The best recipe for this fall – Pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls

The fall has always reminded me of a pumpkin pie and cinnamon rolls. October 4th is the day of Swedish cinnamon rolls, plus it’s pumpkin season. Aside from pumpkin pies, I also like to eat baked pumpkin with honey and cinnamon. So delicious! This is how I got inspired to make pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls. As pumpkin goes well with cinnamon, why not add some pumpkin to cinnamon rolls? 

These cinnamon rolls are filled with pumpkin puree, brown sugar and of course, cinnamon. You can eat them with or without frosting. The dough turns out so good and you don’t need to spend much time kneading it. The resting time is longer than the prep time. As for the pumpkin puree, you can either use canned pumpkin puree or make your own. 

Here’s what you’ll need

• Wooden rolling pin
• Baking paper, sheeted
• Convection counter-top oven, or regular oven

What do you need to make pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls? 

Pumpkin puree – if you prefer quick and easy recipes, use store-bought pumpkin puree. Homemade pumpkin puree is also easy to make but it takes between 30 and 45 minutes to bake a pumpkin, and a few minutes to blend it. So, if you use homemade pumpkin puree, you can prepare it a day before to speed up the prep time of cinnamon rolls. 

Cinnamon – I use ground Ceylon cinnamon made in Sri Lanka. Cassia cinnamon is high in coumarin, and it is safe to eat it only in small amounts. If you often eat cinnamon, you should avoid cassia cinnamon. 

Brown sugar adds sweetness to the pumpkin and it makes the filling caramelized. 

Butter – This is a common ingredient in baking. Melted butter softens the dough and adds richness to the flavor. However, if your dough seems very soft, you don’t need to use the butter. As the dough needs to rest for an hour at room temperature, it may become soft if the temperature is higher. 

Dough – Flour, eggs, brown sugar, yeast and milk make this flour perfect. Of course, you need some basic kneading skills and make sure you follow the recipe instructions when it comes to the amount of each ingredient. 

How to make pumpkin pie cinnamon rolls? 

Make the dough – If you use fresh yeast, stir it in warm milk and let it rest a bit. Mix it with eggs and flour. If you use dry yeast, mix it with flour and separately mix wet ingredients, then combine everything together. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes.  Cover it with plastic foil or kitchen cloth and leave it to rest for one hour.

Make the pumpkin puree – If you use store-bought pumpkin puree you can skip this step. Homemade pumpkin puree is easy to make. First, you cut the pumpkin in halves or even tinier pieces. Then you bake it for 45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Finally, you blend the pumpkin in a blender or food processor. Pumpkin puree can last in the fridge for a week. You can make the pumpkin puree the day before or while the dough is resting. 

Make the filling – Mix cinnamon with brown sugar and stir in the pumpkin puree. 

Spread and roll out the dough – use a rolling pin to spread the dough into a rectangular shape, and roll it approximately one inch thick.

Spread the filling and cut into rolls– Brush the dough with melted butter and spread the pumpkin pie filling. Roll up the dough wide-side and cut it in circles then place it in the pan that is covered with baking paper. Bake the cinnamon rolls 30 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). 

Make the frosting – Mix 125g cream cheese with a cup of powdered sugar. Add the frosting on all or some cinnamon rolls. 

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Can cinnamon rolls be frozen? 

This recipe yields about 18 rolls. You can freeze some before baking. Next time you want to bake them, leave cinnamon rolls at room temperature before baking. 

When to glaze cinnamon rolls? 

When cinnamon rolls are baked, let them cool a bit and then put some frosting. You don’t need to put all the frosting at once, you can glaze them later, prior to serving.