Simple Vegan Cinnamon Rolls

Yesterday morning was the first normal Sunday morning Shana and I have had in a while. Last Sunday we were driving to Philly, the Sunday before that was in State College, and the Sunday before that I was in Jordan. I guess we'll actually only have one more normal Sunday before all of our summer travels start, too.

I love two* things about Sunday mornings. First, I get the local paper and Indianapolis paper delivered to my doorstep and I read both with a cup of french-pressed coffee. Second, I often make a fun breakfast for Shana and I (once she gets up, anyway). Usually the special breakfast is nothing more than pancakes or waffles, but we decided that we wanted to eat cinnamon rolls yesterday. Many recipes for cinnamon rolls require yeast and long rising times, but these are far easier! Although they don't have quite the tenderness of a yeast-dough, they are still soft and their ease makes up for any lack in tenderness.

Simple Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
2 1/4 c. Bisquick, plus extra for the counter top
2/3 c. soymilk (I use light vanilla)
4 oz. vegan cream cheese
2.5 T. vegan butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
extra butter for filling
white sugar for filling
cinnamon for filling

Directions
1. Put cream cheese and all butter out on counter at least 30 minutes before you plan to make everything (it will make your life easier, I promise).
2. Preheat the oven to 450, then mix the Bisquick and milk until just combined.
3. Plop the dough (it will be sticky!) onto a Bisquick-ed counter and knead gently 10 times.
4. Roll the dough into a long and even shape, about as thin as you can get it (mine is about 1/8 of an inch).
5. Slather the dough with the extra butter, then liberally sprinkle with white sugar and cinnamon.

6. Roll the dough into a long log, then cut it into even pieces that are about 1 to 1.5 inches long.

7. Bake for 10 minutes in a well-greased pie plate (leaving some room for each roll to expand).

There was space between each roll before they baked

8. While the rolls are baking, cream together the cream cheese and 2.5 T butter, then add vanilla and slowly add powdered sugar to make the frosting.

Helpful Hints

• I really want to keep kneading this dough longer than 10 smooshes. Just don't do it! What keeps these reasonably soft without the yeast and rising process is that the dough is minimally worked. 
• If you want to add other things to the insides, such as nuts or raisins, just make sure they are chopped very finely. 
• I use a hand mixer to make the frosting, but any kind of mixer will do. 
• A butter knife is all you need to cut the dough log, but if you want to make sure that the log doesn't quick at all, you can use plain dental floss. Slide the floss under the log to where you'd like to cut it, cross your hands over the log and grab the opposite sides of the floss, then pull your hands apart. 
• Shana says that I should remind you to eat some protein with this meal, as it is all sugar and you'll crash later on, which isn't fun for anyone. (Although Shana also says that if you don't eat protein it will lead to an after-breakfast nap, which is awesome in her book.)

* On Sundays I also do errands and I LOVE doing errands. However, since those happen in the afternoon, I didn't include them in the list of Sunday morning things I love.

The post "Simple Vegan Cinnamon Rolls" originally appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.