have cake, will travel!

2 recipes coming up: this one isn’t the healthier one of the two, but hey… I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: sometimes it’s just good to live a little. and you’re bound to live with these rolls, let me tell ya. especially if you let them sit for a while, you’ll find that the syrup soaks through the rolls a little and gives them an amazing zip that’s almost too good to be true. but true it is. and don’t worry, the soaking doesn’t mean that the rolls get soggy at all. you can even apply the glaze the day before munching on these, and you won’t notice a difference.

the first step of these was made in the bread machine, but I’ve never had any problem making bread from a bread machine recipe without a machine. at the risk of sounding like a broken record: just have a look at this, and then move on to the part of the recipe when the dough’s taken out of the bread pan.
if you’re a wuss freaked out that it might fail [although I'm ready to guarantee it will NOT], just grab your favorite cinnamon roll recipe and simply add 1 1/2 t of grated zest to it, as well as the optional T of poppy seeds if you want them, and use the filling and lemon syrup recipes.

please remember to have all ingredients at room temperature for the yeast to work its magic the way it should.

don’t worry if the filling escapes a little, it caramelizes beautifully when it does, making for crispy morsels if you’re into that type of thing. you could also decide to make these rolls into buns [no filling], place the rosewater filling-that-was at the bottom of the pan before placing the rolls into it, and reversing them onto a plate for the rosewater filling-that-was to become a caramel-like glaze. whatever floats your boat.

makes 8 rolls:

3/4 cups + 2 T pure water
2 T vegan margarine
2 1/2 cups organic bread flour [spoon lightly and level with a knife! you can use other flours of course, but keep in mind the total amount of flour might change: just add little by little until the dough looks right.]
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 t grated lemon zest [about a whole large lemon]
1 T poppy seeds, optional
1 t sea salt
1 t bread machine yeast, or quick rise yeast, or even active dry yeast

place all ingredients into your bread pan. check for the dough to not be too wet or too dry, you want it to be sticky like scotch tape and look like a tacky ball.
set your machine on “dough”.

a little bit before the dough is done rising, work on the filling:

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 T vegan margarine
1 t rosewater
2 T flour of your choice

mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, until well combined. set aside. do not put in fridge as it would make it harder to spread the filling on the dough.

prepare an 8×8 square pan with non stick cooking spray. set aside.
place your dough on a lightly floured surface, punch it down. roll out your dough to an approximate 9-in square. spread filling on top of the dough, leaving about 1 inch from the edges.
roll tightly and seal the edges of the dough by pinching them.
cut into 8 slices.

place in pan and cover with plastic wrap, letting rolls rise in a warm place until doubled in size, for about 1 hour.

preheat oven to 375F. remove plastic wrap and let your rolls bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.
place the baking pan on a cooling rack and let cool a bit before applying lemon syrup on top.

for the lemon syrup:

1 cup icing/powdered sugar
juice of half a lemon

sift your sugar into a medium bowl, add juice little by little until the mixture is thin but not entirely liquid. stir vigorously with a spoon to eliminate any lumpy bit. pour onto rolls, and serve.