Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
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This recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls is one of my favorites. It’s the perfect sweet to enjoy on a crisp fall morning. Everyone will love the rich pumpkin flavor of these cinnamon rolls.
Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I especially love being in the kitchen, exploring every conceivable way to incorporate pumpkin into my creations.
Last week I made a batch of cinnamon rolls. So this week I decided to give them a fall-inspired twist and sneak some pumpkin and spices into the dough.
Let’s make some Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!
How to make Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls:
If you’ve ever made cinnamon rolls before, the process is pretty similar. The only big change is adding pumpkin puree and including lots of fall spices.
Let me tell you – they are pretty amazing! Just another reason to love pumpkin. I topped them off with a maple cream cheese icing that is the perfect complement!
That’s it! These just might be my new favorite pumpkin treat.
I know that making dough at home is slightly intimidating, but I promise you it’s a lot easier than it looks. Plus, once you taste these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, you realize it was all worth it.
Yep, they are that amazing.
And the golden orange color of the baked dough is quite beautiful.
If you like these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, try these recipes too:
- Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies
- Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
- Pumpkin White Chocolate Bread Pudding
- Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Dip
Let’s check out the recipe for these little rolls of pure joy! I hope you’ll give them a try!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Dough:
- ¼ ounce package yeast
- ½ cup warm water
- ½ cup scalded milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground clove
- 1 egg
- 4 - 5 cups all-purpose flour
Filling:
- ½ cup softened butter (plus more for pan)
- 3/4 cup sugar (plus more for pan)
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Maple Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Mapleine (maple extract)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water and set aside.
- In a stand mixer bowl, combine milk, sugar, melted butter, pumpkin puree, spices, salt, and egg with a spoon. Attach the bowl to the mixer with the dough hook attached. Add 2 cups of flour and mix until smooth. Add yeast mixture. Mix in remaining flour until dough is easy to handle. Knead with dough hook for about 5 minutes. (If not using a stand mixer, knead dough on lightly floured surface for 5 to 10 minutes.) Place in well-greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled in size, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- When doubled in size, punch down dough. Roll out on floured surface into a 15 by 9-inch rectangle. Spread softened butter all over dough. In a small bowl, mix together sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Then sprinkle over buttered dough. Beginning at the 15-inch side, role up dough and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 to 15 slices.
- Coat the bottom of 13 x 9 baking pan with butter and sprinkle with sugar. Place cinnamon roll slices close together in the pan and let rise until dough is doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned.
- Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, Mapleine, and vanilla until smooth. For a thicker icing, add more powdered sugar. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.
Pumpkin Cinnamon rolls are a Thanksgiving breakfast tradition. I misplaced our recipe this year and could not find it. I used this one intead; We all agreed losing that recipe was the best thing to happen to our tradition; these are amazing! I prepared them the night before and refrigerated them after the second rising; and they still came out fluffy and amazing
I love reading this Sara, thanks so much for sharing! Glad you loved the recipe.
xo Michael
I just love your recipe for these rolls. Really great, easy to make and the baked product does freeze well, or else I might turn into a blimp. I almost fell off my chair when I noticed your rolling pin, it is identical to the one my Mother has and she will be 93 in December. She bought it right after World War II ended when everything was rationed and you got what you could get your hands on or put your name on a list waiting to get called. The handles are even the same color. She was married in April 1946 and that rolling pin has made many a pie, roll, cookie, etc. over the years and probably will continue for many years to come. Love almost every one of your recipes and can’t wait to see your new kitchen and what else you choose to do with your house. I never fail to get some good advice from your blog and I always leave it to read later in the day if I know I am going to get upset by something as it always cheers me up. Enjoy your fall. I think winter is going to be a brutal one this year for your area and my area in the Midwest.
I’m going to make the dough using my bread machine. I’m a lazy baker, but these look too heavenly to skip.
The dough is really easy to make if you do decide to try it by hand.
xo Michael
I’m going to make these this weekend! Thanks!
Oh my WORD! I need these in my life!!!
I would jump right out of the bed in the morning for these! Love this for fall!
Hahaha! Yes – love your attitude!! I’ll be right there with you.
xo Michael
Pumpkin cinnamon rolls sound like the perfect fall breakfast! Yum!
Yess!! They are my favorite!!
xo Michael
I love these! Pumpkin with out being over the top in sweetness. LOVE!
These are superb! I have been making cinnamon rolls for years, and this is a great twist on a traditional recipe. For those who were wondering about making the dough in advance, you can make the dough, let it rise, then shape the rolls and put them in the pan. At this point, cover the pan tightly with foil, then you can either freeze the rolls, or put them in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning, uncover and put them in a warm oven (preheated to 200 then turned off) to rise, then bake as directed. It works beautifully!
Just checked the King Arthur Flour site and found this link on freezing cinnamon buns.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2010/12/10/freeze-cinnamon-buns-in-20-minutes/
now I’ll be able to try this for Thanksgiving- Thank you Michael looks so yummy!
I made these for the first time today. Omg they are sooooo yummy! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
I am planning on makingthesecfor Christmas breakfast this year. One thing that i always do, I mix the sugar and and spices into my softened butter then spread it on the dough. That way all of the spicy sweet goodness doesn’t fall off while rolling.
I just made these for Christmas brunch yesterday. I have never made cinnamon rolls before so I was a little nervous to use yeast. They were easy to make! Especially using a kitchen aid mixer. I made the dough and rolled them out the night before. Stuck them in the fridge overnight. In the morning, I followed a step from an Alton Brown recipe for overnight rolls and put the rolls in a cold oven with a pan of boiling water underneath for 30 mins. Not sure it did anything different. I suppose it was to assist in the second rising but hey didn’t rise anymore than what was done overnight the fridge. Took them out of the oven, preheated and baked the rolls. Amazing! I think I won Christmas with these rolls. Thanks so much for this recipe! 🙂
Oh. My. GOSH! Easily one of the best cinnamon rolls ever!!! I made these for Thanksgiving breakfast and they were a huge hit – even my picky brother-in-law ate three! Thanks for the fantastic recipe! I pinned in my Tried It – Loved It board.
Just made the pumpkin cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving. Yum yum!
I just made these for a work potluck! They were absolutely delicious and I could not be happier that I found this recipe. Thanks so much!!!
hi I’m going to be making your buns but I only have yeast in a jar what is the measurement since I don’t have the packages .. thanks a bunch I can’t wait to try them !!! 🙂
If you want to make these the night before and bake them in the morning, simply cover them with plastic wrap after making the rolls and putting them in the pan. They will rise in the fridge overnight (it’s a slow rise vs room temp rise). Then you just pop them in the oven, no need to rise.
You can freeze these as well. Same process. Wrap with plastic after making the rolls, and freeze them. Let them thaw at room temperature overnight – they will rise during this time. Bake in the morning. Works every time.
Just made these and had one right away! Sooo perfect!
These look crazy good! Can’t wait to try them – I need a new favorite cinnamon roll recipe!