Raspberry Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls {Vegan}

If you’ve ready any of my posts from the last few months, you probably know that combining dessert and breakfast is one of my favorite things. Pancakes, waffles, scones, and muffins are all excuses to eat sugary carbs in the morning and call it a meal, and I stand by that excuse wholeheartedly at least once a weekend.

When I started my one month vegan challenge a little over a week ago, all these haters (really just my family) asked how I would last a month with no butter or eggs in my breakfast and dessert. Well, to the skeptics I present this: flaky, buttery (tasting), just sweet enough with a touch of raspberry tartness and a warm hint of brown sugar and cinnamon…rolls. Unfortunately that description runs a tad long for the title field in WordPress, but now you truly know what we’re dealing with.

Although I love cinnamon rolls, they only occasionally make my breakfast/dessert lineup because they are a bit tedious. These rolls take about 20 minutes longer than my Speedy Cinnamon Rolls, because I wanted to give them a little extra time for their initial rise due to the higher ratio of whole wheat flour. Don’t let that keep you from making these though, because nothing feels cozier or more satisfying than curling up with some tea and a big homemade cinnamon roll.

For the icing I simply whisked together some powdered sugar, almond milk, and vanilla. Cream cheese frosting would be a phenomenal topper as well, so if you have a vegan cream cheese icing recipe that you love, feel free to slather that on (and share it with me, please!).

Whether you’re vegan or not, get up just a tad early so you can sink your teeth into some sweet spiraled layers of “breakfast” – you won’t regret it.

I think I could get used to this vegan thing.

Print Recipe

Vegan Raspberry Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls

Flaky, buttery vegan breakfast rolls that are perfectly sweet with a touch of raspberry tartness and a warm hint of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Yield: 8-9 rolls

Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Vegan Sweet Roll Dough

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan buttery spread
• 2 and a ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 (1/4 ounce) package Rapid Rise or Instant yeast
• ¼ cup vegan brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 "flax egg" - 1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water

Raspberry Cinnamon Filling

• 10-ounces frozen raspberries
• ¼ cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Icing

• 2-2 and a ½ cups powdered sugar (depending on desired consistency)
• 3-4 tablespoons unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat the almond milk in a small saucepan over medium heat just until it starts to bubble on top. Remove from heat and whisk in ¼ cup of the buttery spread, cut into chunks, until melted. Set aside and let cool to a lukewarm temperature while you get the dry ingredients together
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together whole wheat pastry flour, yeast, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder. Beat in the vanilla, flax egg, and the lukewarm milk/buttery spread mixture.
3. Add the all-purpose flour in two waves, stirring well with a wooden spoon after each addition. Once you have a loose dough, either use a knead hook in your mixer for about 3 minutes, or knead on a lightly-floured surface until smooth (about 5 minutes). This sounds gross, but you want the the dough to feel just a bit softer than your ear lobe when you pinch it (I know, what?).
4. Cover the dough with a damp paper towel and let rest for 25-30 minutes, until it holds its shape when poked.
5. While the dough is resting, heat the raspberry, brown sugar, water and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and stir for 6-7 minutes (It will thicken in this time). Set aside to cool*.
6. Use a rolling pin to create a 16x12 inch rectangle with the dough. Lightly brush the dough with the remaining melted buttery spread, then spoon the raspberry mixture evenly over the entire dough. Carefully roll up the dough. Some of the raspberry mixture will be squeezed out, but that's okay. Pinch the seam to seal. I usually cut off the end pieces, as it seems unfair that someone would get stuck with the runt of the bunch. Cut the remaining dough into 8-9 rolls (depending on how big you want them). I used a cheese knife to cut mine, as the dough is quite soft**.
7. Place rolls cut-side-up in a greased 9-inch cake or pie pan, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for another 30-minutes.
8. Set the oven to preheat to 375.
9. After the dough has risen, put the rolls in the oven for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top.
10. While the rolls are baking, mix almond milk and vanilla into the powdered sugar. You can adjust the levels to get the consistency you want.
11. Drizzle the icing on top of the warm rolls. Best served warm!

* I did not strain the raspberry sauce, because I knew the seeds wouldn’t bother myself or The Beast. I honestly barely noticed them, but if you think they will bother you go ahead and strain the sauce.

** Don’t be afraid that the dough is soft; Some of the rolls may feel like they’re falling apart as you’re cutting and transferring them to the pan, but you can easily shape them back into a circle if they get a little funky. I had to do that, and mine still ended up pretty.