Cinnamon Rolls

FIrst off, I apologize ahead of time... you will become addicted to these and eat way more than you should.  Ok, now you can't say I didn't warn you!

I call these cinnamon rolls, my "redemption rolls!"  Why, you ask?  I set out to make cinnamon rolls for a Christmas morning treat for my family.  I got up super early, slaved away in the kitchen, cleaned up the huge mess (p.s. there is a mess to be made, just another friendly warning), put the rolls in the oven, and... YUCK-O!!!  They were hard, not very flavorful and all together disappointing.  So, I made it my mission to redeem myself, and I did!  Thanks to my talented friend, I was able to make some deliciousness!

Here is my adaptation of her sticky bun recipe:

2 1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 c. sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 room temperature egg
warm water, roughly 110 degrees (about 1 cup)
3 c. flour (I used 1/2 spelt and it worked great... next round I will try all spelt)
3 T. evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp oil
1/4 c. room temperature earth balance vegan butter (or reg. dairy butter)
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/3 c. evaporated cane juice (sugar)
1/4 c. melted earth balance (butter)
1/2 c. sucanat (brown sugar)

glaze (optional)
powdered sugar
soy milk

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine, 1/4 c. sucanat (brown sugar), and yeast.  Crack an egg into a glass measuring cup and whisk gently.  Add enough warm water to the egg to fill it to 1 1/4 cups.  Pour this water/egg mixture over the yeast and sugar, cover and set aside for 15 minutes.

In a mixer, fitted with a dough hook, add in flour, sugar and salt.  Whisk to combine.  Slowly add in the yeast/water mixture and oil.  Mix with dough hook until the dough forms a ball and comes together.  (I had to add a smidge more flour to help mine form a ball).  Place dough ball into a well oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm area.  It needs to rise until it doubles in size.

Flour a flat work surface and place risen dough on it.  With lightly floured hands, flatten out dough until it is roughly a 12x18 rectangle.  Spread room temp butter over dough and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar. Now it's time to roll!  You are going to roll it into a long log, so take the long edge that is nearest to you and roll it backwards.  To cut the rolls, start by using a sharp knife and make a mark in the middle of the roll.  And from there, mark off 12-14 spots to cut.  I found it best to gently saw back and forth instead of pressing down and smooshing the roll.

Pour melted butter in a 9x13 dish and sprinkle with remaining sucanat (brown sugar).  Place the rolls in dish so that you see the spiral and leave a little space between each roll.  Let them rise in a warm area for about 30 minutes.

Place rolls in a preheated to 375 degree oven and bake for 25 or until golden brown.  While they are baking, whip up the glaze by adding roughly 1 cup powdered sugar to a bowl and about 1/2 cup soy milk.  Whisk until smooth.  These measurements are approximate, you may need to add more sugar if it looks a little runny.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, wax paper or foil and turn rolls over onto it.  Once they have cooled a tad, drizzle glaze over them.  Ready, set, go...  DIG IN!!!