This is an easy vegan recipe for fluffy twisted cinnamon nut buns – These Swedish yeast knots (Norwegian Kanelknuter) are as delicious as traditional cinnamon rolls or mini brioche buns and are perfect for dessert or as a snack to brighten up your Christmas or Easter holidays!
Vegan Twisted Cinnamon Buns (Norwegian Kanelknuter)
If you love Swedish cinnamon rolls, you will love this day recipe for vegan nut knots too! These delicious buns are made with a soft brioche yeast dough that is filled with a sweet cinnamon nut filling, then twisted into cute little knots.
I chose hazelnuts for the filling, but you can also opt for other nuts like almonds, walnuts or pecans. Or you can leave the yeast knots quite classic like my Easter bread, skipping the filling and just sprinkling them with hail sugar.
Want to make cinnamon twists or babka?
If you find “forming knots” difficult or don’t feel like doing it, you can also use this recipe to make some cinnamon twists or a large twisted bread loaf. For step-by-step instructions on how to braid a loaf with filling, check out my Vegan Babka recipe.
Ingredients for cinnamon knots
For this recipe, all you need is a vegan yeast dough and a few other pantry staple ingredients you may already have at home.
- Yeast dough: see my Braided Brioche Bread recipe.
- Hazelnut flour: or any other ground nuts you like.
- Brown sugar: or another type of sugar such as white or raw cane sugar. To reduce the sugar content, you can also sub a sugar substitute or coconut sugar. Maple syrup, date syrup or agave syrup are also good options. However, if using syrup, be sure to use less plant milk.
- Cinnamon: or another Christmas spice like Pumpkin Spice or Speculoos Spice.
- Plant Milk: use your favorite like soy, oat, cashew or almond milk.
- Soy cream: or other dairy-free cream or milk for brushing the yeast knots. You can also add a pinch of turmeric for a beautiful golden color.
How to make Swedish Cinnamon Knots
As always, I recommend checking out this step-by-step instruction and the recipe video first. Then you’ll find the full recipe with exact measurements in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the yeast dough
First, make the yeast dough according to the Brioche Bread recipe and let it rise. I usually prepare it the day before and then put it in the fridge overnight so I can continue the next day.
Step 2: Prepare the cinnamon nut filling
For the filling, simply combine hazelnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Then add the plant milk and mix to form a spreadable paste.
Step 3: Roll out and fill the yeast dough
Roll out the risen yeast dough on a lightly floured work surface into an approx. 19.6-inch x 19.6-inch (50 cm x 50 cm) square. Then spread the cinnamon and nut filling evenly on one half of the square. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and again carefully roll out into an approx. 9.8-inch x 15.7-inch (25 cm x 40 cm) rectangle.
Step 4: Twist yeast knots
Now cut the dough crosswise into about 16-20 long strips using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Twist each strip into a cord, then tie it into a round knot. Cover the rolls and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Step 5: Bake the twisted cinnamon buns
Finally, brush the nut knots with dairy-free cream plus optional turmeric and bake in a preheated oven at 392 °F (200 °C) for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!
How to store yeast buns
These cinnamon knots can be stored like vegan chocolate buns. Stored in an airtight bag or container, they can be kept at room temperature for about 3-5 days. If they get too hard, simply warm them in the microwave for a few seconds before eating. This will make your cinnamon rolls really soft and fluffy again and they will taste just like freshly baked!
You can also freeze both the unbaked and the baked yeast knots for a few months. Then simply thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before baking them according to the instructions. If you froze them already baked, simply warm them briefly in the oven or microwave until warm and soft before serving.
This recipe for vegan cinnamon knots is:
- Egg-free
- Dairy-free (lactose-free)
- Made with fluffy and soft yeast dough
- Filled with cinnamon, sugar and hazelnuts
- Not overly sweet
- As delicious as cinnamon buns
- Easy to make
- Great as a gift idea
- Better than the yeast buns from the bakery
- The perfect treat for the holidays!
More Vegan Yeast Dough Recipe
Looking for more easy baking recipes with fluffy yeast dough? Here are some of my favorite recipes:
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Chocolate Brioche Buns
- Vegan Croissants
- Apple Stuffed Buns
- Bee Sting Cake
- Blueberry Babka
- Braided Bread
- Poppy seed and Cherry Yeast Roll Cake
- Apple Crumble Pizzas
If you try this easy recipe for twisted cinnamon nut buns, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating! And if you share a photo of your fluffy cinnamon rolls on Instagram, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka because I love seeing your remakes! Happy baking! 🙂
Vegan Twisted Cinnamon Buns (Kanelknuter)
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Yeast dough
Cinnamon nut filling
- 250 g hazelnut flour or other ground nuts
- 75 g brown sugar or other sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 10 tbsp plant milk e.g. soy, oat, cashew or almond milk
For brushing
- dairy-free cream or plant milk
- 1 pinch of turmeric optional for a golden color
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures above!
Yeast dough
- Prepare the yeast dough according to my Brioche Bread recipe and let it rise.
Cinnamon nut filling
- In a bowl, combine hazelnuts, sugar and cinnamon. Add the plant milk and mix to create a spreadable paste.
Shape knots
- Roll out the yeast dough on a lightly floured work surface to a square, about 19.6“x19.6“ (50x50cm).
- Spread the filling evenly on one half of the square. Then fold the other half of the dough over the filling and carefully roll out into a rectangle, about 9.8“x15.7“ (25x40cm).
- Cut the dough crosswise with a pizza cutter or sharp knife into 16-20 long strips.
- Twist each strip into a cord, then tie it into a round knot. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 392 °F (200 °C).
- Stir together the dairy-free cream and turmeric (if using). Brush the buns with the milk mixture and bake for about 15-20 minutes, depending on size, until golden brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!
Notes
- I use soy cooking cream for brushing but you can also use another dairy-free cream or milk.
- To reduce the sugar content, use a sugar substitute or coconut sugar. Maple syrup, date syrup or agave syrup are also good options. However, if using syrup, use less plant milk.
- This recipes makes 16-20 buns. The nutritional information is calculated for 1 of 20.
- More information about the recipe, including tips for storing and freezing, are mentioned in the blog post above!
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Do you have a similar recipe with chocolate filling ?
You can make a chocolate filling by melting 120 grams dark chocolate and 1/4 cup of almond butter over a waterbath until smooth. Then stir in 30 grams of cocoa powder.
Hi! Love this recipe (I’ve made it before) and I want to do it again but only have instant yeast and would like to halve the recipe is there anyway I could do that with this? I’m obsessed with these but don’t have enough people to eat all of them lol
Sure! Simply combine instant yeast with the dry ingredients. Then add wet ingredients and mix into a smooth yeast dough. 😉
Thank you! Will let you know how it goes 🙂
Great! 🙂