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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Why settle for regular cinnamon rolls when you can make these fall-inspired Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls instead?! They’re soft and fluffy with a sweet cinnamon sugar filling and a simple sugar glaze topping!

Pumpkin cinnamon rolls in a glass baking dish, drizzled with a sugar glaze, white ramekin with pumpkin puree, orange checkered kitchen cloth, and two sliver forks to the side.

The addition of pumpkin puree adds a quick and easy pumpkin twist to ordinary cinnamon rolls – perfect as a Fall sweet treat or dessert.

If you love variations of classic recipes, be sure to also try my Yeast Free Cinnamon Rolls, Golden Grahams Cinnamon Rolls, and Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter Rolls.

๐ŸŒŸ WHY YOU’LL LOVE PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS

The pumpkin puree adds a delicate flavor to these cinnamon rolls without being overpowering – perfect when catering to slightly fussy eaters.

While this recipe does include extra time for the dough to rise, it’s not at all complicated and perfectly suitable to anyone who has never baked with yeast before.

Easily adapt these pumpkin cinnamon rolls to suit your preferences. Crunchy ingredients like chopped nuts and chocolate chips are a welcome addition!

๐Ÿฝ KEY INGREDIENTS

Ingredients for pumpkin cinnamon rolls on a white marble countertop.

Yeast mixture – Combine warm milk, water, instant yeast, and sugar.

Dough ingredients The dough for these pumpkin cinnamon rolls consists of pumpkin puree, a yeast mixture, an egg, salt, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, and soft butter.

Filling – I’ve used melted butter to baste the rolled out dough and topped it with cinnamon sugar, made with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Sugar glaze – This simple sugar glaze combines powdered sugar with water.

Swaps

Gluten-free – Use gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour if you want gluten-free pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

Glaze – Feel free to get creative and slather the tops of these pumpkin cinnamon rolls with a cream cheese frosting.

Toppings and add-ons – Chopped nuts sprinkled over the wet sugar glaze would provide a delicious crunchy texture. Feel free to also add finely chopped nuts, raisins, or chocolate chips into the dough.

Close up of a pumpkin cinnamon roll that has been pulled in half, the remainder of the baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls in a glass baking dish in the background.

๐Ÿฅฃ EQUIPMENT

You’ll need a large mixing bowl, a 9×13-inch baking tray, cooking spray, a damp kitchen cloth or plastic wrap, a wooden rolling pin, a wooden spatula or a stand mixer with a dough hook.

๐Ÿ”ช HOW TO MAKE

These pumpkin cinnamon rolls involve three main elements – dough, filling, and sugar glaze! Once the dough has been made and allowed to rest, it’ll take you a few minutes only to assemble these pumpkin-inspired treats! Here’s exactly how to bake soft and fluffy pumpkin cinnamon rolls this Fall:

Preparations

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and spray a 9×13-inch baking tray with cooking spray. Set the tray aside.

Cooking Instructions

Step 1
Make the yeast mixture in a large glass bowl by combining warm milk, water, a teaspoon of sugar, and a packet of instant yeast. Let the mixture activate for 5-7 minutes.

Large glass bowl with warm milk, water, sugar, and yeast.

Step 2
Add the pumpkin puree, egg, soft butter and white sugar. Whisk the ingredients until combined.

Large glass bowl with yeast mixture, pumpkin puree, egg, soft butter, and white sugar.

Step 3
Stir in the flour and salt. Form the dough using a wooden spatula or a stand mixer with a dough hook.

Large glass bowl with pumpkin cinnamon roll dough.

Step 4
Once the dough is formed into a ball, cover it in the bowl with a damp cloth or with plastic wrap and leave it for an hour to rise or until it has doubled in size.

Large glass bowl with pumpkin cinnamon roll dough, ready to be covered.

Step 5
Add flour to a clean surface and roll out the dough to an even thickness.

Marble countertop dusted with flour, pumpkin cinnamon roll dough rolled out evenly, wooden rolling pin to the corner.

Step 6
Baste the top of the rolled dough with melted butter and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar over. Roll the dough up tightly.

Rolled out pumpkin cinnamon roll dough, basted with melted butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Step 7
Cut the dough into 9-12 uniform rolls using dental floss or a knife. Place the rolls into the prepared baking tray and cover with a cloth for 30 minutes so that the rolls have time to rise.

Baste the tops of the rolls with melted butter and bake them for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Once they are done, allow them to cool.

Once cool, drizzle the rolls with the sugar glaze and enjoy!

Overhead view of assembled and cut pumpkin cinnamon rolls on a prepared baking tray.

๐Ÿ’ญ COOKING TIPS

The heat from the warm milk and water helps to activate the yeast which allows the pumpkin cinnamon rolls to rise properly so that they are soft and fluffy.

Set aside enough time to make these pumpkin cinnamon rolls – they are well worth the extra love and attention. Remember that the dough needs time to rise and so do the assembled cinnamon rolls.

Allow the baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls to cool before drizzling them with the sugar glaze. If they are still too warm, much of the glaze will run off the sides of the rolls.

The butter for the dough should be super soft, but not melted! Melted butter could affect the consistency of the dough. Too much heat in the dough mixture could also impact the activated yeast.

๐Ÿฅ— WHAT TO SERVE WITH PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS

Pumpkin cinnamon rolls are a sweet indulgence that you could enjoy as a sweet mid-morning or afternoon treat, or serve to the family as dessert.

Here’s what I like to enjoy alongside these pumpkin-inspired cinnamon rolls:

ADD-ONS

Enjoy these pumpkin cinnamon rolls with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or a slathering of homemade butter!

HOT BEVERAGES

A pumpkin latte, hot chocolate, or freshly brewed coffee is the perfect beverage pairing for these pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

OTHER FALL-INSPIRED TREATS

If you’re throwing a few parties or social gatherings this fall, why not make a spread of scrumptious treats alongside these pumpkin cinnamon rolls? Try these Cinnamon Roll Donuts, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, and Iced Pumpkin Cookies, to name a few!

Baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls in a glass baking tray with drizzled sugar glaze, two silver forks and an orange checkered kitchen towel in the background.

๐Ÿ™‹ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

IS YEAST GLUTEN-FREE?

While most yeast is gluten-free, there are some which are not. Baker’s yeast and active dry yeast are typically gluten-free.

MUST THE DOUGH RISE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE?

This recipe, like most bread recipes, calls for two rises. While the dough could be left to rise in the fridge for one of these rises, it should not be chilled for both. I recommend allowing the dough and the assembled rolls to rise at room temperature for best results.

WHAT MAKES THESE “PUMPKIN” CINNAMON ROLLS?

This recipe adds pumpkin puree to the cinnamon roll dough for a delicious pumpkin twist. Don’t use pumpkin pie filling – it’s a different ingredient and will change the taste and texture of the rolls.

๐ŸงŠ STORING AND โ™จ๏ธ REHEATING

FRIDGE

Once baked and cooled, these pumpkin cinnamon rolls can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 days or at room temperature for 2 days.

FREEZER

Baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls will last in the freezer for about a month. After that, the texture of the rolls can become dry.

You could assemble the unbaked cinnamon rolls and store them in the baking tray, covered tightly with plastic wrap and foil, and place them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw the rolls at room temperature and then bake.

REHEAT

Reheat leftover baked pumpkin cinnamon rolls by placing a shallow tray of water on a lower rack in the over and the cinnamon rolls in a separate tray on a higher oven rack. Reheat the rolls at 275 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.

While this may be the longer method to reheat baked cinnamon rolls, it produces the best results and often reduces the risk of the rolls drying out.

๐Ÿณ OTHER PUMPKIN BAKED TREATS

๐Ÿ‘ช SERVING SIZE

This recipe makes 9 pumpkin cinnamon rolls. Feel free to double the recipe if you have a second baking tray that you can rotate in the oven.

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ๐ŸŒŸ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.

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๐ŸŽฅ WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

(only if Video is available, and I will place it here if I have one)

๐Ÿ“‹ RECIPE

Yield: 9 Rolls

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are soft and fluffy, loaded with cinnamon sugar filling and topped with a drizzle of sugar glaze.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Additional Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours

Ingredients

For the dough

  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 2 3โ„4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1โ„4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp. butter, very soft but not melted
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 package instant yeast (7g)
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1โ„4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp salt

Filling

  • 2โ„3 cup brown sugar
  • 1โ„4 cup butter, melted
  • 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to (375 F/190 C).
    2. In a large bowl add warm milk, water and a teaspoon of the sugar along with the yeast. Let it activate for 5-7 minutes.
    3. Add pumpkin puree, egg, soft butter and white sugar, whisk until combined.
    4. Stir in flour and salt, make the dough with wooden spatula. You can use a stand mixer with dough hook for making the dough.
    5. Then cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow it to rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
    6. Next, roll out the dough and baste the top with melted butter. Then mix together the cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle that on top of the butter, then roll up the dough tightly.
    7. Using dental floss or a knife, cut about 9-12 rolls from the dough and place them in a 9×13 inch baking pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray.
    8. Cover with a cloth and let the cinnamon rolls rise for 30 minutes.
    9. Baste the tops with melted butter, bake for 15 to 20 minutes until the rolls are golden brown. Once they are done, allow them to cool.
    10. Make a powdered sugar icing for rolls, and drizzle on top once rolls are cooled.

Nutrition Information

Yield

9

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 300Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 42mgSodium 336mgCarbohydrates 50gFiber 2gSugar 20gProtein 5g

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