle it on top of the slightly cooled cinnamon rolls OR drizzle it on top of each cinnamon roll individually. Or both, with mini chocolate chips on top. I deeeeefinitely wouldn’t know what that’s like or anything.

Glaze: good to go.

These rolls are a pretty wonderful way to celebrate if I do say so myself, so I hope you can share them with the people you love this holiday!

Enjoy, friends! Here’s to another delicious plant-based year.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cinnamon Rolls

From Fooduzzi at https://www.fooduzzi.com/2017/12/vegan-chocolate-peanut-butter-cinnamon-rolls/

https://www.fooduzzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/vegan-chocolate-peanut-butter-cinnamon-rolls-5.jpg

Prep: 30m

Cook: 30m

Yield: 10-12 rolls

Total: 1h 0m

Soft and pillowy cinnamon rolls...with a chocolate peanut butter twist! These vegan cinnamon rolls are beyond delicious, and perfect for breakfast or dessert!

You'll Need...

• DOUGH:
• 2 and 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
• 1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Vegan Egg Replacer*
• 5 Tbsp. room temperature vegan butter**
• pinch salt
• 3 and 1/2 cups+ Bob's Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup room temperature unsweetened almond milk
• FILLING:
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter, melted
• GLAZE:
• 6 Tbsp. powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa/cacao powder
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened almond milk
• pinch salt (optional)
• vegan mini chocolate chips if you really want to celebrate

Directions

1. DOUGH: Add your yeast, warm water, and a tiny pinch of sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5-10 minutes for the yeast to proof. It'll get nice and foamy and delicious-smelling in that time.
2. In another small bowl, mix your egg replacer and 4 Tbsp. water. Set aside to set up for a minute.
3. Add the rest of your sugar, egg replacer mixture, vegan butter, salt, and flour to a stand mixer with the hook attachment, and turn the speed to low just to combine everything.
4. Add your yeast mixture and your almond milk, and mix on low, increasing the speed to medium when the flour starts to incorporate into the liquid. Mix only until your ingredients are combined. The dough should form one cohesive ball and only slightly sticky. If it's too sticky, add more flour.
5. Add your dough to a greased (I used a bit of canola oil) bowl, cover with a clean towel, and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. I like to run my microwave empty for 2 minutes, then open the door and stick my dough in the warmed microwave. You don't want to run the microwave with the dough in there.
6. FILLING: Meanwhile, combine your brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Mix well to combine.
7. After your dough has risen, roll it onto a lightly floured surface and into a 16" x 12" rectangle. Spread on your melted peanut butter using a spatula. Spread it all the way to the sides. Sprinkle with your brown sugar / cinnamon mixture.
8. Roll the dough up from the long side so that you have 1 long, rolled log. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 10" cake pan*** OR a 9" x 13" baking pan with vegan butter or oil.
9. Cut your log into 12 pieces (cut into thirds, then cut those thirds in half, then cut those halves in half) with a super sharp knife, taking care not to squash the rolls. Place each roll in your baking pan, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
10. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool on a cooling rack
11. GLAZE: Whisk your glaze ingredients in a small bowl; it should be thick but pourable. When your rolls have cooled for about 30 minutes, pour glaze on top OR cut into rolls and glaze each roll individually. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if desired. Enjoy immediately!

Additional Notes

*This egg replacer is wonderful; it's great for cookies, rolls, breads, etc. I have a feeling it can be replaced in this recipe with 2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill arrowroot flour + 4 Tbsp. water OR 2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill flaxseed meal + 4 Tbsp. water. I haven't tried it, but I intend to! If you try it, let us know how it goes in the comments.
**I suspect you can also use room temperature coconut oil here. I suggest to use a refined version for minimal coconut flavor. Again, I haven't tried it, but I will.
***I used a cake pan, and I only had room for 10 rolls. I typically don't use either end of the cinnamon roll log because they're usually really weird looking. If that's the case for you, I cut the two rolls into 4 chunks each, rolled each chunk in a ball, rolled it in more brown sugar, and then stuck them all in a small greased ramekin. Once you bake it for 20ish minutes, it's like peanut butter monkey bread! If you don't want to go through that trouble, either discard the two extra rolls, bake them in their own separate pan, or use the 9" x 13" baking pan.
Recipe adapted from Jo Cooks!

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A special thanks goes to Bob’s Red Mill for sponsoring this post! Check out more delicious healthy recipes, snag coupons, and find stores near you at BobsRedMill.com!

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