Cinnamon Rolls with a Pumpkin Twist!
It never feels quite like Autumn yet until I’ve made a batch of from-scratch cinnamon rolls for my family. The oven warms our home with the scent of sugar and spice, and as soon as the rolls have cooled enough to not burn our mouths, we all gather around the kitchen counter to enjoy the treat with our hot beverages of choice.
Of course my drink of choice is hot coffee, which I always have standing by in a thermal carafe for refills throughout my morning. Now that it’s Fall, though, I’m excited to put a literal twist on my favorite coffee break treat! These cinnamon rolls are made with pumpkin and glazed with International Delight‘s Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer for an extra dose of delicious. And look, ma! It’s a wreath! How much more festive can things get? I’m open to suggestions. ;)
- 2 1/4 Cups all purpose flour (Plus additional for rolling out dough)
- 1 Packet yeast
- 1/2 Cup pumpkin puree
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1/3 Cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 Cups confectioners sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons of International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer
- In a small saucepan on the stove, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, and salt over medium heat. Once ingredients are combined (before reaching a boil), remove from heat and allow to cool to around 90 degrees, or to a bath water temperature. Mix together flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin mixture along with the beaten egg to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until a wet dough has form. Turn out the dough into a greased mixing bowl, flipping the dough to ensure it is greased on all sides, cover the bowl with a towel, and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment. This usually takes an hour.
- Punch down the dough and knead on a floured surface for about 5 minutes. Separate the dough into three evenly sized balls. Roll out the balls into approximately 12" circles. Place the first circle onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or non-stick pizza pan), and brush a layer of melted butter over it. Mix together the spices with the sugar and sprinkle half of the mixture evenly across the circle, then cover with another circle and repeat, using the rest of the butter and sugar mixture. Top with the last circle.
- Cut out a small circle from the middle of the stacked circles with a biscuit cutter or small cup. Then slice the large circle in half, then quarters, continuing until you have created 16 pieces. Twist each individual piece, pinching it down at either end to prevent it from unrolling during the baking process. Cover with a towel and allow the rolls to rise again for about another hour.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and allow to cool for five minutes before carefully transferring the rolls to a wire rack for glazing.
- Whisk together 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spiced creamer. Add more sifted powdered sugar until you have a thin mixture that will still easily drip off the spoon, but is thick enough to coat the spoon. Pour the glaze slowly and evenly over the rolls on a wire rack, allowing the glaze to drip through the wire rack. If you have a bowl wide enough, you can catch the glaze under the rack, immediately pouring it over the rolls for a second coat of glaze.
You don’t need a stand mixer or electric mixer of any kind for this recipe. The dough easily comes together with some hand mixing if you prefer that method, and after the first rise you’ll be hand-kneading the dough too.
If you’re intimidated of trying a recipe with yeast, don’t be! It’s very simple. Just make sure you don’t add hot ingredients to the yeast (just warm) and be prepared to wait some time in between rises. This is a fun recipe to do on a Saturday or Sunday morning when you know you’re going to be at home for a while. And the smell while it bakes! Talk about the essence of fall!
This is what your dough will look like after the first rise (above). Definitely make sure that the stovetop ingredients have cooled sufficiently before adding them to the flour in the first step. If you add hot ingredients to the yeast, it will kill the yeast, and your dough will not rise and will not look like the above image.
This method of making rolls by layering stacks of dough reminded me a bit of making lasagna. You can add additional mix-ins to the in-between layers of dough, like dried fruit or chopped nuts. Filling it with pumpkin butter or apple butter would be a delicious substitute too!
This is the first time I’ve used flavored creamer in a glaze, and I just loved the way it turned out! It packs a little more yum than just milk and sugar alone. I used International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice creamer, but I bet their French Vanilla or Hazelnut flavors would be delicious as a glaze too.
I decided to keep my glaze on the thinner side so you could see more of the beautiful twist design on the rolls, but if you like a sweeter roll, you may choose to add a bit more sifted powdered sugar to make your glaze thicker than this.
This treat was a really big hit with my family, so much so that I made two batches so we wouldn’t have to hide them from our family and friends who stopped by that day. Not that I would ever do that….
Make sure you sign up for International Delight’s newsletter to receive coupons and news about up-coming seasonal offerings. They’ve also got some fun recipe ideas on their Pinterest and Facebook accounts. Tag your International Delight coffee break moments with #IDelight for a chance to be featured on their Instagram too!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.
YUM! This looks so, so good x
Erin | beingerin.com