Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls taste like Christmas in bread form. They are packed with flavor by utilizing both spiced black tea and a sugar and spice blend of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and nutmeg. Cinnamon rolls can feel intimidating but these are simple and can be prepared the night before so they are ready to pop in the oven Christmas morning!
Start out by combining non-dairy milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and melt. Once the butter is completely melted, add in masala chai and allow to steep in the very warm milk and butter mixture. After about 5 minutes, strain out the leaves or remove the tea bags and pour the mixture into a large bowl of a stand mixer. Add in rapid rise yeast and allow to bloom for about 5 minutes. Add in dry ingredients and using the dough hook on your mixer, combine into a shaggy dough ball. Dump the dough ball onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until the dough comes together into a smooth, sticky dough. Cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Roll out dough into a large rectangle, spread with non-dairy butter, and sprinkle with sugar and spice mixture. Roll the dough lengthwise into a log and using a very sharp knife, cut into 8-10 rolls. Oil a baking dish or cake pan and place the rolls in the pan with a small amount of space between them. Cover and allow to rest again. If you’re planning to serve them the next day, instead of allowing them to rest again, cover and place in the fridge. When you’re ready to bake them, pull them out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter for 1-2 hours before baking. Bake until golden brown then ice and serve! The icing will melt quickly if you ice them warm but wow, they taste delicious warm out of the oven!
Chai Spiced Cinnamon Rolls (Vegan)
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 rolls 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Masala chai spiced cinnamon rolls are simple and packed with all the warm spices that remind you of Christmas time!
Ingredients
Cinnamon rolls
- 1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
- 1/4 cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons chai black tea loose leaf or 1 tea bag of chai black tea
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Icing
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–4 tablespoons non-dairy milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until completely melted. Turn heat down to low and add in masala chai and allow to steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain out tea leaves or remove tea bags and pour mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add yeast and allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
- Add in all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Using the dough hook attachment, combine into a shaggy ball.
- Sprinkle the counter or surface with flour and turn the dough ball onto the counter and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth but sticky. If the dough is not coming together into a sticky ball, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it comes together.
- Cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the surface with flour again if needed. Roll out into roughly a 9×13 size rectangle.
- Combine white sugar and spices in a small bowl.
- Spread softened butter in an even layer across the dough and sprinkle with sugar and spice mixture.
- Roll up the dough into a 13 inch log. Cut into 8-10 rolls.
- Lightly oil a 9 inch cake pan or 12×8 baking dish and place rolls into the pan with 1 inch between each roll. See notes for instructions if preparing the night before.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes until lightly golden brown.
- While rolls are baking, combine icing ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
- Remove rolls from the oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes before icing and serving.
Notes
If preparing the night before, complete all steps through step 10 and then instead of allowing to rise again, cover and place in the fridge. When ready to bake, pull out of the fridge 1-2hrs prior to baking and complete steps 12-15.
- Prep Time: 60
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast, dessert
Keywords: chai spiced cinnamon rolls, cinnamon rolls, vegan cinnamon rolls
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