Add some warmth to your chilly fall mornings with a batch of homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls. These fluffy rolls swirled with a buttery, cinnamon sugar and pumpkin spice filling topped with a maple glaze can be made ahead and frozen for months!
Prep Time: 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 20 minutesminutes
Rise and Cool Time: 1 hourhour40 minutesminutes
Total Time: 2 hourshours45 minutesminutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Dough
¾cupswarm milk, 105-110°F
¼cupgranulated sugar
1(1/4-ounce) packagequick rise yeast, about 2 1/4 teaspoons
2-3Tablespoonsheavy cream, more as needed for consistency
Pinch salt
Instructions
Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, stir together the warm milk and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let sit about 5 minutes, or until bubbly.
Stir in the pumpkin, egg, and butter until smooth and creamy. Add 2 cups flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and stir until smooth. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead in the mixer or with your hands for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and soft. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 to 2 Tablespoons more flour.
Place the dough ball in a large bowl greased with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise 1 hour in a warm place, or until doubled in size. Once dough has doubled in size, punch it down.
Filling
Butter or spray a 9x13-inch glass baking dish with nonstick spray. Line bottom with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.
On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle, approximately 14x16 inches. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Spread the butter onto the dough with a pastry brush. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the dough, and rub the sugar into the butter.
Roll the dough up tightly starting at the shorter side (14-inch side). Pinch the sides together at the end.
Using floss or a large serrated knife, cut the dough in half and cut each half into 6 (1-inch pieces) for a total of 12 rolls. Place rolls in baking dish, about 1-inch apart. Cover with a towel and let the rolls sit 30 minutes, or until rolls have doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until lightly golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes before frosting.
Glaze
In a large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and salt. Mix until well combined. You can add heavy cream to thin or powdered sugar to thicken. It should fall like a ribbon from the spoon.
Drizzle the icing over the slightly cooled cinnamon rolls.
Notes
Rising tip: Turn the oven to 175°F. Once preheated, turn off the oven and place the dough inside to rise. Make ahead: Before the 2nd rise, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and then place in the refrigerator for up to 16 hours. Then the next morning, pull them out onto the counter and let them rise until doubled, about 1 hour. It is normal for there to be a little liquid, but if there's too much, get a paper towel and dab it out. Freezing the cinnamon rolls: You can freeze the cinnamon rolls after they have been baked and cooled. Simply place in a freezer container or zip-top bag. Place in refrigerator to thaw overnight. Warm individual rolls in microwave for 10 to 20 seconds.