Cinnamon Swirl Rolls

I did not drink at all on St. Patrick's day. This will come as no surprise to you. But, If I had, it would have explained why I woke up this morning craving greasy breakfast foods. Fortunately, I do not own a deep fryer, or I may have gone down that path. Instead, I settled on testing out this recipe but wanted to add yeast to make rolls (I am trying to improve my yeasted basking skills and practice makes perfect, apparently). What resulted was a Cinnamon Swirl Roll.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have bothered going through the rising process that adding yeast demands. The end texture is lighter than a regular muffin (especially considering the wholewheat flour)-- but not worth the two hours of delayed gratification, in my opinion. Further experimentation on this one to come- but the recipe is below for you to improve upon (or just use the link above, because that woman is a genius).

Cinnamon Swirl Rolls

Ingredients:

2 + 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

optional; 1/8 teaspoon star anise and/or cardamom

1 package active dry yeast (7 grams or 0.25 oz)

1/4 cup non-dairy milk

3/4 cup coconut milk cream (the thick cream from the top of a can of full fat coconut milk before you shake it. You could probably use sour cream or yogurt as well)

1/4 cup orange juice (or you could use the coconut milk below the cream)

4 tbsp sugar or sugar substitute (I used sucanat)

Cinnamon Sugar Mix (I used a around 1/3 cup)

Directions:

Combine all the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder in a large bowl. Mix well and set aside.

In a sauce pan, combine the non dairy milk, coconut milk cream, orange juice and sugar over low heat. Whisk it together until the coconut cream is dissolved, and make sure it does not boil or get too hot (your yeast will die). Turn the heat off and add the active dry yeast.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and combine well. Cover the bowl with a warm, damp rag and leave it alone to rise for an hour.

Lightly oil a muffin tin. Sprinkle 2 tsp of cinnamon sugar into each empty muffin cup bottom. Add your dough to each cup, filling about 3/4 full. Then, sprinkle 1 tsp cinnamon sugar over top. Cover again and let sit for another hour to rise again.

Bake them at 190 C (375 F) for 15-25 minutes, until they are nicely brown. Eat with a hot cup of tea or coffee!