So, it’s fall. You know what that means, right? Everyone knows what that means, right? It means it’s pumpkin season! Everyone gets excited for pumpkin season, right? Well, almost everyone. I don’t actually like pumpkin all that much, but I do like baking with it because I know everyone else loves it.

Keeping that in mind, I took my experimentation to fall ideas. I decided that I had to make a pumpkin roll. Because even if I won’t eat them, someone will, right? Someone will love them. So I did. I made them. I wasn’t quite sure how they would work out, but let me tell you… they worked out just fine.

So, in the honor of the leaves falling (in places other than that which I currently live), and pumpkin spice filling the air, I give you pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls.

Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls: The Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 15 oz pumpkin puree
• 2 cups very warm milk
• 2 packets or 4.5 tsp yeast
• pinch of salt
• About 7 cups flour
• 2 sticks butter
• Pumpkin pie spice, or plain cinnamon
• Brown sugar
• Pecans (optional)

1. Mix eggs and sugar until white and fluffy. Add pumpkin puree and mix. Don’t mix on too high of speed, or the mixture might try to escape the bowl.
2. Heat the milk (I typically microwave it for 2 minutes) and add it to the sugar, eggs, and pumpkin. Mix well.
3. Add the yeast, salt, and 4 cups of flour and mix until combined.
4. Add one stick of softened butter and combine.
5. Change to a dough hook or knead in the last 2-3 cups of flour. Don’t add too much flour – you don’t want your dough to be too firm. It should still be sticky when you’re done. Once you get it to the consistency you like, you can spray your counter with cooking spray or with butter to keep it from sticking without using more flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes. Some people say to knead for 10, but I rarely knead for more than 5.
6. Place the dough in a well buttered or greased bowl and cover with a cloth or plastic wrap. Place in a warm area to rise for an hour, or until doubled in size.
7. Once risen, separate the dough into 2 equal lumps.
8. Take one half of the dough and roll into a rectangular shape on the counter. If the dough is sticky, you can use cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the counter.
9. Spread softened butter across the dough, then sprinkle with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. I tend to use a fair amount of spice because that’s what my mom likes, but you can add however much you want. You can also add pecans if you’d like – most of the adults that tried them when I made them with pecans loved them, but most of the younger people said they’d prefer them without.
10. Roll up the dough and cut into approximately 12 equal slices. Place into a pre-greased pan and let rise for 30 minutes.
11. Repeat 8-10 with the other half of the dough.
12. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
13. Bake the rolls for 35-40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Take out and let cool.
14. Cover with a frosting of your choice. For these rolls, I like a cream cheese frosting with 1 stick butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 4-8 cups powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. You can add more powdered sugar or more milk to get the consistency you like.
15. Enjoy!