Sweet potato cinnamon rolls with boozy caramel glaze

Sweet potato cinnamon rolls with boozy caramel glaze

I suppose it's important to preface this with the story of my brother. And how for a brief moment he entertained the idea of meeting us in Dublin over St. Patrick's Day weekend to surprise our father - because Thom and I surprising him with tickets to Ireland wasn't a strong enough recipe for a heart attack, as it was. I probably shouldn't joke about heart attacks because my dad eats a lot of butter. Whatever you picturing right now, multiply that by ten.

I kid, but the man likes his butter. And who am I to tell him to eat less of something that's capable of clogging his coronary arteries and starving one of the most vital organs in his body of blood and oxygen? I have a lot of nerve, caring about the overall health and well being of the man who will eventually become the grandfather of my children. But that's not the point. This is about my brother and his plans to visit Ireland, remember? Well, the plans fell through once he realized he had prior obligations with work. Which annoyed the shit out of me because he works a lot and I don't get to see him as often as I'd like. He loves what he does so I shouldn't complain, but sometimes I do because I like spending time with my brother more than twice a year. Which means I should probably go back to Ohio more often. But who really wants to go back to Ohio more often?

Anyway, this is no longer about my brother. This is about us and how we got into Dublin at 8AM Friday morning, with a Thom who was adamant about getting a SIM card before we left the airport. So after he ran my dad around Terminal 1 looking for the Vodafone store, he came back with a working mobile device and we were on our way, in a taxi with a gray haired Irish man who has never stepped foot off the island. (I think it's worth noting that he has plans of visiting the US in a few years, so it's really not as pitiful as it seems.) He dropped us at our B&B and we were told by the head lady that she could hold our bags, but our rooms wouldn't be ready until noon. I was a little irritated, but it was my fault as I'm the one who dropped the ball on informing her of our early arrival.

We be mixin'
We be cuttin'
Sweet potato cinnamon rolls
Boozy caramel glaze

Thom had other plans, anyway. Plans that involved a long walk through the city, around Stephen's Green, and to a side of Dublin I had never seen before. We passed four or five establishments that looked like they'd be able to feed a person with dietary restrictions such as my own, and I started getting grumpy because I needed food. And coffee. And just when I was about to be all SERIOUSLY DUDE WE'VE BEEN WALKING FOR 25 MINUTES AND I'M TIRED AND MY FEET HURT AND I REALLY NEED SOMETHING TO FILL THIS EMPTY BELLY, we rounded the corner to see my brother standing in front of Cassidy's Pub with luggage and the biggest, stupid grin on his face.

In typical girl-who-grew-up-with-five-brothers fashion, the first thing I did was stop and shout NO FUCKING WAY! And just when I was about to start crying (sleep deprivation, hormones - you know the deal) I ran toward him and went in for a hug, and thought about how he deserved a good ass kicking for lying to me. But also the Brother of the Year Award because he got me. He got all of us (with the exception of Thom) good.

Psst! Photo updates here and here.

Sweet potato cinnamon rolls with boozy caramel glaze
Sweet potato cinnamon rolls with boozy caramel glaze
Sweet potato cinnamon rolls with boozy caramel glaze

Notes: I use canned sweet potato puree but fresh puree should work as well. I've also made these with pumpkin and they've turned out great. Feel free to replace the sucanat with brown sugar if that's all you have on hand. If you're not into boozy caramel glaze (that's a shame), substitute a simple glaze of powdered sugar, non-dairy milk, and a spoonful of molasses - it's my go-to glaze when I'm too lazy to make anything else. I bake these rolls in a jumbo muffin pan (two!) because I like when they're perfectly round. But you can bake them in a regular square baking pan, you'll just need to cut them into 12 pieces instead of 9. And bake them for 16-18 minutes.

SWEET POTATO CINNAMON ROLLS WITH BOOZY CARAMEL GLAZE

Dough
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water, 105-110˚F
1/4 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
3 1/4 cups unbleached flour, plus more for rolling
1 tsp fine sea salt

Filling
3 tbsp vegan butter, softened
1/2 cup sucanat
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

Glaze
1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
1/2 cup sucanat
1-2 tbsp Irish whiskey

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl; set aside. Add the water to a small bowl and lightly stir in the yeast; add a pinch of sugar and set aside until foamy (15-20 minutes). In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then stir in the sugar, sweet potato and milk just until warm and sweet potato has dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for 10-15 minutes (if you don't let it cool, the heat from the mixture will kill the yeast). Add 3 cups of the flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment; mix for 10-15 seconds. Add the sweet potato and yeast mixture, then mix dough on medium-high speed for 6-7 minutes. If the dough is not pulling away from the sides of the bowl, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. I achieved a perfect dough with two additional tablespoons. But if you live in a humid climate, it's likely you'll need to add the full 1/4 cup. Once the dough has finished kneading, transfer it to the prepared mixing bowl, cover with a towel, and store in a warm part of your house until the dough doubles, about 2 hours.

Lightly oil two 6 cup jumbo muffin pans; set aside. Line a flat surface with parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Roll the dough out into an 18x12 rectangle. Spread with butter then cover with brown sugar and cinnamon. Starting at the long end, tightly (seriously, I said tightly!) roll the dough into a log, then cut it unto 12 even pieces. Transfer the rolls to the prepared pan, leaving even space between. Cover pan with a towel and allow the rolls to rise for one hour. Bake at 375˚F for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool in pan.

To make the glaze, start by opening the can of coconut milk and separating the thick, white milk fat from the water. Add 1/4 cup of the coconut water to a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Whisk in the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 5-6 minutes, whisking only a few times, then stir in 1 cup of the coconut milk fat (you may have more or less, depending on your can of coconut milk - that's ok). Reduce the heat to medium and boil the mixture for 5 minutes, whisking every minute or so. If you added less than 1 cup of coconut milk fat, you'll want to cook the mixture for an extra minute or two. Off the heat and stir in the whiskey. Transfer the glaze to a glass jar and drizzle over warm cinnamon rolls. You can store the rolls in an air tight container for up to three days (I recommend not drizzling with glaze until ready to consume). Glaze can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Yield: 12 rolls

29 comments:

  1. You are the best! I made your caramel the other day but my coconut milk didn't separate in the fridge. I just spent ages reducing it with the whole cane sugar and it still came out well. Need coconut milk without stabilisers I think.

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  2. Whiskey -- good call. These look great!

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  3. I just used some of the whiskey caramel sauce that I made using your other recipe on a cinnamon roll this morning - super delicious!

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  4. These look sooooooo yummy! I would love to devour one of those right now. That would be the perfect way to start the day!

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  5. Would have loved to see the inside structure of these on your pics! Not too dense, and they pull apart easily without crumbling, like sweet breads typically do?

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    1. I'd say they're like any other normal cinnamon roll you get in the states. A bit dense from the sweet potato, but not too much.

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  6. Just looked through your flickr album. You are having THE BEST time. Sending you a high five for partying like you mean it (I feel like Andrew W.K. for saying that...). Boozy cinnamon rolls wooooo! xo

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  7. Everything about these sounds perfect! Love the idea of using sweet potato, and that glaze?! Yes please!

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  8. those boys love to surprise you! how fun! and the cinnamon rolls look delicious.

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  9. Whow! These cinnamon rolls sure look like the real deal! I really like the photo's too! I'm a buttery big fan!

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  10. Aw! What a wonderful surprise! I'd probably be the same way not knowing if I'd want to hug or kick my brother if he pulled something like that. And these rolls look to die for!

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  11. My heart nearly exploded reading about the brother surprise! Then I took a gander through your photos and it almost exploded again seeing Cornucopia and other familiar places from my 2011 honeymoon. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

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  12. sweet potatoes? this is fantastic. i cannot wait to try.

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  13. What a sweet surprise! I'm an only child but I remember my mom asking me if I wanted siblings and I told her, insistently, that I only wanted an older brother. She tried to tell me it wasn't possible and I was angry at her for lying to me (at that age I really believed it was possible haha). These are stellar.

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    1. Big brothers are the best. I have two of them, but the three younger ones like to think they're my big brothers, too. ;)

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  14. What a great surprise! And gorgeous cinnamon rolls! Sweet potato and caramel is a great combo!

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  15. Haha! Wow, that is just too good. Now you need to work on totally and completely surprising him!

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  16. what a great story. I love travel and hope to do more of it once my little one is a little less little. hopefully to the galapagos islands next.

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  17. Aww, that was an awesome surprise! I would've had the same conflicting feelings if my older brother pulled such a stunt.

    I love, love sweet potatoes, these rolls like ah-may-zing!! Boozy glaze? Yes please.

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  18. I love Dublin, can't wait to go back some day! These look soooo good, I might just make them for my Irish boyfriend ;)

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  19. Gorgeous! I want these every Saturday morning for the foreseeable future!

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  20. what a sweet story! these cinnamon rolls look amazing!

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  21. Can I just say that I LOVE how you and your loved ones surprise each other?! Totally epic surprises. Also love these cinnamon rolls, but I'm too damn lazy to make them.

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  22. Oh this story just MADE my evening. It is the kind of thing that my brother and I would do to each other and it made me send him a text just to say hello : )

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  23. What a magical story. I bet your heart melted a bit.

    These look to die for.

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  24. Awww.. thats such a sweet story.. i love surprises like these:) and the cinnamon rolls look amazing!

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  25. these are gorgeous. i've already been dreaming about sweet potato things to make this fall - but these look so yums I might not wait :)

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