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Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

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5 from 10 reviews

This incredible Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Roll is perfect for any fall brunch.  It’s perfectly spiced for the season and the brioche dough is pillowy soft!

  • Total Time: ~3 hours
  • Yield: 12 Rolls 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Dough:

  • 64 g (1/4 c) water, 110°F-115°F
  • 1.5 tbsp instant yeast
  • 1.5 tsp turbinado sugar
  • 576 g (~4.5 c) all-purpose flour (See note about flour!)
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 67 g (~1/3 c) brown sugar
  • 63 g (1/4 c) pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 115 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

For the Filling:

  • 113 g (1/2 c) butter, melted and cooled (but still liquid)
  • 200 g (~1 cup) dark brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp (pinch) salt

For the Final Glaze:

  • 165 g (1.5 c) confectioner’s sugar
  • 60 g (1/4 c) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp whole milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Add the water, yeast, and turbinado sugar to a 1-cup liquid measuring cup.  Stir until all of the yeast is hydrated.  Allow to bloom for 6-8 minutes, or until the yeast has expanded.  If the yeast does not expand, try again with new yeast.
  2. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and brown sugar to a large bowl.  Do not combine.  Allow the flour to remain at the bottom of the bowl.
  3. Place the brown sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
  4. Place the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl and set aside.  You don’t want shells in your beautiful brioche!
  5. Add the 200 grams of dark brown sugar and 2 tbsp of cinnamon (for the filling) to a small bowl and set far aside.  You won’t need this until after the dough is complete.
  6. Cut the butter into 1 tbsp cubes and set aside.  You won’t need them until the rest of the dough has come together, but you want them to be a soft room temperature before they’re added to the dough.
  7. Add the bloomed yeast mixture, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, eggs, and three level 1-cup scoops of your dry ingredients to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  Stir the ingredients with the flat beater of your stand mixer until combined, and the ingredients are starting to stick together.
  8. Switch to the dough hook of your stand mixer, and begin kneading with the dough hook.  Use a 1/4 cup measurement to scoop level amounts of your dry ingredients into your dough.  Knead for at least one minute on low speed between additions.
  9. When the dough comes away from the sides of the mixing bowl, add flour, 1 tbsp at a time, still kneading for at least a minute between additions.
  10. If you use all of the flour in the recipe, you should not need more than 3-4 more tablespoons of flour total.  At this point, the dough is “finished” when it is ever-so-slightly tacky to the touch, but not sticky.  It should also pass the windowpane test at this point, before you incorporate the butter.
  11. Once the dough passes the windowpane test (the first time), begin adding the butter, one tablespoon at a time.  This is the longest part of the dough-making process, so pack your patience!  Allow the dough to fully incorporate each tablespoon of butter before adding the next one.  The bowl will likely get a buttery coating during this process.  That is normal!
  12. When all of the butter is incorporated, allow the dough to knead for another 5-7 minutes on low speed.  The dough is complete when it easily passes the windowpane test (again!) and is very pliable.
  13. Spray the mixing bowl with a light coating of cooking spray, and allow the dough to rise, covered with plastic wrap (with a small hole to vent gases), for about an hour, or until doubled in size.  You can also use the finger poke test at the one-hour mark so that you can decide whether it needs a few more minutes.
  14. Gently de-gas the dough by pressing down on it in the mixing bowl.  Use your fingers to shape the dough into a rough rectangle on your work surface, with the long side of the rectangle facing you.
  15. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/2” thickness.
  16. Brush melted butter onto the dough.  Do not be shy with the butter!  But leave butter off of the top 1.5” of the rectangle.  This helps the dough stick to itself when you’re sealing it!
  17. Sprinkle the brown sugar/cinnamon filling over the top of the buttered part of the dough.  Use all of it!  You want that ooey gooey goodness in your cinnamon rolls!  Press down on the cinnamon/sugar filling once it’s sprinkled over the top of the dough.
  18. Starting with the long side of the rectangle that is facing you, tightly roll the cinnamon roll.  It probably won’t be even, but that’s okay!  Work slowly and make sure that the roll is as tight as you can possibly make it.
  19. Trim the edges to make the roll an 18-inch log.  Cut the log into 1.5” rolls, and place them in a lightly greased 9”x13” baking pan.
  20. Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and allow the cinnamon rolls to proof for 45 minutes.  While the cinnamon rolls are rising, heat your oven to a true 350°F.
  21. Bake the cinnamon rolls in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 200°F in the center.
  22. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, make the glaze by first adding the room temperature cream cheese to a medium bowl and mixing with a hand mixer until the cream cheese is totally smooth.  Add the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, vanilla extract, and whole milk and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Add to the cinnamon rolls immediately after taking them out of the oven.
  23. Enjoy!

Notes

  • This is a rather sticky dough, and it works best in a stand mixer.  However, those who are more adventurous or experienced with bread can absolutely accomplish this special dough with a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk!
  • Metric measurement is the most accurate way to make any recipe, but it’s particularly helpful for bread recipes.  It is easy to over-flour bread when you just use measuring cups.
  • About flour:  The amount of flour in my bread recipe is the amount of flour that I’ve reached after testing the recipe multiple times.  There are many times that you won’t need all of the flour that a bread recipe calls for, and there are many times that you will need just a wee bit more.  Practice makes perfect with bread recipes!  With bread, it’s all about how the dough feels once it’s done.  The best advice I can give you is to be slow and steady when adding flour to this recipe, as you don’t want an over-floured brioche dough.  The windowpane test will be the determining factor!
  • You can make this dough the night before, and refrigerate the prepared rolls.  It makes a great weekday breakfast if you’d like to do it that way!  If you decide to refrigerate, give the rolls 90 minutes to 2 hours of rise time before placing them in the oven.
  • Author: Shani
  • Prep Time: 1 hour (active)
  • Cook Time: 20-24 minutes
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: American

Find it online: https://beginwithbutter.com/2022/10/pumpkin-spice-cinnamon-rolls/