Adopt-A-Turkey Project

I know this isn’t a recipe; but, I wanted to take a few minutes to post about the Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A-Turkey Project. For a one-time $25 donation, you can help save a turkey this Thanksgiving. More than 1,000 turkeys have been rescued by Farm Sanctuary since 1986.

Please take a minute, look over the site, and think about it.

I wish you all a holiday filled with love and peace!

Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

Finally! My first post! I have to say this is a really good one.  I’m new to making my own bread so I was a little overwhelmed with this recipe for cinnamon rolls. I was surprised to find out it wasn’t difficult at all.

This recipe came from VeganYumYum - a site I have grown to love. I’ve never made anything from this blog that wasn’t wonderful.

My suggestion would be to make these cinnamon rolls ahead of time, maybe the night before you want to serve them. Take them out in the morning and let them rise for about an hour before baking. Or, you could make them and then freeze before allowing to rise. That’s what I did with this batch. I took them out of the freezer and put them in the refrigerator the night before I wanted to bake them. The following morning I put them on the counter to rise and warm to room temperature for about an hour. They were amazing!

We had some left over so I froze those individually. They’re great for a special treat through the week when you don’t feel like baking. About 40 seconds in the microwave and they are just right – warm, gooey and sweet!!! Great for a cold, rainy November day!

Have fun with this recipe. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is. I didn’t change a thing from the original recipe (except that I used my KitchenAid stand mixer rather than kneading by hand) and it all turned out perfectly.

Perfect Cinnamon Buns from http://veganyumyum.com/index.php?s=cinnamon
Makes 12 Large Buns

Yeast Mixture
4 tsp Active Dry Yeast (a little less than 2 packets)
1 tsp Sugar
1 Cup Water, 110º F

Dough
1 Cup Soymilk
2/3 Cup Sugar
2/3 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
2 tsp Salt
2 Ener-g Egg Replacer Eggs, prepared, optional
Yeast Mixture, from above
6 Cups All Purpose Flour, more for kneading

Dough Filling
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Margarine, melted
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
3 Tbs Cinnamon

Pan Sauce
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Margarine, melted
1/3 Cup Sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 Cup Earth Balance
1/3 Cup Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Combine yeast mixture and set aside to proof.

From the dough ingredients, combine the soymilk, sugar, earth balance, salt, and ener-g eggs in a small sauce pan. Heat until earth balance is melted and all the ingredients are well combined, but do not let the mixture get too hot. You should be able to put a finger in it without burning yourself.

The yeast should now be nice and foamy (proofed). Combine it with the warmed liquid you just made; make sure it’s not too hot, or you will kill your yeast.

Place 4 cups of all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Add the warmed wet ingredients.

Beat the batter well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be very wet and liquid, much more like a batter than a dough.

Add 2 more cups of flour and mix in partially. It’ll look like a wreck. That’s fine! Turn out the dough onto a large table/kneading surface, scraping out everything in the bowl.

Begin kneading, gently at first. It’s going to take about 8 minutes to get the dough where it needs to be. Add more flour only if the dough starts sticking to the table and there is no more dry flour to be worked into the dough. You want the dough to end up smooth and elastic, and slightly tacky, but not sticky. You should be able to knead it on a bare table without it sticking.

Here is a video of the kneading and cutting process, so you can see the stages the dough goes through.

Once the dough is ready, place it in an oiled bowl, covered with oiled plastic wrap, to rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot. If you’re lacking a warm spot, turn your oven on low for 1 minute, then turn it off and place the dough in the oven to rise with the door closed. Remember to turn the oven off after one minute, and remember the dough is in there — no preheating for other things! (I’ve made that mistake more than once, it’s never good.)

Once the dough has risen completely, it’ll leave a little dent when you poke it. If it springs back, it needs more time.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and press it down (this is part is in the video above). You want it press or roll it out into a 15 x 20 inch rectangle. You can use a roller if you want, but it’s not necessary.

Pour the 1/2 cup of melted earth balance on the dough. Brush it so the dough is covered completely. It’s okay if it pools in some locations.

Mix together the cinnamon and sugar from the dough filling above. Sprinkle it evenly over the dough.

Prepare a large baking dish, like a lasagna dish, by pouring in the melted earth balance from the pan sauce ingredients above. Brush the sides of the pan so they are greased.

Add the sugar, spreading evenly over the bottom of pan. The pan is now ready for the buns.

The following steps are shown in detail in the video above: Roll the dough up gently, starting from one of the short sides. Let it rest on the seem once it’s rolled up completely. Cut 12 rolls with dental floss or sewing thread. Place the rolls in the pan. (Ignore the fact that they are practically floating in earth balance and sugar.)

Cover the buns and let rise for 45 minutes if you will be baking these immediately. If baking the next day, cover the buns and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. Bake in the morning with no need for more rising. If making the buns for a date in the future, cover the buns and freeze immediately. The day before you are ready to use them, defrost in the refrigerator overnight, then let warm up on the counter the next morning for an hour. In any case, when ready to bake, follow the directions below.

Preheat the oven to 350º F, remembering to remove the rising buns if they are in there!

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes.

Stir together the frosting ingredients. It takes a bit of elbow grease to mix it together, but resist the urge to add liquid. It will come together, I promise. Whisk until there are no lumps.

Serve the buns warm with frosting. I like to microwave completely cooled buns for 45-60 seconds before eating.

This post is in memory of my mom. I miss her every second of every day.