You can’t please everyone, you’re not a pan of gooey apple cinnamon buns.
It’s week 3 of Apple Month and I’m so excited about this recipe that I’m bouncing off the walls! Maybe it’s a *mild* sugar high but it’s all coconut sugar so please stay with me.
Last Saturday I woke up to a thunderstorm beating against my bedroom window. To me, that is the beckoning of a perfect baking day waiting to happen.
The rain, rain, rain
Came down, down, down
In rushing, rising riv’lets
‘Til the river crept out of its bed
And crept right into Piglet’s
My house has returned to being an igloo so it’s time to pull out the fuzzy socks, crank up the oven and bake all the cozy, spiced things! There are few things I love baking more than yeast breads. Knocking the air out of a rising dough is so satisfying and I love playing with the soft and squishy dough. *pokepoke* Watching the perfect scrolls rise is like magic and then the smell, oh my goodness the smell! I am a true cinnamon addict. I’m surprised I don’t have a cinnamon candle. Sure yeast breads take time and require a lot of waiting, but the reward of fresh, fluffy bread is hard to surpass. Especially when there is a gooey layer of salted caramel cascading down the sides.
These apple cinnamon buns have 3 generations of approval so I know they are finger lickin’ good (in a vegan-friendly way of course).
The buns finished baking just as my parents came home from their Saturday morning grocery run. The scent of cinnamon and apples had thoroughly penetrated every square footage of our house. My dad came to peer over my shoulder to see what baking shenanigans I was up to while they were out. He ate two sticky buns back to while exclaiming “so tasty, so tasty!” in Chiu Chow (one of the few phrases he knows in that dialect). They were on their way to meet some friends for brunch so I was surprised he ate two full buns! Stamp of approval #1.
Mom packed up a few to bring to my grandparents’ home since they would be stopping by to drop off some groceries. The next day, when I went to pick my grandparents up to go out for lunch, my grandpa praised the buns (he thought they were cakes but that is besides the point) for being extraordinarily delicious. Another dessert he has asked for seconds of is Chew’s Famous Apple Crumble. Stamp of approval #2.
Finally, since my best friend requested apple fritters for Apple Month and this was as closest recipe to her request, I delivered a bun to her house. I told her it would taste best warm but knowing her, she’d be too lazy to even zap it in the microwave. I was still driving when she texted me “OMG ITS FRIGGEN DELICIOUS” then proceeded to request a tower of sticky buns instead of cake for her upcoming birthday (uhm, heck yes!) Stamp of approval #3.
These sticky apple cinnamon buns will bring young and old, friends and family together ’round the table. The sticky-yet-crunchy walnut caramel topping is to die for! Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up quick and these would win the adoration of everyone at your family get-together or Friendsgiving feast. I give you permission to have cinnamon buns anytime of day, even at dinnertime. Not that you needed me to tell you that.
Okay get some napkins ready because it’s about to get STICKY!
- DOUGH
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2¼ tsp (8g) traditional yeast
- ¼ cup grapeseed oil (or any neutral flavoured oil) + more for coating bowl
- 1¼ to 1½ cups all purpose flour + more for rolling
- 1¼ cup bread flour (or more all purpose flour)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- STICKY SAUCE
- ⅔ cup toasted walnuts
- ¼ cup vegan margarine
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp sea salt
- FILLING
- 2 large or 3 small honeycrisp apples, chopped into small cubes
- 3 tbsp vegan margarine, divided
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch of nutmeg (optional)
- DOUGH: Warm almond milk and maple syrup in a microwave for 40 to 60 seconds, or until warm to the touch but not scalding. Stir in the yeast and allow it to bloom for 10 minutes. Activated yeast should be foamy.
- Mix 1¼ cups all-purpose flour, bread flour, and salt briefly in stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to roughly combine.
- Pour the grapeseed oil and activated yeast into the bowl of the standing mixer containing the dry ingredients.
- Mix on low speed until a thick and sticky dough forms. Increase to medium speed and knead the dough with the dough hook attachment for 5 to 7 minutes or until a soft dough forms and begins to gather around the hook. Add up to ¼ cup more of all purpose flour after 2 minutes if dough still looks too wet. Finished dough will wrap around the hook like a ball and still be a bit sticky. Avoid over-kneading for soft and fluffy bread.
- Oil a large mixing bowl and transfer the dough into the oiled bowl. Turn the dough a few times to coat the surface of the dough with oil. This will prevent it from sticking as it rises. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a tea towel and store in a warm place and draft-free place (such as a microwave that isn't turned on) to allow dough to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
- APPLE FILLING: Heat 1 tbsp of vegan margarine in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat. Sautee apples until starting to soften. Transfer cooked apples into a bowl and return the pan back to the stovetop.
- STICKY SAUCE: Heat ¼ cup margarine and ½ cup coconut sugar. Simmer and whisk until combined and glossy, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the 2 tbsp of maple syrup and sea salt. Immediately pour the sticky sauce into the bottom of a greased baking pan (I used a 9" loaf pan + 8" round). Scatter the toasted walnuts over the sticky sauce. Wash the pan you cooked the sauce in with hot water right away as it will harden quickly!
- CINNAMON FILLING: Mix the remaining 2 tbsp margarine with the ½ cup coconut sugar and cinnamon to make a paste. Set aside.
- Once dough has expanded to twice its initial size, punch the dough and turn out onto a floured surface. Roll into a ¼ inch thick rectangle and spread generously with the cinnamon filling, spreading all the way to the edges. Scatter the cooked apples over the cinnamon filling.
- Roll the dough up tightly starting from the long side. Slice into 14 even pieces and arrange on top of the walnut sticky sauce. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let the dough rise again in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350⁰F while the dough is proofing for the second time.
- After the second proofing, bake the buns for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Once the buns have finished baking, immediately invert onto serving plates (wear your oven mitts!). Scrape all the sticky sauce out of the pan and wash the pan right away in hot water! Buns are best enjoyed warm while the sauce is still gooey.
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