Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls (Printable)

Soft, pillowy pumpkin rolls with cinnamon-sugar filling and luscious cream cheese frosting—an autumn favorite.

# What you need:

→ Dough

01 - 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
02 - 1 packet (2 ¼ tsp) active dry yeast
03 - ⅓ cup granulated sugar
04 - ½ cup whole milk, lukewarm
05 - ¾ cup canned pumpkin purée
06 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
07 - 1 large egg, room temperature
08 - 1 tsp vanilla extract
09 - ½ tsp salt
10 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon
11 - ½ tsp ground nutmeg

→ Filling

12 - ⅔ cup brown sugar, packed
13 - 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
14 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

→ Cream Cheese Frosting

15 - 4 oz cream cheese, softened
16 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
17 - 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
18 - ½ tsp vanilla extract
19 - Pinch of salt

# Directions:

01 - In a large bowl, combine lukewarm milk and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
02 - Add sugar, pumpkin purée, melted butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
03 - Gradually add flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Knead for 6–8 minutes until a soft, elastic dough forms. Add a bit more flour if sticky.
04 - Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
05 - Punch down dough and roll out on a floured surface to a 16x12-inch rectangle.
06 - Spread softened butter over dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle evenly over buttered dough.
07 - Roll up tightly from the long side. Slice into 12 even rolls.
08 - Arrange rolls in a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Cover and let rise for 30–40 minutes until puffy.
09 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake rolls for 22–25 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
10 - Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt; beat until creamy.
11 - Spread frosting over warm rolls. Serve fresh.

# Expert tips:

01 -
  • They taste like fall in roll form, and you can absolutely make them the night before because life gets busy.
  • The cream cheese frosting is tangy enough to cut through the sweetness, so they don't feel heavy even though they're definitely indulgent.
02 -
  • Yeast temperature matters more than you think—too hot and you'll kill it, too cold and nothing happens, so invest in a cheap thermometer if you're serious about yeasted doughs.
  • Don't skip the second rise or your rolls will be dense instead of pillowy, even though the temptation to skip it is real when they smell this good.
03 -
  • Use dental floss or a thin knife to slice your rolls instead of a serrated knife, which tends to squish them and drag the filling around—this single technique changed my roll game completely.
  • If your kitchen runs cold, place your dough on top of your refrigerator during the rise, or set it in your oven with just the light on, because cold dough rises slowly and unevenly.
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