Description
Have been dreaming of an orange flavored cinnamon rolls for the longest time, and these soft and super flavorful buns are perfection. These are oil free and have a lot less sugar than traditional recipes.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange
Filling
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
Orange Tahini Glaze
- 3 tbsp tahini
- juice of half an orange
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
For Baking
- 2 tbsp unsweetened almond or coconut milk
Instructions
Dough
- Using a microwave safe mug, add milk and place in microwave for 20 seconds. Double check that milk is warm and not scalding hot.
- Add packet of yeast into the cup and allow to set for 5 minutes (do not mix).
- While waiting for the yeast, add flour, sugar, orange zest and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Stir together then add yeast and vanilla extract once timer for yeast goes off.
- Fold ingredients together to begin forming a rough dough. Feel free to use clean, slightly wet hands to help this process along.
- Place rough dough on a clean working surface and begin kneading dough with your hands. Knead dough for at least 5 minutes to work the gluten.
- Place dough ball in a bowl and cover with a cloth. Allow dough to double in size undisturbed for at least 1 hour in a warm area.
Filling
- Once time elapses, you can take your dough and place it on a clean, floured working surface.
- Using a rolling pin, flatten dough into a 1/4 inch thin rectangular shape.
- Once you achieve a thin rectangular shape with the dough, use a silicone brush or back of a spoon and brush entire surface of the dough with maple syrup.
- Evenly sprinkle sugar over top of the surface of the dough. Next sprinkle the cinnamon in the same fashion. Lastly, sprinkle the chopped walnuts on the surface of the dough as well. Use hands to spread toppings evenly to any blank or empty spaces.
- Carefully begin to roll the dough tightly into a long log shape.
- Using a sharp knife, cut the log into 12 individual pieces. Place the rolls in a baking dish, allowing a little space between the rolls.
- Place a cloth over the baking dish and allow to rise for another hour in a warm area.
Orange Tahini Glaze
- Feel free to make the orange tahini glaze at this time. Add tahini and orange juice to a small bowl and stir to fully combine. Add in maple syrup and vanilla extract to loosen it up. If too thick, feel free to add small amounts of milk or water to it to thin out as desired.
Baking the Buns
- Before the hour is up, preheat oven to 350F.
- Uncover cinnamon rolls and place in the oven for 6 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and lightly baste the outside of the rolls with a little milk. Then place the rolls back into the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly for 5-10 minutes, add glaze and enjoy.
Notes
- For a richer dough, feel free to add 2 tbsp of coconut cream or melted vegan butter to the dough.
- Buns will become firmer as they cool. If you want the buns to become soft again, reheat buns as desired by sticking in the microwave for 15 seconds to soften.
- If you don’t care to add whole wheat pastry flour, replace with equal parts all purpose flour.
- If you dislike the taste of tahini, this works really well with cashew butter as well.
- Why whole wheat pastry flour? It helps add fiber without making the buns super dense. You can also decide to use only all purpose flour, in which case use 2 cups of all purpose flour and omit the whole wheat pastry flour.