Cinnamon rolls are such a labor of love. Still, these are worth the 3.5 hours they will take you (you can make them ahead of time and keep them in the fridge overnight, but with the extra rise time in the morning, you are only going to save about 45 minutes). Your entire house will smell like a crisp fall morning at a pumpkin patch baking fresh pumpkin baked goods—I wish I could bottle it and save the smell forever.

Please note: This recipe calls for frosting, but the photo looked better without it, so don’t forget your frosting ingredients.

Ingredients

• Cinnamon Rolls
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 TBSP active yeast
  • 3/4 cup pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 TBSP butter- room temp
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 cups Kamut flour (or 4.5 all-purpose)
• Filling
  • 1/2 cup butter (one stick) at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup pure pumpkin (not pie filling)
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Icing
  • 4 oz cream cheese- softened
  • 4 TBSP butter- softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-3 TBSP milk (optional, depending on how thick you like the icing)

Directions

• Dough
  • Add warm water, yeast, and brown sugar in a stand mixer. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy (I use the dough hook attachment)
  • Add pumpkin, salt, butter, egg, cinnamon, and flour. Stir on low for 5-8 minutes until smooth and elastic
  • Add another few TBSP of flour if the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl
  • Oil a large bowl and cover- let rise for an hour or until double in size (I use the “proof” feature of the oven)
• Filling
  • In a medium bowl, combine everything except brown sugar
  • On a floured surface, roll the dough into roughly a 24-inch by 10-inch rectangle
  • Spread filling onto dough to coat the entire rectangle- sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the filling
  • Carefully roll the dough lengthwise into a log roll. Use a piece of string, floss, or pizza cutter to cut dough into 12 equal pieces
  • Place the rolls cut side down in a 9×13 pan. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for 45 – 60 minutes or until double in size*
  • *IF you are doing this ahead of time, this is where you will stop (after the second rise) to put them in the fridge. You will then need to let them “warm up” for 30 minutes before baking them after you get them out of the fridge in the morning
  • Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before icing 
• Icing
  • Combine cream cheese, butter, and sugar. Add milk one TBSP at a time if you like your icing runnier

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