Description
Ultra-soft pumpkin cinnamon rolls made with pumpkin puree, warm fall spices, and topped with maple cream cheese icing. Perfect for cozy autumn mornings and holiday brunches.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Dough Base:
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- ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (I use Libby’s, fight me)
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- ¾ cup whole milk
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- 4 tablespoons butter, softened (leave it out for an hour)
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- ¼ cup granulated sugar
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- 1 large egg (room temp!)
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- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast (active dry works too)
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- 1 teaspoon salt
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- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
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- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour (don’t pack it down)
Filling:
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- â…” cup brown sugar, packed tight
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- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
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- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
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- ¼ teaspoon allspice
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- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
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- Pinch of ground cloves (tiny pinch!)
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- 3 tablespoons butter, super soft
Maple Cream Cheese Icing:
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- 4 oz cream cheese (the block kind, not the tub)
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- 3 tablespoons real maple syrup
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- 2–3 tablespoons milk
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- 1½ cups powdered sugar
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- Pinch of cinnamon if you’re feeling fancy
Instructions
So I heat up my milk and butter in the microwave for about 45 seconds – just until the butter’s melted. Don’t make it hot or you’ll kill the yeast (learned that one the hard way). Mix this with your pumpkin, sugar, egg, and yeast in a big bowl. Then dump in your flour bit by bit until it looks like shaggy dough.
Time to get your hands dirty! Knead this hot mess for around 8-10 minutes, or so, until, it’s no longer sticky, but begins to become smooth. Whenever I use my stand mixer, my children object to the noise, so I most often make the dough by hand as I watch Netflix. It’s done when you can poke it and it springs back.
I plop this in an oiled bowl, cover with a damp dish towel, and stick it somewhere warm. My favorite spot is on top of the fridge. Takes about 2 hours to double, sometimes longer if my house is freezing. Don’t rush this part even though it’s torture smelling the pumpkin.
Punch down your dough (so satisfying!) and roll it out on a floured counter. Mine’s never a perfect rectangle but whatever. Smear that soft butter all over, then dump your cinnamon sugar mixture on top. I use my hands to spread it around – forks are for quitters.
Roll it up from the long side, trying to keep it tight but not so tight it tears. Then comes the fun part – I use dental floss to cut because knives just squish everything. Slide the floss under, cross it over the top, and pull. Makes perfect rounds every time!
Plop these babies in a buttered 9×13 pan and cover again. Another hour of waiting while they get all puffy and start touching each other. This is when I prep my icing and try not to eat the leftover filling straight from the bowl.
Into a 350°F oven they go! (Though my oven is hot, so I check at 20 minutes.) They’re ready when they’re golden brown and no longer jiggle when you shake the pan. Just throw some foil over them if the tops are browning too quickly.
Notes
The pumpkin is why these stay soft for days – it’s like built-in moisture. I’ve had them stay perfect for three days covered on the counter. If you’re not into all the spices, just use cinnamon and call it good. The maple syrup in the icing is what makes people ask for the recipe, but vanilla works if that’s what you have.
Word of warning: don’t open the oven door too early or they’ll deflate. I learned this the hard way when I got impatient and peeked at 15 minutes. Also, if you’re doubling the recipe, don’t double the salt – use 1.5 times instead.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 22g
- Sodium: 285mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 6g
- Cholesterol: 35mg