Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (2024)

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posted by Christy Denneyon Oct 21, 202179 comments »

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Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with caramel frosting are soft and tender pumpkin spiced cinnamon rolls with a sweet caramel icing. Breakfast or dessert? These are a decadent fall treat.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (1)

(originally posted 2010)

PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS

I’m in no condition to be blogging.

Seriously, PMS has taken over my life.

I made chocolate fondue this weekend when my husband was out of town and ate it all by myself.

I cried during Real Housewives.

I have a zit the size ofTexas on my chin.

I’m out of control.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (2)

I apologize in advance for offending you or biting your head off. My filter button is broken.

I apologize to my friends today for eating their french fries without asking.

Before I get myself into a lot of trouble, I will go. But not before telling you that I loved these pumpkin cinnamon rolls. I mean I can’t be left alone with Cinnamon Rolls in general so pumpkin cinnamon rolls are…watch out.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (3)

I got the recipe from my friend Ami. She likes to add a cream cheese frosting drizzle on top of these in addition to the caramel frosting to bring out the pumpkin flavor otherwise she said they taste just like candy.

Well I like candy. So I opted not to make the cream cheese drizzle and just added more pumpkin pie spice to make up for it.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (4)

And did I mention I was PMSing? Yeah, that makes me extra impatient so I couldn’t wait to makemore drizzle. I’m surprised I waited long enough for the rolls to rise.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (5)

OTHER PUMPKIN RECIPES:

  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
  • Pumpkin Waffles
  • Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
  • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars
  • Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (6)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

5 from 5 votes

These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with caramel frostingare soft and tender pumpkin spiced cinnamon rolls with a sweet caramel icing.

PrintPinRate

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Rise Time: 2 hours hrs

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 12 rolls

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 (1/4 ounce ) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
  • 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 2 cups bread flour, (you can use regular all purpose flour but bread flour makes them lighter)

FILLING:

  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

CARAMEL FROSTING:

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 dash salt

Instructions

  • In a small microwave safe bowl, heat the milk for 30-45 seconds until warm (105-115 degrees). Stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover with a dish towel and let the yeast proof (bubble and foam) for about 5 minutes. If it doesn't bubble your yeast is dead or your milk was too hot or too cold and you need to start over.

  • In large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, butter, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and nutmeg. Beat in egg and yeast mixture.

  • Add half of the flour to pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Turn into lightly greased bowl.

  • Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Spray a surface with cooking spray or turn onto floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make dough easy enough to handle. Roll dough into 14x10 inch rectangle.

  • Brush surface of dough with melted butter. In small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Beginning with long side of dough, roll up jellyroll style. Pinch seam to seal. With sharp knife, cut roll into twelve 1- inch slices. Place rolls, cut side up, in greased 11X17 inch baking pan or 9x13 baking dish if you want them touching. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.

  • Bake rolls at 350 degrees about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan to waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Caramel frosting. Makes 12 rolls.

  • For the Caramel Frosting: In small saucepan, heat butter until melted. Stir in brown sugar and milk.

  • Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cook over medium low heat 1 minute. Mixture will foam and bubble.

  • Transfer to small mixer bowl and cool mixture. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, powdered sugar and salt. Beat with electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more milk to thin it out or more powdered sugar to make it thicker to desired consistency.

Notes

Source: adapted from Recipe Anatomy

Cuisine: American

Course: Breakfast

Author: Christy Denney

100 of my favorite recipes! This is the family-friendly cookbook for anyone looking to plan quick-and-easy meals and wants a way to bring people together, feasting on food which can only be described as scrumptious.

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79 comments on “Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls”

  1. Joanne Hinzelman Reply

    I am going to try this recipe for the first time after it being recommended to me. Can’t wait. I am planning to make two batches. Normal and then one for the celiac in the family. Has anyone tried this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill One to one gluten free flour? Does it work?

  2. Nancy Johnson Reply

    This looks so good, I’m goong to make these.

  3. Nancy Johnson Reply

    Looks so good, goong to try this.

  4. Ashley Reply

    My yeast didn’t proof and the dough came out hard; what did I do wrong? These look so good!

    • Christy Denney Reply

      Your water was either too hot or cold. Also make sure your yeast is not expired.

  5. Katherine Preece Reply

    can you use active dry yeast for this recipe and do you use tge same amount

    • Christy Denney Reply

      YEs! Just use the same amount. It will take longer to rise!

  6. Colleen Reply

    I made these awhile ago and they were delicious! The pumpkin was mild for me, but that was okay because you could still taste it well. I love any type of roll like this! A sweet yeast dough is my weakness!

    • Christy Denney Reply

      So glad you liked it!

  7. Kristen Reply

    I have been making this recipe for the past 5ish years…delish! As soon as Labor day is over I start getting requests for them. I’m going rogue this time and adding pecans to them. I can’t wait for them to come out of the oven!

    • Christy Denney Reply

      Haha. Pecans can only be good!

  8. fannyvid Reply

    I’m making these ones for my thanksgiving dinner 🙂

    • Christy Denney Reply

      Good luck!

  9. Melissa Reply

    I don’t care that it’s almost springtime. I still have lots of leftover pumpkin, and I’m going to use it! These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them!

  10. Shelby Reply

    This looks like such a delicious recipe! With thanksgiving coming up, I’m trying to find new recipes to make for my family. I love to cook (even though I’m not the best at it) and I love anything with pumpkin. I feel like plain ol’ pumpkin pie is good, but kind of boring so finding new recipes to make that includes pumpkin is right up my alley! This recipe looks perfect for breakfast or even just a snack or dessert. I’m definitely going to try this for the holiday season! Might have to make it before as a tester just to see how good it is 😉

  11. Mirra Reply

    I prepared the dough last night. I was initially worried because I thought it was odd that you don’t add the yeast right away to the warm milk, but I went with the recipe’s instructions anyway and had no issues. I honestly didn’t find the dough to be overly sticky; it was just soft like play-doh. This morning I took them out and they didn’t rise, but I didn’t panic lol….I just put the oven on 200 and shut it off. Popped them in and viola they rose! I did notice that when they were rising the filling was oozing out. Not sure if that is supposed to happen? I brushed them with butter and popped them into the oven. They house gave off an autumn aroma! I skipped the caramel frosting only because not everyone in my clan is a caramel fan so I made a glaze with cream cheese, mascarpone, pumpkin spice, powdered sugar, and Mexican vanilla! We all liked the texture of the rolls. They weren’t gooey and undercooked like Cinnabon. They were fluffy and tender. Absolutely delicious! Everybody really loved them!

    • Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

      Sounds delicious! Now I want some.

  12. Leslie Reply

    These are currently baking in my oven….::the senuous scent slowly wafting through the air and gradually up the stairs to my bedroom::….drool.

  13. Lindsey Reply

    Can I refrigerate the dough over night if I want to make them quickly in the morning?

    • Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

      I’ve never done that with this recipe but I do that with my other cinnamon roll recipes so I’m sure it would work.

  14. Kari Reply

    I am dairy free right now. Do you think Almond milk will work with this recipe? I can’t wait to eat these.

    • Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

      Yes, I don’t see why it wouldn’t…

  15. Germaine Reply

    Its a Sunday morning and I have come across your blog. I love pumpkin but one thing I refuse to open a can. I rather have the fresh stuff, so in the fall I whip up pumpkin filling and freeze 2 cup bags and I have it till I run out. I look forward to this years harvest so I can make up my pumpkin bags and add your buns to my list of pumpkin making treats…

    • Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

      I’m sure fresh pumpkin would make these even better.

  16. TJ {Sugar Blossoms} Reply

    Hi there! I wanted to let you know I featured you on Sugar Blossoms today. Stop by and check it out! http://sweetsugarblossoms.blogspot.com/2013/09/i-freakin-love-pumpkin.html

  17. Laura Reply

    I BAKE pretty much every day all winter! Summer when it isnt too hot…
    i love anything PUMPKIN! Thank you for making my day. Craving punkin coffee
    but this will work.

  18. Angela Reply

    I have these rolls rising at the moment, however I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with the dough being too sticky? I used the 2 cups of bread flour as listed in the recipe, then added at least 3/4 cup extra and still ended up with a sticky mess. Is this normal? I am worried about how they will bake up now.

  19. Alex Reply

    Hi, if I wanted to add the cream cheese to the frosting how would I go about doing that?

    • Christy Reply

      Alex,
      I don’t have the recipe for cream cheese frosting from her because I chose not to add it. I usually add equal parts butter and cream cheese and then add some powdered sugar and a splash of vanilla. Add some milk to desired consistency. Since it’s a glaze you probably want a thinner consistency.

  20. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @SewSweetStitches,
    I’ve never had success with rolls rising in the fridge. After they’ve been made into rolls you can let them rise and then put them in the fridge overnight. That’s what I would do…

  21. SewSweetStitches Reply

    Looks great! Do you think these could be prepared the night before and left to rise in the fridge? I’ve tried comparing this recipe to “overnight” cinnamon roll recipes, but I really don’t know what I’m doing here. Help? Thanks!

  22. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    Lindy in Brisbane,
    Canned pumpkin has the consistency of mashed and pureed pumpkin. Pumpkin pie spice has cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice.

    Here’s a recipe that yields 2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice:
    1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    1 teaspoon ground ginger
    3/4 teaspoon ground allspice

  23. Rebecca Reply

    Made these this morning and they were BEYOND amazing!!! Love them! I doubled the dough and froze one batch for Halloween! Cannot wait until I serve them at our family get-together on the 31st! The perfect thing to fill little ones tummies before trick-or-treating! They are just soooooo delicious! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for this recipe! I.AM.IN.LOVE.

  24. Lindy in Brisbane Reply

    These sound great, and i would love to try them, but I have a couple of problems. I live I Australia, and we don’t have canned pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice. Could you tell me what is in the spice, and is the pumpkin just mashed, and what consistency is it?

  25. CHoff2011 Reply

    I made these this morning for breakfast and my super picky 3 year old loved them and my husband ate 3 in a row…obviously a hit all around in this house!

  26. Heather Hughes Reply

    I just made these! I’m on a pumpkin kick already & it’s only August. I’m just saying it’s practice for Fall. 🙂

    These turned out great & the frosting is to die for.

    Thank you for a great recipe!

  27. Karen Reply

    I made these a while ago and they were fabulous. I put them on my blog too. Thanks for the great recipe.
    http://thefoodcharlatan.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/pumpkin-cinnamon-rolls-with-caramel-frosting/

  28. Anonymous Reply

    These turn out just as delicious as they look! They seemed to need a little more flour than the recipe calls for (maybe it was dry on the day I made them). I have made homemade cinnamon rolls before and they have always turned out tough and dry. These though were fluffy and soft. If you really like pumpkin, I recommend serving them with a little pumpkin butter on top. Overall this recipe is great – if you are considering making it, do your self a favor and DO.

  29. Jason & Kelli West Reply

    ok, so my dough is rising right now! Can’t wait to eat these. my hubby said he would rub myy feet for making these!! So thank you! 🙂

  30. Jason & Kelli West Reply

    ok, so my dough is rising right now! Can’t wait to eat these. my hubby said he would rub myy feet for making these!! So thank you! 🙂

  31. Sarah Reply

    I am making these for my daughter’s 8th birthday for Breakfast….I have to split the dough in half I am freezing the other half for Halloween morning.

  32. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @Mary Ellen,
    HAhahahahaha! Point taken!!

  33. Mary Ellen Reply

    If the pan is 11×17, how can it be a square? 😉
    Just playing. These look fantastic. I think I’ll throw them in my bread machine on the dough cycle. LOVE!

  34. JoeyfromSC Reply

    DROOLING!! lol

    Just found you!! so glad I did!

    Love your blog!

  35. leah Reply

    These look delish! Can’t wait to try them!

  36. Yael Reply

    Oh my God. Divine? org*smic? To die for? All of the above?

    You know how Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are Christmas in a cup? Well these are the same thing in baked deliciousness form. I can’t sing high enough praises.

    Just a note, I drizzled some extra melted butter on top before baking. Also I doubled the recipe and found myself with a lot of cinnamon rolls. Delivered six to neighbors and a few to gym staff. This is how I make friends.

  37. http://www.erikorganic.com/dining-room/dining-room-table.shtml Reply

    This is something really new to me. I have never tried using pumpkins and cinnamon together.

  38. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @Anonymous,
    Yes, the 11X17 is what the original recipe stated but really you could use any sized dish you want. Glad they turned out!
    Christy

  39. Anonymous Reply

    I made these yesterday, and they turned out beautiful! The family loved them. One question though, it says place them in an 11×17 square baking dish? Is that right? Should I have baked them in a 9×13?

  40. Carrie Reply

    Absolutely delicious! Thanks! 🙂

  41. Barbara Bakes Reply

    I think this would be the perfect breakfast for Halloween morning this year.

  42. The Helvig Familiy Reply

    SO GOOD!!!!! I absolutely loved the frosting, and seriously the flavor of the roles were out of this world. I am falling in love with your blog. Haven’t tried any of your recipes yet that I haven’t LOVED.

  43. Torviewtoronto Reply

    delicious I make similar

  44. Elisha Reply

    Mmm…I am SO making these today!!!! You think there is any way to add chocolate into the mix?? 😉

  45. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @scmom,
    Haha! Sorry. There used to be one cup bread flour and one cup all purpose but I just used all bread flour. I will fix it.
    Christy

  46. scmom (Barbara) Reply

    “Combine the flours?” Am I missing something or is there just one measure of flour?

  47. Liz Reply

    I may have used too much sugar. I think it’s the brown sugar b/c when I made PW’s chocolate chip cookie rolls the same thing happened. The white sugar doesn’t do that to me. Still I loved the pumpkin rolls and the caramel on the bottom is so sweet I hardly need the icing!! Thanks!

  48. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @Liz,
    Really? I didn’t have anything oozing out of the rolls onto the bottom. Hmm. I’m not sure what happened there.

  49. Liz Reply

    I just made these and love them! The only complaint I have is the sugar and butter formed a hard caramel in the bottom of the pan as the rolls baked. How can I avoid that? Love the caramel icing as well!!!

  50. Monica H Reply

    I made pumpkin rolls last year and they were SO good. These look awesome too.

    Did you get a new camera?

  51. Pretty. Good. Food. Reply

    Wow…yeah, my mouth is watering! This sounds so ridiculously good!!!! 🙂

  52. Kathryn Reply

    Hey! Just stopping by to let you know we’re giving away a signed Sandra Lee cookbook with 1,001 recipes over at Chew on That! We’d love for you to enter! The giveaway ends on Halloween, so hurry over! 🙂

  53. Alison B Reply

    I kid you not, I was asking my friends on facebook for a pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe! Noone had one! and voila, here is one! yay! I’ll be trying them tomorrow. thanks!

  54. Amy K Reply

    Oh my, I’m pretty sure most of us women can relate!!! Yum, chocolate fondue!
    Here’s to a greater days….

  55. sweetpeaskitchen.com Reply

    I know what I am making this Saturday morning!! These look amazing! 🙂

  56. Christy {The Girl Who Ate Everything} Reply

    @Taylor,
    Oh my gosh! Peanut butter M&Ms are my ultimate weakness. Are you talking a little bag because that’s nothing. The family size…now we’re talking…

  57. Taylor Reply

    Well that makes 2 of us going PMS-crazy…I have almost eaten an entire bag of peanut butter M&M’s in the past 2 days. Not good. I need to make these cinnamon rolls ASAP!

  58. Holly Reply

    OMGoodness!!!!! Gotta make these now!!! Forget the diet right;) lol

  59. Paper and Food Reply

    These look great!

  60. Mo 'Betta Reply

    I am SO making these, and I can SO relate to the PMS thing. It sucks, but the pumpkin cinnamon rolls will definitely make things better!

  61. Jody, RD Reply

    These look amazing! I made a similar recipe last weekend but it didn’t have the pumpkin pie spice… I’ll have to try this one too!

    http://blogfoodbetter.blogspot.com/

  62. Natalie Reply

    oh my gosh I’m drooling at the sight of this! Unbelievable!

  63. Julie Reply

    Ohh!!! I LOVE anything with pumpkin and will have to make these. Thanks for sharing and I am with you on the PMS thing, I always warn my husband and pretty much everybody around me when I am having one of those days. Good luck!!

  64. Cottage Sisters Reply

    Oh my goodness! These look awesome….I will be making these for my hubby who has been out of town and will need a treat when he gets back. Thanks for sharing them. Denise

  65. dawson99 Reply

    i am so glad that i am not the only one feeling this way.. makes me feel better to know that i am not the only crazy one in the world at this time..

  66. Jennifurla Reply

    I dont blame you for being impatient, I am licking my screen as I type!

  67. Danielle Reply

    Yumm these look amazing! I’ve been wanting to make pumpkin cinnamon rolls forever.

  68. tinahead81 Reply

    oh my! i need to try these babies!! my “i don’t like pumpkin” hubs might even like them!

  69. scmom (Barbara) Reply

    Oh my. I think breakfast this weekend…yum!

Leave a comment »

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything (2024)

FAQs

What is the cause of her shrinking dough in cinnamon rolls? ›

The dough is not kneaded properly.

It is said that Hannah was in a hurry to knead the dough. This may prevent the dough from kneading properly and cause it to shrink. The solution is to knead the dough again in the right way and enough time so that the dough does not shrink back.

How long to bake Pillsbury cinnamon rolls? ›

HEAT oven to 400°F (or 375°F for nonstick pan). GREASE round cake pan. PLACE rolls in pan, cinnamon topping up. BAKE 13 to 17 minutes or until golden brown.

What happens if you add too much flour to cinnamon rolls? ›

You want to add only the amount of flour that it takes so your dough is not sticky. Adding too much flour will make your rolls very dry. Once you have added the appropriate amount of flour, turn your mixer to a low speed and let the machine do all the kneading for you.

Why are my cinnamon rolls not rising after rolling? ›

If your butter/milk mixture is too hot, it will kill the yeast and you won't really notice until you're far into the recipe… when the rolls won't rise! Keep the temperature warm to the touch, around 100–110°F (38–43°C). An instant read thermometer is a handy tool for this baking recipe and many others.

What is the best pan to cook Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in? ›

Tips from the Pillsbury Kitchens

We found that a 9-inch metal round or square pan works best with this recipe so dough has enough room to expand while baking. For easy clean-up, cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of pan.

Should cinnamon rolls be baked on low or high heat? ›

Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Once proofed, bake the cinnamon rolls for 20-30 minutes.

Should Pillsbury cinnamon rolls be refrigerated after baking? ›

Long story short, cinnamon rolls do not need to be refrigerated. This can be confusing, because I think we've all seen Cinnabon cinnamon rolls sitting out at the store. But we also know that they're frosted with that delicious, cream cheese frosting!

How do you keep dough from shrinking when rolling? ›

You should always let your dough return to a temperature above 21°C before rolling it out, because a cold dough has a greater tendency to shrink. If you move from the fridge to the baking tray you will naturally have the "little turtle" effect that returns inside its shell.

How do you roll dough without it shrinking? ›

Add extra time for dough to rest

To really allow gluten to relax, you can refrigerate preshaped dough overnight, then stretch and shape the next day.

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