Vegan Speculoos Cinnamon Rolls

Ring in the holiday season with an even more decadent, delicious, and festive kind of cinnamon roll.

These Vegan Speculoos Cinnamon Rolls have a pillowy soft yeasted dough that's filled with an ooey-gooey cinnamon and speculoos filling and topped with a vegan speculoos cream cheese frosting and chopped candied almonds.

Ingredients

Makes 8-10

Dough

• 1 cup (237 ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk (I recommend soy), warmed but not hot

• 1/4 cup (55 g) sugar

• 17 g fresh yeast or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter, melted but not hot

• 2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract

Filling

• 3 tablespoons vegan butter, softened

• 1/2 cup (130 g) speculoos cookie spread

• 1/4 cup (85 g) brown sugar, loosely packed

• 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon

Topping (pre-baking)

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened dairy-free milk

Topping (post-baking)

• 1/4 cup (57 g) vegan cream cheese

• 1/4 cup (65 g) speculoos cookie spread

• 1/2 cup (50 g) powdered sugar, sifted

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened dairy-free milk

• Optional: handful of candied almonds, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Combine the warmed dairy-free milk and sugar. Gently mix in the yeast and let sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center and add in the milk-sugar-yeast mixture, melted (but no longer hot) vegan butter, and vanilla. The dough should be sticky.

3. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and knead for about 8 minutes. Whenever the dough starts to stick to the surface or your hands, sprinkle on a little more flour. By the time you're done kneading, the dough should be smooth in texture and no longer sticky.

4. Transfer the kneaded dough to a lightly-buttered bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Set the bowl in a warm area and let rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

5. In the meantime, mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.

6. On a lightly-floured work surface, use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a 12x7 inch (30x18 cm) rectangle. The dough should be around .25 inch (.6 cm) thick.

7. Spread on the filling, evenly covering the dough.

8. Roll the dough into a log lengthwise, and cut into 1.5 inch (4 cm) rolls. This should make about 8-10 rolls.

9. Place the rolls in a lightly-buttered baking dish and cover with a damp tea towel. Let them rise in a warm area for about 30-40 minutes.

10. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C. While the rolls are proofing and the oven is preheating, let's prep the topping. Make a frosting by whisking together the vegan cream cheese, sifted powdered sugar, speculoos cookie spread, and dairy-free milk. Set aside.

11. Brush the rolls with the dairy-free milk. Then bake them for about 20-25 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

12. Once removed from the oven, let the rolls cool down for a few minutes then top them with the frosting and optional chopped candied almonds. Enjoy!

Lots of love,

Ashley