My 17 year old came to me recently and asked if we could make some Chai Cinnamon rolls, made with decaf tea.
I found several different recipes that inspired me to create this one.
The rolls came out super delicious, with just enough of that Chai spice flavor so many of us love. Combined with the cinnamon they made for an incredible take on the classic cinnamon roll.
Have fun making these! They're the perfect recipe for a lazy weekend afternoon, and are just as good reheated the next day.
This recipe makes 9 large rolls or 12 small rolls. They'll keep for about 3 days at room temperature, if they last long enough,lol!
Ingredients:
Chai tea-
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened plant-based milk
• 3 decaf chai tea bags
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Dough-
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups bread flour
• ½ cup sugar + 1 Tbsp
• 1 packet rapid rise yeast = 2 ¼ tsp
• 1 ¼ cups Chai tea mixture, warm
(save ¼ cup tea mixture for glaze)
• ¼ cup warm water
• 6 Tbsps butter, melted, let cool a bit
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
Filling -
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
Glaze -
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tbsps butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/4 cup cooled Chai tea mixture
*this recipe can be vegan by just switching out the butter for vegan butter
How to make:
Chai tea -
• In a medium saucepan on medium-high heat, add the milk and bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes. Add the tea bags and let it boil for another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and let everything steep for 5-6 minutes.
• Let cool completely.
Dough -
• Combine yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in a bowl and slowly pour in warm water while stirring frequently. Allow 5-10 minutes for the mixture to sit and for the yeast to activate.
• Add in the room temperature chai tea mixture and warm melted butter to the yeast mixture and whisk until well combined. Add in the vanilla and whisk to combine.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, sugar, and sea salt and add them to the wet ingredients and mix until well combined and everything begins to form into a dough-like consistency, about 2-3 minutes.
• Knead dough for 5-10 minutes until dough ball becomes smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed together with 2 fingers. NOTE: If dough is still too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time until texture is achieved.
• Lightly grease a large bowl with a small amount of olive oil and place the dough ball in the bowl, tossing it around until coated. Cover with plastic wrap (or a towel) and let sit for 1 hour, allowing the dough to rise and double in size.
• In the meantime, you can work on the filling!
Filling -
• Add the softened room temperature butter to a bowl, and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and brown sugar, and then mix together with butter mixing them well. Set aside.
Assembly/Bake -
• Once the dough has risen fully, preheat the oven to 375° line a large 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper or grease.
• Add a bit of flour to a surface and place the dough onto it, lightly adding a bit of flour to the top. Using a rolling-pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangular shape about ½-inch thick.
• Then, generously spread the butter-brown sugar-cinnamon mixture, ensuring that the top is coated evenly.
• Tightly roll dough (long-ways) and using a knife/pastry cutter cut dough into 1.5" rolls, placing each roll (cut side down) into prepared baking dish.
• Then place plastic wrap over the baking dish with rolls, smear the tops with remaining softened butter and let them rise again for another 20 minutes.
• Once the rolls have doubled in size or have gotten significantly larger, bake them for approximately 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven.
• While all the baking magic is happening, make the Glaze.
Glaze -
• In a bowl, mix together remaining tea, butter and powdered sugar.
• Generously spread the glaze atop the rolls until thoroughly covered.
• Cut out each roll to serve, enjoy, a votre sante !
Tamarah
@veggiefoodievibes
Fun simple easy delicious
healthy vegetarian food