Vegan Sweet Rolls with Vegan Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Filling and Vegan Maple Almond Cream-Cheese Glaze

Yield: 12 small-medium sweet rolls

If you didn’t already know, now that fall is here, you will soon discover that I am absolutely addicted to pumpkin. Savory or sweet, it doesn’t matter. I “think in pumpkin” from at least September to January.

For these breakfast treats, I use the yeast-free quick dough my mom used to make for cinnamon-sugar sweet rolls on the weekends. She used Bisquick and so do I–it’s vegan! But then I fill mine with a vegan pumpkin and cream cheese filling that is simply whisked together. I add almonds to the mixutre, but you could use a different nut or omit the nuts all together.

After the short baking time, I top them with a vegan cream cheese glaze sweetened with maple syrup and flavored with a hint of almond extract. The garnish is just some finger-crushed sliced almonds.

These are great for Thanksgiving morning or anytime, really, because they seem special, but are so quick and easy. It’s almost like cheating. I love them served on a platter of rinsed and dried fall leaves with hot tea or decaf coffee.

Note: I baked mine in silicone muffin tins, so they didn’t turn as golden brown as they would in metal tins.

Rolls:
2 1/2 cups Bisquick baking mix
2/3 cup unsweetened soy milk (plain, vanilla or vanilla lite would be good too)
1 tablespoon vegan butter, very soft or melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. With a fork, stir together Bisquick and soy milk. Add more of either ingredient as needed to create a moist, but not sticky, dough. Sprinkle counter or pastry board with a little Bisquick and pat dough into a rectangle about 1-inch thick. Sprinkle rolling pin with more Bisquick and roll dough into a larger rectangle about 12 1/2-inches long in one direction and about 1/4 inch thick. Spread with the vegan butter. Then spread with the filling (recipe follows), leaving about a half-inch margin all the way around Roll up jellyroll style and then, using a serrated knife with a gentle back-and-forth motion, slice rill into 12 one-inch spiral disks. Place each, cut side down, into muffin tins. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool 5-8 minutes in the pan. Top with a teaspoon of glaze (recipe follows), spreading it as much as you like, and garnish with a almonds (see below).

Filling:
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) vegan cream cheese, slightly warmed in microwave (about 10 seconds)
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) pumpkin puree (I use canned)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons Bisquick (this will help the filling set)
optional: 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) finger-crushed sliced almonds (or the nut of your choice, e.g. pecans or walnuts)

Whisk together all ingredients except nuts until smooth and then stir in nuts.

Glaze:
2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese, slightly warmed in microwave (about 10 seconds)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
a drop of almond extract

Whisk together in a small cup or bowl.

Garnish:
a few sliced almonds, crushed between your fingers
Note: you may substitute the nut of your choice, like pecans or walnuts, especially if you used those nuts in the filling

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Vegan Pumpkin Bread "Pumpkins" with Vegan Cream Cheese-Pumpkin Frosting (or Vegan Pumpkin Loaf)

Yield: 6 mini-pumpkins or one 5-8″ loaf

Homecoming week at our school happens to fall on Halloween weekend this year. So I wanted to bake up a little treat for our administrative team. A nip in the air and a can of pumpkin puree in the pantry made the flavor an obvious choice. I started to just bake the batter in a loaf pan when I remembered my mini-bundt cake pan. (Mine has an indention or depression rather than a hole all the way through, and produces miniature cakes that resemble pumpkins.) Though it only makes 6 little cakes, it seems our six administrators and their assistants are always watching what they eat, so I figured a half-pumpkin each would be perfect.

This recipe is the same as my Vegan Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Streusel only with pumpkin substituted for banana and no streusel. To make the little pumpkin cakes look more festive, I frosted them and topped each with a candied walnut half. This is my idea of a perfect pumpkin patch.

Happy Hallow’s Eve!

Batter:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
(or substitute 2 cups white whole wheat flour for both flours)
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (plain, vanilla or vanilla lite would be good too)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree (about half of a 15 ounce can)
2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract
optional: ½ teaspoon almond extract

Frosting:
(measurements are approximate)
3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons vegan butter (I like Earth Balance), at room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
powdered sugar (start with 1 cup and add more until desired consistency is reached)
unsweetened, plain, vanilla or vanilla lite soy milk (start with 1 tablespoon and add more until desired creaminess is achieved)

Garnish: 6 plain or candied walnut halves (chop them for the loaf)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 6-mold mini-bundt pan or a 5 x 8” metal loaf pan with non-stick spray.

To make batter, place all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in oil, soy milk, pumpkin and extract(s). Stir together just until wet and dry ingredients are combined. Spoon batter into molds or pan and gently smooth top.

Bake the mini-cakes for 30 minutes (but check at 20 and 25) and the loaf for 1 hour (but check at 50 and 55 minutes) or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or nearly clean. There should be no raw batter clinging to the pick. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Run a knife around edges if necessary and remove from pan onto rack. For loaf, turn into your hand and then invert onto rack so that the rounded side is up. Cool completely before slicing and frosting.

Make frosting by creaming together all ingredients with an electric mixer until desired consistency is reached. Cover until ready to use.

For mini-pumpkins, use a serrated knife to trim off a very thin slice of the “crown” so that they will sit flat with their decorative side up. Place a generous spoonful of frosting in the indention or depression of each and top with a walnut half. For loaf, spread frosting over top and sprinkle with walnuts. Store either covered or in an airtight container.

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Vegan Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Streusel

Yield: one 5-8″ loaf

Bananas intended for morning smoothies ended up in one moist and delicious breakfast quick bread. A peanut butter streusel was just the little extra somethin’-somethin’ it needed to set it apart from ordinary banana bread which is admittedly hard to beat.

Batter:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
(or substitute 2 cups white whole wheat flour for both flours) ½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk (plain or vanilla would be good too)
3 very ripe bananas, peeled and pureed or mashed well by hand
2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract
optional: ½ teaspoon almond extract

Streusel:
2 tablespoons crunchy “natural” peanut butter
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons oatmeal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 5 x 8” metal loaf pan with non-stick spray.

To make batter, place all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in oil, soy milk, banana and extract(s). Stir together just until wet and dry ingredients are combined. Spoon batter into pan and gently smooth top.

In a small bowl, combine streusel ingredients with your fingers. Sprinkle streusel over the top of the banana bread and, using the palm of your hand, gently but firmly press it into the surface of the batter. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or nearly clean. There should be no raw batter clinging to the pick. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on wire rack. Run a knife around edges, remove from pan onto a plate or your hand and then invert with streusel side up onto rack. Cool completely before slicing.

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