Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ Cup milk *the higher fat milk you use, the tastier these will be
- 2¼ teaspoons yeast one packet
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- ½ Cup pumpkin puree
- 1 egg large
- ¼ Cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- 2⅔-3 Cups all-purpose flour
Filling
- ¼ Cup butter softened
- ⅔ Cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 Tablespoons butter softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1¼ Cup powdered sugar *aka confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Warm your milk in a microwave-safe cup (preferably the measuring cup) for up to 45 seconds to bring it up to around 105℉ (no more than 110℉). Add your yeast, stir to help it dissolve, and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the butter (I just microwave it in a mug for 30 seconds). Pour into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add the pumpkin, egg, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger to the bowl and stir to combine. Then, add your milk mixture and stir again to combine.
- Add the flour, starting with 2 cups, then ⅔, adding more if needed, until the dough is manageable with your hands but a bit tacky to touch.
- Let the dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled in size (about an hour).
Make the Filling
- Once your dough has doubled in size, make your filling by adding ⅔ cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice to a small bowl.
- Punch down your dough. Then, on a floured work surface, roll your dough out into a 14 by 16-inch rectangle.
- Spread the butter evenly on the dough, leaving about ½-1 inch of space from one of the longer sides. Then add your filling, trying to sprinkle the mixture as evenly as possible on the dough.
- Roll your dough from the buttered long side to the bare one, trying to keep the dough tight so you don't have large pockets of separation. Then, grease a 9 by 13-inch pan.
- Cut your dough into 12 somewhat even pieces, displaying the prettier side of each cut roll on the top (pro tip). Let your rolls rise until doubled (about an hour on the counter or overnight in the fridge).
Baking & Frosting
- Once the rolls have risen, bake at 350℉ for 22-28 minutes, until golden on the edges and cooked through in the center (not squishy when you gently press on the center of a roll). If you chose an overnight rise, you will need to wait an hour before baking to let the rolls come back up to room-ish temperature.
- Once your cinnamon rolls have baked, start the frosting by creaming together the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl (I like a hand mixer for this part). Then, add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until combined.
- Top the warm rolls with your frosting and serve.
Notes
Storage
Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you are going to freeze these, I recommend placing them on a baking sheet and freezing them right after you've rolled them. Once they are hard, you can put them in a bag or a more space-efficient container. Or, if you're lazy and have freezer space, a disposable metal casserole dish (for baking them in later) can be put in the freezer covered with a layer of plastic wrap and then a second layer of tin foil. Then, to bake them, you will just need to take them out and thaw them before proceeding with them like refrigerated rolls.