Ooey gooey, sticky sweet, moist and magical recipe to share. If you are in the mood for something decadent, a super special, indulgent morning (or after dinner dessert) treat, these vegan Pumpkin pecan Cinnamon Rolls with a Ginger Cream Cheese Glaze are for you. My vegan recipe ahead..
I want to dive into these vegan Cinnamon Rolls. Fork first. Fluffy swirls of pumpkin buns infused with thick cinnamon sugar pecan filling. Those moist, flaky swirls slathered in a vegan cream cheese ginger glaze. A steaming hot Pumpkin Spice Latte on the side. Someone to share this special AM treat with too. Mornings can't really get any better, can they? Dive into cinnamon rolls with me...
I haven't made cinnamon rolls in a while. So when a craving for pumpkin cinnamon rolls hit I knew I had to whip some up. There are so many gorgeous fall-inspired pumpkin cinnamon rolls around the blogosphere right now .. but most of them not so vegan. So vegan rolls it is!..
Or keep the rolls as is. 🙂
Pumpkin Pecan Cinnamon Rolls, Ginger Cream Cheese Glaze
vegan, makes 7-8 rolls in a 9" inch cake pan
Pumpkin Cinnamon Dough
½ cup pumpkin puree, canned/unsweetened
2 ½ cups white flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 ¼ cups warm water
1 packet yeast
½ cup vegan shortening, melted
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
*extra white flour as needed to handle, knead and roll out dough
Pecan Cinnamon Sugar Filling
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup pecans, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla bean granules - or extract
½ cup vegan butter, melted
Ginger Cream Cheese Glaze
1 ½ teaspoon ginger powder
1 cup vegan cream cheese
½ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup vegan butter, melted
½ cup soy creamer
2-4 tablespoon powdered sugar to thicken as desired (add last, by hand with sifter)
Note on "decadence" - you can certainly alter the amount of "fat" you put into these rolls. If you'd like to cut back a tad on the vegan butter and/or shortening - go for it. The texture will dry out a tad, but they will still be tasty. A few fat replacer ideas:
* in the frosting, sub out some of the vegan butter for some vegan soy yogurt or more vegan cream cheese.
* in the dough, sub out some of the vegan shortening for more pumpkin puree or soy yogurt.
Vegan butter vs vegan shortening. My recipe calls for both. I found that the shortening makes for a 'lighter' roll texture. However, if you'd like to only use vegan butter you can (just omit the added salt). I found this nice explanation on "butter vs. shortening" in baking here (same idea applies to vegan ingredients as she describes).
Directions:
1. Start on the dough about 3 hours before you want to eat your rolls. Combine the warm water with the yeast. Stir well to dissolve. Add to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the melted shortening. Add in 1 cup of flour, sugar, pumpkin and salt. Using a hand mixer, beat on low until smooth. Fold in the remaining flour with a spoon - until it is barely sticky to touch. Roll into a ball - knead gently for a minute. Place the dough in a floured mixing bowl. Cover with a clean towel and place in a high warm spot. Let rise for about 2 hours.
2. Prepare the cinnamon pecan filling. Combing the sugar with the vegan butter. Stir in the pecans and spices. Mixture should be thick yet spreadable. If too thick, add in more vegan butter - or a splash of oil. Set aside.
*preheat oven to 400 degrees*
3. After the dough has risen for 2 hours, roll it out onto a clean well-floured surface with a rolling pin. Roll out very thin - about ⅓" thick. Spread the pecan mixture over the entire area of the dough. I had a nice 20" x 10" area (roughly). See my photos..
4. Roll the dough tightly and slice into 1 ½ inch thick rolls. Place the rolls about ⅛" apart in a 9" cake pan - greased. Optional: add a few dots of vegan butter for extra moist roll tops.
5. Bake at 400 for 25-35 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clean from center bun. Do not overcook. Allow rolls to cool and continue setting in the pan for at least 20 minutes before applying glaze.
6. To make glaze, combine all ingredients and beat until smooth with a hand mixer. Using a sifter, hand fold in the powdered sugar until you reach a thickness that you like. I added about 2 tablespoon powdered sugar. You can also add in another sprinkle of ginger for a more intense glaze. Pour over rolls. Chill leftovers.
Serve and enjoy!!
Katie @ Produce on Parade says
Holy smokes these look absolutely wonderful! Wow. Thanks for sharing! Lovely as always 🙂
Kathy Patalsky says
Yay! 🙂
Sarah Caszatt Sigsbee says
These are in the oven as I type and they smell amazing! I cannot wait until they come out and cool a little so I can try one! Awesome recipe Kathy! Thanks for being you 🙂
Sarah Caszatt Sigsbee says
Yes it is. Actually, even though I have canned pumpkin at my store I prefer to buy the whole pumpkin and baking it myself. I believe you get more out of it the more time you take to make them 🙂
Mary says
Thanks so much Sarah 🙂
Sarah Caszatt Sigsbee says
No problem 🙂 Glad I could help!
Mary says
We don't have pureed pumpkin in cans available in Australia. Is it just the same as baking pumpkin then mashing or beating it?
Julie says
I made these this morning for a special Sunday morning breakfast. I got up an hour later than I wanted so 'breakfast' became more 'brunch' but it was so worth the extra effort and time. My honey is not vegan and is not crazy about pumpkin but I am both and thought I could make this fly. This is my first kneaded dough and although I could do without the 2 hour rise time, I found the dough really easy to work with. Hubby really liked it even with the vegan cream cheese frosting and pumpkin in the dough and I was so pleased with how moist it was.
I don't know how Kathy got all eight rolls in a pan. I rarely do but this time I followed the directions for the most part. My only changes were I used coconut oil for the vegan shortening and only used 1/2 tsp of ground ginger in the glaze. My dough ingredient amounts were the same, however my rolls were so large I had to bake in separate pans, 4 rolls to an 8 inch pan. Next time I'll divide the dough before rolling out and roll a bit thinner giving me about 16 rolls. (I'll freeze half!) I'll double the brown sugar-pecan filling and thicken the frosting a bit more. My husband is not a huge fan of cinnamon either but said the filling could use a bit more spice. Maybe next time I'll add a bit of pumpkin pie spice or ginger to the filling. A beautiful special occasion breakfast! Impressive. Thank you, Kathy! I love your recipes!
Kathy Patalsky says
Earth balance
Elizabeth Lacey says
WHAT brand vegan butter and vegan shortening is used here? do they contain palm oil? thanks!
Kathy Patalsky says
White flour will make very sticky compared to whole wheat. But adding flour should resolve the sticky dough problem. Flour will always dry out dough.
Morghan says
I am just now switching to eating vegetarian and found this recipe and thought it sounded delicious. I am in the process of making them right now for my demonstration speech I am giving tomorrow. I am excited to see how they turn out!
Kathy Patalsky says
2 1/2 tsp is one packet
Kat says
These look amazing! Just one question: How much is in one packet of yeast? Thank you. Can't wait to make these 🙂
Phebe says
Oops, I see you said the measurement in cups. Somehow I read that wrong!
Phebe says
How big of a can of pumpkin did you use?
Eileen Blanchefleur says
Can I make the dough overnight and then go to school come back around 3:00 and continue with the rolls?