My mom makes amazing cinnamon rolls.   They are huge and fluffy, filled with cinnamon and chocolate chips, and topped with melty frosting deliciousness.

They are so good that you want to eat three of them in a sitting, and each roll probably contains at least half of your calories for an entire day.

These are not my mother’s cinnamon rolls, but they are very good and much, much better for you.  There’s some sweet potato goodness in there (hooray hidden veggies!) and they are entirely vegan.  They satisfy the cinnamon roll craving without an absurd amount of calories.  Especially if you send over half the batch into work with your hubby. :)

I didn’t make the glaze listed below because I didn’t have all of the ingredients required.  I just made a simple glaze with confectioner’s sugar and it worked great.  Thanks to my friend Laurie for recommending this recipe!

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Dough

• 1 0.25-oz. pkg. active dry yeast
• 3 1/3 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling dough
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil, plus more for oiling bowl

Cinnamon-Pecan Filling

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbs. very soft vegan margarine, plus more for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, divided

Maple Glaze

• 3 Tbs. vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. natural maple flavor
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. To make Sweet Potato Dough: Stir yeast into 1/3 cup warm (105°–115°F) water until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor, stand mixer, or regular bowl. (Reserve 1/3 cup flour if kneading by hand.)

3. Stir sweet potato and oil into 1/3 cup warm water. Stir yeast mixture and sweet potato mixture into flour mixture. 
(If using food processor, add liquids through feeding tube with processor running. If using stand mixer with dough hook, add liquids in steady stream with mixer on low speed.)
4. Place dough in oiled bowl; cover. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.

5. To make Cinnamon-Pecan Filling: Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Grease 13- x 9-inch baking sheet with margarine.

6. Roll dough into 14- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread with margarine. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over dough; top with half of chopped pecans. Starting at long edge, roll up dough. Slice 1 inch off each end; discard. Cut roll crosswise into 12 1-inch-thick 
pieces, and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise in warm place 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

7. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake buns 
18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

8. To make Maple Glaze: Combine cream cheese, maple flavor, and salt in small bowl. Stir in confectioners’ sugar. Spread glaze over warm buns; top with remaining pecans.

Source: Vegetarian Times