Coconut-Almond Sweet Rolls (Vegan)
Soooo I feel like I’m starting to totally conquer vegan baking.
Yes, these beautiful, fluffy, sticky, sweet rolls are totally vegan, and totally fricken’ delicious. AT this point I’m not sure which vegan baking moment I am more proud of…these or my pavlova.
You guys know I’m kinda obsessed with sweet rolls… I’ve made them many times on the blog—here’s a lil list:
- Strawberry-Pistachio Rolls
- Pumpkin-Biscoff Knots
- Meyer Lemon Sweet Rolls
- Dark Chocolate-Raspberry Sweet Rolls
All of those are amazing, but non are vegan. But! You could now use this base recipe to make any of those vegan! Or if you’re not vegan, leave ’em as is…whatev! Delicious no matter what 🙂
The filling in these taste a bit like a macaroon…chewy, maybe a bit crisp, sweet, and flavored with ground almonds, ground coconut, and some coconut shreds for extra texture. The filling was an experiment that turned out extremely well! It may seem too runny when you first spread it on the dough, but it really does kind of cook like a macaroon.
So you get a beautifully light and fluffy doughy outside (that I flavored with some coconut milk from the carton), a chewy inside, and then a sticky sweet glaze made from coconut milk from the can. Extra sliced almonds on top add the final crunchy texture.
You guys, they are SO good. They are definitely pretty sweet…but they’re called “sweet rolls,” so I think that’s probably to be expected, hah.
Don’t you just love it when you totally wing something and it turns out better than you could have imagined? I continue to amaze myself with breaking down my own vegan prejudices. These could be sold at any bakery, and no one would even suspect they were vegan!
This recipe will make about a dozen sweet rolls, but if you cut a few a little too big, you will only get 11 like me, lol.
These are best when they are warm out of the oven. If you leave them out for a bit, I would recommend warming them up a bit prior to serving, but it’s not necessary—just my preference 😉
PrintCoconut-Almond Sweet Rolls (Vegan)
Yield: 1 dozen-ish
Ingredients:
for the dough:
- 1 and 1/4 cup all-purpose flour + 2 and 1/2 additional cups
- 2 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup vegan butter (I use this)
- 1 cup vegan milk (I use this coconut milk)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of sea salt
for the filling:
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut (unsweetened) + 1/2 to 1 cup more
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
for the topping:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut milk (the kind from the can)
- sliced almonds
Directions:
for the dough:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 and 1/4 cups of flour and the yeast.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the coconut milk, sugar, salt, and vegan butter until the butter is melted and the mixture is warm, but not hot. If the mixture feels hot to the touch, pop it in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Add the milk mixture to the flour/yeast, and beat on low for 30 seconds.
- Switch the paddle attachment for the dough hook. Add in the remainder of the flour and beat on high for 3-5 minutes until the dough pulls away from the bowl, and it's nice and smooth.
- Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place in a warm area to rise for 1 or 2 hours, until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down and turn onto a clean work surface. Roll out the dough to a 1/4-inch thick rectangle that is slightly larger than a 13"x9" pan.
for the filling:
- In a food processor, combine the almonds, 1/2 cup of coconut, and sugar, and process until a thick paste has formed. Add in the melted butter and process until combined.
- Spread the filling over the rolled out dough. Top with the extra 1/2 cup to 1 cup of coconut.
- Roll the dough up tightly (roll so that your finished roll is width of the shorter side of the rectangle).
- Using some (non-mint!) dental floss, slice the roll into 1"-1 and 1/2"-thick disks.
- Place the rolls in a lightly greased 13"x9" pan, and lightly cover with plastic wrap.
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees, and allow the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
- Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
for the glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and coconut milk until smooth.
- Pour the glaze over the warm rolls, and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
