Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

 

 

I played flute in the marching band throughout all of high school. Every Saturday in October, plus another two in November, we arrived to campus before 5 am, groggily climbed onto the five charter buses, and drove to an all-day band review. Those competitions consisted of a parade in the morning, a field show at night, and lots of down time in between.  

 

For the second weekend in October, we always traveled to a high school about an hour south, located pretty close to their downtown area with a mall and empty field nearby. We usually walked to the restaurants at the shopping center for lunch, and on the way back to the buses, we stopped at the field because the city set up a pumpkin patch there.

 

 

We wandered up and down the rows, posing with pumpkins for pictures. They were normally fairly small, or at least of a manageable size for carrying, but there were always a few gigantic ones where I couldn’t even wrap my arms around them!

 

Of course, we never actually bought any. There was some sort of unwritten rule about not bringing pumpkins back on the bus, probably because they’d get squashed by the huge sousaphones and splatter into one humongous mess… But it was still fun to go look around!

 

 

When I recently started thinking about those band reviews, the memory resurfaced of a few friends bringing big Cinnabon rolls from the mall to the pumpkin patch one year, and I decided to combine the two flavors to make these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls!

 

 

Like many typical cinnamon roll recipes, yeast is what makes these so light and fluffy. Have you worked with yeast before? If not, there’s nothing to be afraid of! I promise. It’s just another leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda, all of which create air bubbles to make your baked goods rise.

 

Yeast makes the best bubbles when you let it sit in warm liquids with a little bit of sugar. This is called proofing, and it’s how the recipe starts. After about 10-15 minutes, it’ll look like a bubble bath took over your bowl. That’s good—it means the yeast is alive and thriving!

 

Note: Red Star® Quick Rise Yeast is my favorite! I’ve been baking bread since I was 8 years old, and it’s been the fastest to rise and most dependable brand I’ve used.

 

 

After mixing in the flour, it’s time to knead, which is just a fancy way of saying, “Fold the dough and push your palm into it over and over again.” Make sure your work surface and hands are completely covered in flour to prevent the dough from sticking to them!

 

You’re done kneading once the dough is no longer sticky and begins to feel taught. Press your finger into it, and if it starts to spring most of the way back, the dough is ready to rest. To make this recipe simpler, just let it rest for a few minutes while preparing the filling. No need to let it double in size and punch it down again. I’m impatient and don’t want to wait an extra hour for my cinnamon rolls!

 

 

After flattening out the dough, spreading the filling on top, and rolling it up, I prefer to cut my cinnamon rolls with dental floss. A knife tends to squash the round log while slicing through it, and you’ll end up with misshapen rolls instead of perfectly round ones. Try to use unflavored floss, but if mint is all you have, that’s fine too. It’s a faint enough taste that you won’t detect it in the pastries.

 

 

Then let them rise, let them bake, and {impatiently} let them cool just enough before snatching one from the pan (so you don’t burn yourself on the hot filling!). The cinnamon roll dough is faintly flavored with pumpkin and cinnamon, more of a subtle backdrop that tints them pale orange and helps keep them extra soft and tender. The warm brown sugar and cinnamon filling is what really shines through!

 

 

If you have any leftovers, seal them in a plastic bag. When you come back the next day, the filling will have turned slightly sweeter and gooey—it’s absolutely irresistible!

 

So… Who’s ready for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast?

 

 

View Nutrition Information