Savory Vegan Breakfast Rolls w/ Caramelized Onion + Apple Jam, Toasted Pecans, and Pepper Jack

Difficulty: 3/5 (5 being hardest)
Spice Level: 1/3 (3 being spiciest)

Prep & Cook Time: 90-100 minutes
Servings: ~10 rolls

The Challenge: Savory Rolls

My mother growing up always made sweet caramel Christmas morning rolls. I never was really into the sweets, for breakfast especially. I was scouring the web for some savory rolls and didn’t find a lot of what I was looking for. Basically, I wanted a cinnamon roll, but replace the cinnamon + sugar with savory goodies (I know..sacrilegious).

What I came up with here is an absolute gem! We took a simple Parker roll recipe and modified it by rolling it out layering on a savory layer of goodies, rolling it up and cutting across for this very neat spiralized vegan breakfast roll filled with warm caramelized onion and apple jam as well as toasted pecans, fresh chives, and delicious pepper jack dairy-free cheese. YUM!

We bake them up warm and sprinkle on a bit more cheese and voila … Savory Breakfast Rolls ready for Xmas morning. Put them right between the presents and see your friends and family devour them right up! Ooooooo yaaaaaa.

This onion + apple jam is a real star. We caramelize onions like normal and add in some sweet apples that cook down with fresh herbs and delicious white balsamic vinegar for a rich sweet but tangy onion jam that spreads right onto the roll dough. We toast up pecans, throw in some fresh chives, and then I use a store-bought dairy-free cheese to layer in that lovely cheesy element. That company won’t be name (although they could pay me and I’d throw their name on here ;) ).

Once baked, serve warm and see the faces on your family light up.

Also, these rolls are so damn good on their own that if you end up not stuffing them with savory yum…the rolls are perfect all on their own. Cheers + happy holidays!

Let’s get into it!

Ingredients:

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Roll Dough

• 1 cup organic AP flour + 3/4 - 1 cup organic AP flour

• 2 tbl organic cane sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 packet rapid-rise yeast

• 1/2 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk (I prefer flax or almond)

• 1/4 cup water

• 2 tbl vegan butter, melted

Onion + Apple Jam

• 2 tbl olive oil

• 2 medium sweet onions, cut in half then diced into 1/4 inch strips

• 1 medium apple, cubed very small

• Herbs: 3 parsley sprigs, 2 rosemary sprigs, few thyme sprigs

• 1/4 cup organic sugar (coconut or cane)

• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

• salt + pepper, to taste

Filling Ingredients

• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup chives, diced

• 1/2 cup dairy-free pepper jack cheese (other shredded cheese is fine, use whatever brand or style you like)

Other

• melted vegan butter, for topping

• extra dairy-free shredded cheese, for topping

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Equipment You'll Need:

Mixing Bowls . Sharp Chopping Knife . Measuring Cups + Spoons . Cutting Board . Parchment Paper . Floured Surface . Small Bowl . Large Frying Pan . Kitchen Twine/String . Small Castiron or Frying Pan . Pastry Brush . Baking Sheet . Oiled Clean Bowl . Kitchen Tea Towel

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Before You Cook:

• Chop + wash fresh ingredients

1. To start, add 1 cup flour, salt, sugar, and yeast to a clean mixing bowl. Warm the water, milk, and vegan butter in the microwave for about 40 seconds. Don’t go over 45 seconds. Slowly pour the wet into the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon.

2. While mixing with a wooden spoon add 1/4 cup of flour at a time until well mixed (~1-2 minutes of stirring) and then add in another 1/4 cup once well mixed. I use 3/4 cup more (3 additions). If its still very sticky to the touch make it 1 cup total.

3. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes until very soft + elastic. You should be able to pull the dough and it should stretch some. If it breaks immediately, keep kneading. When done kneading, transfer to a clean, oiled bowl and let it sit for 45-60 minutes in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. TRICK: place the dough in your oven with the oven light on to keep the dough warm and promote yeast activity. DONT TURN ON THE OVEN THOUGH

4. While the dough rests, we’ll prepare the rest of the ingredients. To start the caramelized onion jam, add olive oil to a pot and warm over medium heat for 60 seconds. Next, add onions and cook for 10 minutes. Add apples and cook another 5 minutes.

5. While the onions cook, use kitchen twine/string to tie together the fresh herbs for the jam. If you don’t have kitchen twine, you can put the herbs in without the twine. You’ll need to pick it out later, so be careful.

6. Add the herbs and cook over medium-low heat for a few minutes. Then add the sugar and cook for 5 minutes without stirring. Next, increase the heat to medium-high, stir once, and then let it sit for 5-6 minutes until a golden amber brown coating forms on the bottom. Stir in the vinegar, reduce heat to low, and let it simmer for 5-6 minutes. Season with salt + pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.

7. While the onion jam cooks, add pecans to a dry castiron pan and dry cook for 5-6 minutes stirring once or twice until the pecans start to brown and become fragrant. Take off heat once browned and set aside.

8. Once the jam and pecans have cooled, mix with the pepper jack cheese and fresh chives. Set aside.

9. Once the dough has risen, place onto a floured surface and roll out to about 14x14 inches.

10. Next, spread the onion/apple jam mixture onto the dough. Spread all the way to the edges.

11. Roll the dough tightly starting from one edge and rolling until you get to the other end. Pop the dough on a baking sheet and add to the freezer. Freeze for 15 minutes. This helps to cut the rolls so the spiral stays firm.

12. After pulling from the freezer, cut into 1-1.5 inch segments. I prefer a bread or serrated knife that saws rather than pushes down. You want the dough’s integrity to stay firm. If you are cutting down and the edges are dropping in, you’ll want to freeze longer or switch knives.

13. Place the rolls on a buttered/oiled baking sheet and add to oven at 375F. Bake for 10 minutes. Pull out and brush down with melted vegan butter with a pastry brush and add a sprinkle of cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes.

14. Serve while warm.

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Slowcooker Winter Vegetable Vegan Chili w/ Southwestern Green Hatch Cornbread I love my slowcooker. If you don’t have one, its such a godsend. Put in a bunch of ingredients and cook away for hours. It is super helpful for the hectic days when I don’t have time to cook something from scratch when I get home, but it still allows you to have a really delicious meal with homemade ingredients. For vegans, one of those classic slowcooked recipes is CHILI. First off, chili is heaven. Spicy, salty, soupy yum that warms your heart and is so good from fall to spring. You can have it more like soup, more like a dip, more like a topping on spaghetti (say what…check it out!), and more like stew. What I love about chili is its a great way to eat up a lot of your veggies on hand. Tonight, in celebration of the holiday season I wanted to celebrate winter veggies and pair it with EPIC cornbread that uses real corn kernels + green hatch chiles for a splendid bread that pairs well with our winter vegetable chili. I love to cook SEASONALLY. It is a great way to use what is locally produced, have a smaller impact, and cook from scratch. Seasonal + scratch = WHERE ITS AT!   Aggregate rating will show here Serves 8 Ingredients: 2 tbl olive oil, 1 onion, chopped, 2 medium garlic cloves, very finely chopped, 3 stalks of celery, diced , 1 cup winter greens (chard, collards), roughly chopped, 2 medium parsnips, washed, peeled, chopped into bite size chunks, 2 cups diced carrots (about 2 medium carrots), 2 - 14 oz cans of organic chopped italian tomatoes, 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, diced + 2 tbl adobo sauce, 2 cups low-sodium veggie stock, Vegan Green Chili Cornbread, fresh cilantro, diced, vegan sour cream, diced avocado,