The Best Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Ever (Perfect for Fall!)
These Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are the BEST. They’re fluffy, warm, and filled with the most delicious sweet pumpkin filling spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.
2cups- pecans (¾ cup for inside the rolls and ¼ cup for topping per pan of rolls)
For the Greek Yogurt Frosting
8oz.– cream cheese (softened)
4oz.– unsalted butter (softened)
½cup– sugar
½cup– Greek yogurt plain
1tsp.– pure vanilla extract
Instructions
How to Make the Pumpkin Roll Dough
The first step in making your pumpkin cinnamon rolls is to prepare the dough. Start by heating milk on high heat in a small pot on your stove until it is just barely warm to the touch. As soon as it reaches this temperature, turn off the burner.
Remove your pot from the heat, add two tablespoons of sugar, and whisk the mixture until the sugar dissolves. Now, add yeast to the mixture and whisk until it dissolves. Set this mixture aside in a warm place for about 15 minutes to half an hour to allow the yeast to proof.
While your yeast is proofing, cut some butter into small pieces and transfer them into a separate small pot. Place this pot on the warm (but turned off) burner you used to heat the milk. By the time you need it, the residual heat from the burner will have melted the butter.
Next, beat eggs and a cup of sugar together on high speed for five minutes. Add a pinch of salt, a dash of vanilla, and your melted butter to the mix, and give it a good stir. Then add your proofed yeast and stir again.
Now, gradually add sifted flour to the mixture, one cup at a time, stirring continuously until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. This should take about ten minutes.
If you're doing this by hand and not using a KitchenAid mixer, the process remains the same. Once your dough is ready, place it in a warm place and let it rise for a couple of hours.
Note: I transferred the dough into a large glass bowl so I could use the mixer bowl to make the frosting while the dough is rising.
While your dough is rising, toast pecans in your preheated oven at a temperature of about 350 ℉ for ten minutes. Once they're nicely toasted, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
How to Make the Pumpkin Filling
For your pumpkin filling, mix together softened butter and pumpkin puree. Add brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to this mix and combine everything well with a wire whisk. Set this mixture aside until you're ready to use it.
How to Make the Greek Yogurt Frosting
To make your Greek yogurt frosting, beat together cream cheese and sugar for a minute on high speed. Add butter and beat for another minute.
Scrape down the cream off the sides of the mixer bowl, add Greek yogurt and vanilla, and beat the mixture once more for about two to three minutes. Set this aside until you're ready to use it.
Note: I don't refrigerate it, but let it sit on a countertop until the rolls are ready for the cream, so the cream is soft when frosting the rolls.
How to Assemble Your Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Once your dough has tripled in size (which should take about two hours), it is ready. Divide your dough into two equal portions. Take the first half and place it on a well floured surface.
Roll it out into a rectangular shape and spread half of your pumpkin filling evenly over the dough.
Sprinkle about three-quarters of a cup of your toasted and cooled pecans over the filling, saving the remaining quarter to top the rolls after frosting them.
Now, roll your dough into a log and pinch the ends together. Cut the log into approximately one-inch thick rolls using a string, floss, or serrated knife. Repeat this process with the second half of your dough.
Place these rolls onto a baking pan (about the size of a standard cookie sheet) lined with parchment paper. Let the rolls rise for an additional half an hour to forty-five minutes in the pan before baking them.
How to Bake Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Before you bake your rolls, drizzle some caramel sauce over them. Bake the rolls in a preheated oven at a temperature of 350 ℉ for about twenty-five to thirty minutes, or until they turn a light golden brown.
Once baked, remove the rolls from the oven and let them cool for fifteen minutes before adding the frosting. Then, slather on your Greek yogurt frosting and sprinkle the remaining toasted pecans over the top.
For a final touch, drizzle more caramel sauce over the frosting before serving. Enjoy your homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls!
Notes
I transferred the dough into a large glass bowl so I may use the mixer bowl to make the frosting while the dough is rising.
I don't refrigerate it, but let it sit on a countertop until the rolls are ready for the cream, so the cream is soft when frosting the rolls.
This batch makes about 24 rolls. You may use a bigger baking pan instead of the 2 small ones shown in the pictures.