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These guys were so good they were dangerous. I’m still on my bread baking binge and since these guys use yeast, I’d like to think of them as bread, even though they’re cinnamon rolls. Delicious, coconutty cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon always reminds me of fall/winter so I thought it was fitting to whip up a bunch as a practice test run for those cold winter mornings where waking up to one of these would be heaven.

I was almost scared to make these because I’m pretty much a monster when it comes to cinnamon buns. And for some reason I got it in my head that Mike doesn’t like coconut things, so I was thinking that I needed (well, not needed, but wanted) to eat the whole tray. I’m pretty sure if I thought about it, I would have realized that Mike would devour these because he tends to like baked goods made with coconut oil. I think there’s something about them that appeal to him because when he was little, he was allergic to butter and milk products, so now baked goods that don’t have any of those things in them are A+ in his books.

Thanks to the use of coconut oil and milk, these cinnamon buns are vegan! Which isn’t really much of a concern for me, but it sure makes it easy to share with friends who don’t eat meat products. But, now that I think about it, most of my friends gladly eat anything, vegan or not. We shared these with our good friend Bruce – apparently it made his morning breakfast routine very easy.

I hope you get a chance to try these guys out. Cinnamon buns hold a soft spot in my heart :)

PS – If you can’t find the coconut chips, they are optional, but they added a delicious crunchy counterpoint to the soft, sweet rolls. I used Grace coconut milk, oil, and chips, which can be found in the international aisle at the grocery store.

Coconut Cinnamon Roll Recipe
yield: 9-12 cinnamon rolls
prep time: 30 minutes
bake time: 2.5 hours, including proofing
total time: 3 hours

Buns:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
• 1 cup Grace coconut milk, slightly warmed
• 3 tablespoons Grace coconut oil, melted, and cooled
• 3 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons Grace coconut oil, melted, and cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sugar

Coconut Glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes

Sprinkle the yeast over the coconut milk. Stir and let proof. Whisk in the coconut oil.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Pour in the coconut yeast mixture, stir and then knead by hand until the dough comes together into a ball. Let rise in a warm spot, in a clean bowl, covered loosely with plastic wrap, until doubled, about 1 hour.

On a lightly floured surface, tip out the dough and roll out to a large rectangle, about 14 x 20 inches. Brush the coconut oil on evenly, all the way to the edges. Whisk together the cinnamon and sugar in small bowl then spread evenly onto the dough. Roll into a tight roll, and depending on your pan, cut into 9 or 12 equal pieces. If using a 8 x 8 inch pan, cut into 9. If using a 10.5 x 7.5 inch ceramic baking dish, cut into 12 pieces.

Place the rolls into the pan, cover loosely with plastic and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.

At this point, you can hold the buns in the fridge if needed – if you’d like to prepare them the night before and bake them off in the morning that definitely works.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the buns for 25-30 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. If baking from the fridge, remove the buns from the fridge as the oven is heating up. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

While the buns are baking, make the glaze. Stir together the coconut milk and sugar until smooth.

When the buns are done, the tops should be golden brown and a skewer poked through should come out clean. Glaze immediately and top with coconut chips. Let cool slightly and enjoy warm!

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