These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are soft and fluffy with a delicious pumpkin flavor, sweet cinnamon filling, and tangy cream cheese frosting. Did I mention they make your kitchen smell amazing? They're just the thing you need to feel excited for fall.
The combination of adding pumpkin along with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves, or all the spices that make up "pumpkin spice," gives them that tender, delicious pumpkin flavor without being overpowering. The cinnamon sugar filling works perfectly with the pumpkin flavor and the cream cheese frosting adds a tangy yet sweet accent.
A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED
Room Temperature Ingredients:
Egg: You want to make sure that the egg is at room temperature to ensure that it is properly incorporated into your dough. If you forget to leave it out before you start baking, place it in a bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes until it becomes room temperature.
Measuring Your Ingredients:
I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
Oven Temperature:
Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.
Now let's bake! Warm the milk in a small bowl, sprinkle yeast on top, and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until it starts to look foamy. If the mixture does not foam, start over with a new packet of yeast. Whisk the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together in a large stand mixer bowl.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, followed by the melted butter, egg, and pumpkin puree. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix until the dough starts to stick together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to add a little more flour at this point, depending on the consistency of your pumpkin puree.
Once dough starts to stick to the paddle, switch out the paddle for the hook attachment and mix on low for 4-5 minutes. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball and gently place in bowl, flipping the dough over to coat the top of it as well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise for about one hour, until it has doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen for about 45 minutes, coat a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray and lined the bottom with a parchment round. To prepare the filling, whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a flat rectangle that’s about 10 x 12 inches. Using a pastry brush, carefully coat the top of the dough with melted butter, except for an inch border on one of the long sides as this will need to be left untouched to help them seal.
Spoon cinnamon sugar onto dough and spread around evenly, except for that same inch border at the top. Use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or dough cutter to cut the dough into 8 strips. With the long side of the dough closest to you, carefully roll up each strip into a tight spiral, using that bare end of the dough to help seal it closed. Repeat this process with all other rolls and arrange them neatly in the pan.
Cover the rolls in plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes. While the rolls rise, preheat oven to 350º F and remove cream cheese from the fridge for it to soften.
Once rolls have risen, bake them for 30-35 minutes. Let rolls cool for 10 minutes and then carefully run a knife along the side of the pan. Gently flip the cinnamon rolls out onto a cooling rack.
While the rolls bake, mix the cream cheese on low in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until it is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar and milk, mixing on medium low until it is smooth.
These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are soft and fluffy with a delicious pumpkin flavor, sweet cinnamon filling, and tangy cream cheese frosting. Did I mention they make your kitchen smell amazing? They're just the thing you need to feel excited for fall.
Author:Marisa Guerra
Prep Time:1 hour and 30 minutes
Cook Time:30 minutes
Total Time:2 hours
Yield:8 servings
Category:Breakfast
Ingredients
Dough
113 grams (½ cup) milk, warmed
1 package (2 ¼ tsp) rapid rise yeast
450-540 grams (3 ¾-4 ½ cups) flour, plus more for rolling
53 grams (¼ cup) packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ginger
½ tsp cloves
56 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg
170 grams (¾ cup) pumpkin puree
Filling
213 grams (1 cup) packed light brown sugar
1 ½ tbsp cinnamon
14 grams (1 tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz cream cheese, softened
113 grams (1 cup) powdered sugar, sifted
28 grams (2 tbsp) milk or heavy cream
Instructions
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Warm milk in a small bowl, sprinkle yeast on top, and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until it starts to look foamy. If the mixture does not foam, start over with a new packet of yeast.
Whisk the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves together in a large stand mixer bowl.
In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, followed by the melted butter, egg, and pumpkin puree.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix until the dough starts to stick together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to add a little more flour at this point, depending on the consistency of your pumpkin puree.
Once dough starts to stick to the paddle, switch out the paddle for the hook attachment and mix on low for 4-5 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball and gently place in bowl, flipping the dough over to coat the top of it as well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise for about one hour, until it has doubled in size.
Once the dough has risen for about 45 minutes, coat a 9 inch round pan with cooking spray and lined the bottom with a parchment round.
To prepare the filling, whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a flat rectangle that’s about 10 x 12 inches. Using a pastry brush, carefully coat the top of the dough with melted butter, except for an inch border on one of the long sides as this will need to be left untouched to help them seal.
Spoon cinnamon sugar onto dough and spread around evenly, except for that same inch border at the top.
Use a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or dough cutter to cut the dough into 8 strips. With the long side of the dough closest to you, carefully roll up each strip into a tight spiral, using that bare end of the dough to help seal it closed. Repeat this process with all other rolls and arrange them neatly in the pan.
Cover the rolls in plastic wrap and let them rise for 30 minutes. While the rolls rise, preheat oven to 350º F and remove cream cheese from the fridge for it to soften.
Once rolls have risen, bake them for 30-35 minutes.
Let rolls cool for 10 minutes and then carefully run a knife along the side of the pan. Gently flip the cinnamon rolls out onto a cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Icing
While the rolls bake, mix the cream cheese on low in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until it is smooth.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add powdered sugar and milk, mixing on medium low until it is smooth.
Spread the icing over the rolls and enjoy!
Notes
Rolls are best served fresh. Leftovers can be placed in an airtight container and stored in the fridge for several days. Rolls can be reheated slightly in the microwave or oven.
I recommend only frosting the rolls as you eat them. If you have leftover rolls, keep the rest of the icing in an airtight container in the fridge and add to the rolls once you heat them up as leftovers.
I like to cut the dough into strips and roll each strip individually as I find this often makes a neater looking roll, but you can also roll the dough into a log and use a serrated knife or unflavored piece of floss to slice them.
