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