Sure, you could bake up a delicious batch of standard cinnamon rolls and I wouldn’t blame you, but it’s fall, and if you have a pumpkin lover in your life, these light, fluffy, pumpkin-spiced cinnamon rolls are the perfect weekend breakfast treat. In addition to being pretty easy to make, this homemade pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe uses an entire can of pumpkin! Too often, other recipes have left me holding an almost empty can of pumpkin puree, only to shove it into a food storage container and banish it to the Siberia that is the back corner of my fridge. Not anymore! I’ve made sure every last little bit of that pumpkin goes into this breakfast roll; nary a teaspoon gets left in the can. Between the flaky sweet dough and the substantially spiced pumpkin filling, you’re going to feel like a regular pumpkin puree economist or something like that. Get ready; you’re about to be a breakfast hero!
Make Perfect Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Every Time!
These cinnamon rolls are made with enriched dough, which means there is fat in it. Typical cinnamon rolls made like this have butter and eggs. For this recipe, I replaced the egg with pumpkin puree, which helps to balance the moisture and weight of the dough. Here are some things to watch out for when you’re working with yeast and pumpkin in dough:
The humidity of your environment determines how much flour to add to the dough. I made this recipe on a day where the humidity registered 67 percent, which meant I had to add an additional 1/4 cup of flour. A couple of weeks later, the humidity was at 15 percent and I didn’t need that additional 1/4 cup of flour. In cases like this, feeling the dough is key. Soft and pliable is good. Sticky and loose, not so much.Yeast is a living organism and if exposed to extreme temperatures, for example scalding hot milk, the yeast will die. If the yeast dies our dough won’t rise, ever. On the other hand, adding the yeast to tepid milk (110°F/43°C) is like submerging it in a bubble bath. It’ll be primed to do its best work and your dough will rise.Time is also a factor when it comes to working with yeast. Let it rehydrate before adding it to your wet mix. If you’re really confident your yeast is alive and well, say you just used it to bake bread, then feel free to add the yeast to the flour and get to mixing. If, however, you haven’t used your yeast in a while, activating it in that warm milk prior to using it is important. It’s like insurance that lets you know the yeast will give rise to your dough and all of your work won’t be in vain.Mix the yeast and a pinch of sugar into the milk. The sugar motivates the yeast to get to work. Can the yeast work without the sugar? Yes. Does it work better with it? Also, yes.
How to Make Overnight Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
I’m all about getting as much done the night before because I’m not a morning person. To turn these pumpkin cinnamon rolls into overnight pumpkin cinnamon rolls, prepare the dough and allow it to rise as if you’re making the rolls that day. After spreading the pumpkin-cinnamon filling on the rolled out dough, roll, slice, and arrange in the baking pan as instructed. Cover the pan of rolls with plastic wrap and refrigerate them overnight. In the morning, about an hour before you plan to eat, pull the pan of rolls out of the fridge and place it in a cold oven. Allow the rolls to sit in the cold oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the plastic wrap, then turn on the oven. Once the oven has reached the proper temperature, set the timer for 20 minutes. Check the rolls after 20 minutes—if they’re still pale, bake for five additional minutes, then remove the dish from the oven and frost as desired.
How to Freeze Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Freeze these cinnamon rolls after baking and before frosting them. Just allow the rolls to cool completely before transferring them to a freezer storage bag. They’ll keep in the freezer for two months. I do not recommend freezing the rolls before baking them. You can also freeze the cream cheese frosting in this recipe. The texture won’t be exactly the same as when it’s first made. Previously frozen cream cheese frosting is grainier than frosting that was never frozen. The change is minimal, though, so when I have leftover frosting, I have no qualms about freezing it. Seal it in a freezer bag and it will keep for up to three months. To thaw the frosting, I just throw it in the fridge for a few hours before mixing it on low speed until it’s smooth.
More Breakfast Roll Recipes!
Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Caramel Apple Monkey Bread Raspberry Jam Sweet Rolls Cinnamon Sticky Buns Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls
Add 1 cup of the flour mixture and all of the yeast-milk mixture to the bowl. Blend these into the pumpkin mixture on low speed until it forms a batter. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and paddle. Once the dough becomes too stiff to mix with the paddle attachment, switch to the dough hook attachment. Increase to the second speed (medium-low) and knead the dough for 10 minutes. The bowl should gather into a ball on the mixer’s hook and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Alternatively, you can knead the dough by hand on a floured countertop for 10 minutes. Once the dough is fully kneaded, it should feel soft, pliable, and cool to the touch. The dough should not stick to your hands when you remove it from the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or with a piece of plastic wrap and put the bowl in a warm, draft-free area of your kitchen (my microwave is my go-to dough rising spot). Allow the dough to rise for 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size. In a separate bowl, use a whisk to combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Spread the pumpkin-butter mixture over the surface of the dough, leaving a 1-inch margin along one long side of the dough. This margin will allow you to seal the roll later. Sprinkle the spiced-sugar mixture evenly over the part of the dough with pumpkin-butter. Spray a 15 x 10 3/4-inch baking dish (or a 9x13-inch baking dish if you have it) with butter or non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the rolls in the baking dish, making sure to leave 1/4 inch of space around each one to allow for room to rise. Cover the baking dish with a clean kitchen towel or a piece of plastic wrap and set it in a warm, draft-free area in the kitchen. Allow the rolls to rise a second time, this time for 30 minutes. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix again on low speed for another 2 or 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater once during the mixing time. Add the remaining powdered sugar if you prefer a thicker frosting. Use it as-is for thinner frosting. Store the baked, frosted rolls in the refrigerator for 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute to warm them.
