Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Are you a pumpkin spice lover or hater? I’m a lover. You haters must have a wee bit of a hard time this year as pumpkinpalooza explodes over everything-showering us with “punkin” delights. Ohhh…me- I love everything spice. Spice is the fruit of life; it’s what makes everything better. Have you ever had a cinnamon roll that just fell flat and didn’t have enough goo or cinnamon between the layers? yeah. I know. It’s a crime. Sooo calorie not worthy. There’s nothing worse than blowing your diet for a non calorie worthy bite. Of anything. This pumpkin roll will not disappoint. This is the roll where you eat salad all week-saving up your calories for just the right moment on a Sunday morning with a cup of Joe for. Promise. I can guarantee you it’s worth every calorie. Truth be told I think I had one roll on the tray that the very inner middle was a wee bit underdone. It was extra gooey and saturated with cinnamon goodness and extra pillowy soft. The Husband exclaimed “Honey, I think it’s a bit underdone” and I retorted; “Yeah, well some people would pay for that inner bite of goo”. He left it on the plate and I’m telling you….I went for that bite and it was pure nirvana. NIRVANA! He was born in Asia; so he didn’t grow up with cinnamon rolls where you know the most coveted bite is that inner piece of cinnamon jackpot bliss. His loss, my gain. Ok, enough of me waxing poetic, and onto the recipe…..

p.s. I cannot tell you how soft and luscious this dough is to work with and roll out. Shout out to Melskitchencafe for her recipe. I doesn’t fight you back when rolling; truth be told I pressed it out almost 80 percent and then just finished by rolling it even. It is that easy to work with. Something to do with that added moistness of the pumpkin makes it a divine dough.

Pumpkin Dough

( dough recipe from Mels Kitchen cafe)

3/4 Cup buttermilk, warmed to ~ 110 degrees F

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

2/3 Cup pumpkin puree (I swear by Libby’s it’s the only one I use)

1/4 C granulated sugar

1 Tbsp. instant (rapid rise yeast)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

4-5 Cups all purpose flour (I use unbleached)

In the stand mixer bowl add the warmed buttermilk and butter and mix together. With the mixter running add in the pumpkin, egg, spices and 1 cup of flour. Switch to the dough hook and add in the flour and add a cup of the flour at a time until the dough collects on the hook and beat/kneed until the dough becomes tacky but not sticky. When you touch the dough it should not stick to your finger when you pull it away from the dough; it will feel tacky but no residue of dough will stay; that’s when you know the dough is ready.

Remove dough and shape into a ball and place into a large lightly greased bowl. (The paper from the butter wrapper is perfect to grease the bowl with). Place in a warm spot and over with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled. You can speed up the rise if you place in a lightly warmed oven. I turned on my oven to 150 ° F then immediately turned it off; waited 5 mins then parked the bowl in the turned off oven. My dough rose in one hour this way.

When the dough is ready turn it out onto a lightly greased counter and press into a rectangular shape. Roll out gently until it is 16 x 12 inches. Spread the softened butter onto the dough leaving about a centimeter of space on all sides and sprinkle over all the cinnamon filling. It will seem like a lot of filling; but make sure to use it all. Press gently with the hands to allow the filling to adhere to the butter. With the long side in front of you roll up the dough as tightly as possible and pinch the dough together to seal. Cut into 12 equal pieces and place in lightly greased 9×13 inch pan or line the pan with parchment paper.

Cover the pan of rolls and allow to rise one more time in a warm place. (used the oven trick again for this and mine took only 40 mins to rise).

Preheat the oven to 350° F and bake for 22-25 mins or until lightly golden and cooked through. Mine took exactly 22 mins. Check at the 20 min mark though because you don’t want to over bake them. You want them still pillowy soft.

Let the rolls rest for about 6 mins, then pour over the glaze while they are still warm.

Cinnamon Filling

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

3/4 C brown sugar ( I used 2/4 and 1/4 dark)

2 tsp. cinnamon ( I use Saigon cinnamon) (use what you have)

Cream Cheese Icing  (my recipe)

4 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Cups confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp. whole milk as needed to adjust consistency (depending on how runny you like your icing)

Cream the cream cheese and butter together until combined. Add in the sugar a cup at a time and beat until smooth; (I just do this in a bowl; no need for the mixer). Stir in the vanilla and milk. Adjust the consistency with the milk as needed. Let the rolls rest about 6 mins then pour over the warm rolls.