Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, beautifully fluffy and tasting of Fall and cosy cooler days. These rolls are made from scratch with a sweet pumpkin dough, pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon filling, and glazed with icing for a treat that goes down well with the whole family. A delicious dessert to enjoy throughout Autumn, and particularly at Thanksgiving.
I don't know many people who aren't fans of the good old cinnamon rolls. I mean, what's not to like about them? Light, buttery, with a gorgeous icing, and lots of cinnamon, that sounds like the ideal dessert.
But how about we give this fabulous treat an autumn touch by adding pumpkin to the dough? The result is a decadent pumpkin cinnamon dessert that just screams perfection.
If you do have some leftover roasted pumpkin or the good old canned pumpkin, these amazing pumpkin and cinnamon rolls are a must bake.
They are the perfect example why l love baking so much. You don't just see Fall everywhere, you get to taste it too. It might look like it's complicating, but baking them is actually easier than you think.
It might look like it's complicating, but baking them is actually easier than you think. Waiting around for the yeast to work its magic on the dough does take a bit of time, although once you kneaded the dough and let it prove, you can get on with something else.
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Ingredients used to make the dough
- canned pumpkin - it's by far the most practical option, although if you have leftover roast pumpkin, you can puree than instead
- yeast - I used fast-action dried yeast, you don't need much of it
- strong white bead flour - ideal for these rolls, as it works really well with the yeast to create fluffy rolls
- lukewarm water - to activate the yeast
- egg - at room temperature
- sugar - I used caster sugar, granulated one also ok
- butter - cold, cut into cubes
- pumpkin pie spice - or mixed spice in the UK
How to prepare the yeast
The secret to making fluffy rolls is using good quality yeast. And to check if that is the case, you have to add it to lukewarm water together with a bit of sugar and flour and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
It should form a bubbly foam, meaning that the yeast is active and the dough will double its size the way it should. If after the 10 minutes the yeast does not look frothy, you have to start again.
I did once bake even if the yeast did not get foamy, l thought that shouldn't make such a big difference, but, guess what, it did. The dough didn't rise much, and the rolls ended up a bit dry, and nowhere near as fluffy. Lesson learnt! No skipping important steps in baking, shortcuts might work somewhere else, but not here.
How to make the pumpkin dough
- in a bowl, rub the cold butter with the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs
- add the egg, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, yeast mixture and sugar, and knead well for at least 5 minutes until you get an elastic dough that does not stick to the hands
- cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to proof until the dough doubles its volume
Ingredients used to make the pumpkin filling
- canned pumpkin - as with the dough, if you have leftover roast pumpkin, you can puree than instead, but the canned one is just perfect for what we need
- brown sugar - for a deeper colour and a taste
- cinnamon
How to make the filling
For the filling, it's just a matter of mixing together the canned pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon to get a smooth paste. And that's all!
Step-by-step photos and instructions to make the rolls
Once the dough has doubled its volume, roll it over your work surface, and spread the pumpkin mixture all over, making sure the edges are clear, so that you can roll the dough better.
Roll into a big sausage, then slice it into about 12 rolls, depending on the thickness of the slices. Arrange them on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper, and leave to proof for a second time to allow the rolls to fill up the space between them.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius (340 Fahrenheit) until golden.
The icing
- icing sugar - confectioners' sugar in the US
- milk - any of your choice
Simply sift the icing sugar, add the milk, and mix well to get a smooth runny paste. Once the pumpkin rolls are out of the oven, leave them to cool down a bit, then drizzle the icing over.
Expert tips
Like with most bakery products, the rolls need double proofing, once when the dough needs to double in volume, and second time after the rolls have been formed.
You can add them to the baking tray, leaving a bit of space between each of them, they will fill that space, just let them sit again for about 30 minutes to one hour.
It all depends how warm is in the kitchen, l usually cover the dough bowl with clingfilm and then wrap it around in a kitchen towel, to make sure it keeps as warm as it can. They will rise further in the oven, but it's best to get them to rise as much as possible before as well.
Other pumpkin desserts
Pumpkin Pie Recipe with Condensed Milk
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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the dough
- 275 g strong white bread flour
- 60 ml lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoon dried yeast
- 50 g cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- 75 g pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ( mixed spice)
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
For the filling
- 100 g pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
For the glaze
- 100 g icing sugar (confectioner's sugar
- 2 tablespoon full-fat milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add the water, yeast, a tablespoon of sugar and a tablespoon of flour, give it a stir, and let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast forms a bubbly foam.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, and add the butter. Use your fingertips to rub the butter until the flour ressembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree.
- Once the yeast is foamy, add it to the bowl and knead everything together for at least 5 minutes until you get an elastic dough that does not stick to the bowl.
- Cover with clingfilm and a clean tea towel, and let it sit for at least one hour or until it doubles its size.
- To make the filling, mix the pumpkin puree with the sugar and cinnamon.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle, spread the pumpkin all over, then roll the dough into a big sausage.
- Line a baking tray with non-stick paper, cut 12 pinwheels out of the big roll, and arrange on the tray, leaving a bit of space between each roll.
- Cover with clingfilm, and let it sit again for 30 minutes to one hour, until the rolls rise and fill the space between them.
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 Fahrenheit).
- Bake the rolls for about 20-25 minutes or until golden and fluffy. Leave to cool for 5 minutes.
- To make the glaze, sift the icing sugar, add the milk to it, and mix well to get a smooth runny paste.
- Drizzle it over the rolls.
Video
Notes
- To see the measurements in cups and ounces, please click on the US CUSTOMARY link.
- The amount of ingredients listed can be adjusted depending on the number of servings you need, just click on the number next to SERVINGS.
- Like with most bakery products, the rolls need double proofing, once when the dough needs to double in volume, and second time after the rolls have been formed.
- You can add them to the baking tray, leaving a bit of space between each of them, they will fill that space, just let them sit again for about 30 minutes to one hour.
- It all depends how warm is in the kitchen, l usually cover the dough bowl with clingfilm and then wrap it around in a kitchen towel, to make sure it keeps as warm as it can. They will rise further in the oven, but it's best to get them to rise as much as possible before as well.
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