Do you remember the pumpkin-enhanced cinnamon rolls I made back in 2014? Last week, after my friend Jerry told me that he still makes the rolls and gives them away to neighbors at Thanksgiving time, I decided to make another batch for myself. Only this time, I added an egg to the dough. And an extra half cup of flour. Also, I kneaded the dough entirely by hand. Et voila — softer, fluffier, even-more-addicting Pumpkin Spiced Cinnamon Rolls! Video and printable recipe:
Click the play arrow to watch the video above. There’s no special effects or twinkly music in the clip. It’s just you and me in the kitchen, mixing, kneading, and baking our way to pure deliciousness.
Here’s the printable:
New, Improved Pumpkin Spiced Cinnamon Rolls
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (or, use instant yeast)
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening (or, use softened butter)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- Non-stick vegetable spray (for greasing)
For the cake pans:
- 2 9-inch-diameter cake pans
- 1 tablespoon softened or melted butter for greasing the pans
- 2 tablespoons sugar for dusting the pans
For the filling:
- 6 tablespoons softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar blended with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground clove.
For the glaze
- 2 cups confectioners sugar and 1/4 cup milk blended with a wire whisk until smooth
Instructions
Making the dough and the first rise:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the water and yeast. Then whisk in the milk, sugar, egg, shortening, salt, puree, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in the flour to form a stiff dough. Spray the work surface and hands with vegetable spray. Transfer the dough to the prepared work surface, and knead the dough until it is fairly smooth and elastic -- 4-5 minutes.
- Wash out, dry, and lightly grease the mixing bowl. Add the kneaded dough, flipping it to grease the other side. Cover the bowl with cling film and let rise in a warm location until doubled in volume -- about 90 minutes.
Preparing the cake pans:
- While the dough is rising, brush the bottom and sides of 2 9-inch-diameter cake pans with softened or melted butter. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to each pan, tapping the pan so that the sugar spreads all along the bottom. You need not sugar the sides of the pans.
- Filing and forming the rolls, and the second rise:
- Lightly spray the work surface with vegetable spray. Punch down the dough, and transfer it to the prepared surface. Pat the dough into a rough rectangle, and then lightly dust the top with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 9- by 15-inch rectangle. Spread the dough with the 6 tablespoons of softened butter, and then top with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Working from the 15 inch side, roll the dough into a log. Then cut the log into 15 1-inch-thick slices. Transfer the slices to the cake pans, reforming them into round shapes if necessary.
- Cover the pans with cling film, and place them in a warm location until the rolls double in volume -- 30-45 minutes. Midway through rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Baking and glazing the rolls:
- Remove the cling film from pans. Bake until the rolls puff and their tops color just slightly -- about 25 minutes. While the rolls are still hot, spoon or pour the glaze over them.
Jillian says
Do you know if I can make these in a different pan? Like a glass 9×13?
Joan Dreyer says
Yummy, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin all mixed into a yeasty buttery dough. What’s not to love! Today is my baking day and this recipe will be first. Thank you Kevin for your weekly inspirations.
Danella on the Canadian west coast says
Happy Thanksgiving to you both!
Linda says
Would it work to use the dough hook on my mixer instead of kneading for 5 minutes?
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Jillian – A 9×13 baking dish will work with one caveat: it will hold only a dozen of these rolls. So you need to use a second dish if you are baking all of the rolls at once.
Mary Alice Lorick says
Enjoy watching your videos and I always learn something; definitely want to try these cinnamon rolls. Happy Thanksgiving!
Mariska L says
Thanks for the great recipes. So sorry to hear that you had a fall. I hope you mend quickly and without any pain. Happy thanksgiving!
Grandma Bev says
printable really works for me, thanks. I can nearly smell this delish-ness!
Honeybee says
Just damn delicious! Kevin I love pumpkin and cinnamon rolls. This combo is fantastic. I baked the rolls in two Pyrex pie pans. One set is in the freezer for future tea time.
I wish I could leave some food for you and Mr. Fox on your porch while your foot is healing. Here’s to a good recovery. (me lifting my red Fiesta Ware tea mug to you)
Jerry Miller says
I hope your foot is healing well. I’ll give this new recipe a try. Your original recipe is so good; it will be hard to top. I’ll let you know how they turn out!
Candy Eich says
Wow are these DELICIOUS! They’re so lush and rich, I absolutely love them! I’m not generally a cinnamon roll fan, but the pumpkin in these morph them into something really heavenly. Thank you for sharing this, and for all the other great content you create, I really enjoy your newsletters and trying your recipes.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi HoneyBee – Music to my ears! Thanks you!
Hi Jerry – Yes, please let me know how the rolls turn out for you!
Hi Cathy – I’m so glad these rolls were delicious for you. Thank you so much for the 5-star review!
Jersey Shore Amy says
These sound wonderful So for just 3 people on Christmas morning, is it possible to cut this recipe down? I’ve never tried cutting a yeast recipe. Or I will just make the blueberry streusel strata!