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    Home / Breakfast & Brunch / Breads & Rolls
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    Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls

    By Alanna Taylor-Tobin on Nov 23, 2011 (updated Mar 3, 2025) / 21 Comments Jump to Recipe

    These pillowy pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls start with a challah-like dough curled around brown sugar spiced filling, all slathered in a gooey sour cream glaze. They make a cozy fall or winter treat for chilly mornings. 

    pumpkin spice cinnamon roll on plate

    These spiced pumpkin cinnamon rolls are floofy, gooey, and golden. They're made using pumpkin challah dough as a base, and they're topped with a gooey and tangy sour cream glaze. If you love pumpkin recipes, like this reader-favorite pumpkin spice pudding, you're going to love these cozy buns.

    If you're looking for something gluten-free, make my super-moist oat flour pumpkin bread instead.

    Questing for the Perfect Cinnamon Roll Recipe

    I've had a thing for cinnamon buns since I was a kid. My mom and I would drive from LA to some mountains somewhere (Mom, help me out here) and we would always stop at a cafe of sorts where they sold the giantest cinnamon buns. They must have been as big as my 8-year-old head – gooey, beige dough with a simple, deep brown filling and an enormous slather of pasty, white frosting. My mom would only let me eat half of one at a time, which was wise. I have no recollection of the sugar highs that followed (I must have blacked out) but I'm sure they were epic.

    basket of pumpkins

    The memory of those buns pose a challenge to any cinnamon bun trying to live up to them. (They have, er, big buns to fill.) The Cinnabons in the mall wafted out promises of butter and spice, but they always tasted false, ingenuine. Those buns of yore had integrity. They were the real deal.

    dough and rolling pin

    So several years ago, around the time when I finished pastry school (the failure to be handed the perfect cinnamon bun recipe just another disappointment) I went on a hunt. I tried three or four different recipes. But here's the thing: I was going through an anti-wheat phase, and was making the buns with a combination of whole and white spelt flours. My logic was that spelt flour, which is closer to pastry flour in its low levels of gluten, would make a softer dough. But each recipe that I tried came out overly dense, with a dry, cardboard-y texture. When I finally tried a blend of a few different recipes from Baking Illustrated (the dough from the sticky buns, the filling from the cinnamon buns, and the cream cheesy glaze from their quick cinnamon buns) I thought I'd struck gold.

    sheet of dough

    But looking back, I realize that this was just the first time that I had broken down and used all-purpose flour. (Thanks, pastry school.)

    Since then, I've learned that "hard" wheat varieties, which comprise bread flours with a higher gluten content, actually make for a softer dough, which is somewhat counter-intuitive.

    sheet of dough with sugar and cinnamon spread on it

    I've also learned that (for me) wheat isn't so bad in moderation.

    dough being rolled

    Unfortunately, my cinnamon bun-eating impulse is, apparently, not something that can be done in moderation. Cinnamon buns, like chocolate chip cookies, are at their peak moments (or 20 minutes for the buns) out of the oven, when they are warm and gooey. Since I know that the buns/cookies will never be better than at that precise moment, restraint can be something of a challenge. With cookies, one can bake off a few at a time, hoarding the dough in the fridge for later cravings. But buns are a different story. I like my buns baked in the pull-apart fashion of shoving them all into one pan; but then, of course, they all have to be baked off at once. And this can lead to abundant bunnage (yes, in the many senses of the word).

    rolls pre baking being cut

    At least these pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls contain a hefty dose of pureed winter squash (see? healthy). I adapted my pumpkin challah dough to make a 9x9" panful of buns, rolled the buttery dough up with dark brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon, and then drizzled the buns with a sour cream glaze. The squash imparts a brilliant color and the starches give the dough a pillow-soft, almost feathery texture. Aside from that, they resemble the buns of my youth (uh, what?) with their tender layers of dough soaked with syrupy filling and tangy-sweet glaze. I did make them smaller than most, though, and cut the dough into 16 (rather than the usual 9) buns.

    rolls before baking

    I've never been into "stuff" in my buns (yikes), but if you are, feel free to add dried cranberries, toasted pecans, or chopped crystalized ginger.

    pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls in a baking tray

    Any way you slice them, these buns make a welcome treat for the holidays.

    drizzling icing on pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

    Or even the "challah days."

    top down shot of pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

    tray of pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

    *Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram,  Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet  and  #bojongourmet.*

    No ratings yet

    Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    These sweet buns make a cozy fall or winter treat for chilly mornings.
    Alanna Taylor-Tobin
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Resting time: 3 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Total: 4 hours hours 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 16 smallish buns.

    Ingredients

    The dough:

    • 6 tablespoons milk (whole or not, or water) (3 ounces)
    • 1 package active dry yeast (.24 ounces) (or 1 package instant yeast, or 2 tablespoons fresh, cake yeast)
    • 3/4 cup homemade winter squash puree (or canned pumpkin puree; 6 ounces)
    • 2 large eggs
    • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to warm (3 ounces)
    • 6 tablespoons sugar
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • a good grating of nutmeg (about 1/2 teaspoon)
    • 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting (or all-purpose)

    Filling:

    • 1 cup dark brown sugar (fresh and non-clumpy)
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
    • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

    Glaze:

    • 3 tablespoons sour cream
    • 1 tablespoon milk or whiskey (or dark rum or brandy)
    • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Make the dough:

    • In a small saucepan, warm the milk over a medium-low flame, until a bit warmer than body temperature, but not so hot that you can't hold a finger in the milk for 10 seconds (100-110ºF). Pour into a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over, and let sit to dissolve, 10-15 minutes. (If using instant or fresh cake yeast, skip the step of warming the milk and just whisk the yeast together with all the wet ingredients.) Whisk in the pumpkin, eggs, butter, sugar, salt and nutmeg to combine. Begin adding the flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring after each addition, until a soft, shaggy dough forms.
    • Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface (a plastic scraper works brilliantly). Optionally cover the dough with the bowl and let rest for 15-20 minutes (this is called autolyse, and lets the dough get a head start smoothing itself out.) Knead the dough vigorously for 10 minutes, dusting your hands and the surface with just enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking. After 10 minutes, the dough should be smoother, only slightly tacky to the touch, and slightly springy.
    • Round the dough into a loose ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl (or containethat is 3x the size of the dough, turning it to coat. Cover tightly with plastic wrap (or the liand let rise in a warm spot until doubled or tripled in size, about 2 - 4 hours.

    Make the filling:

    • In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cloves.
    • Scrape the risen dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently press out the air. Roll the dough out into a long rectangle, about 25" long and 10" wide, dusting and flipping the dough occasionally to prevent it from sticking. Brush the entire surface of the dough with about half of the melted butter. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving 1/2" space at the top (long sidof dough. Press the mixture into the dough.
    • Beginning with a long end, slowly roll up the dough into a tight cylinder. Pinch the seam closed. Place the log seam-side down. Using a sharp, serrated knife, gently saw the log in half crosswise. Cut each half in half (quarters), then cut each quarter in half (eighthand slice each eighth in half (sixteenths). (For the most even buns, cut the skinny end pieces longer than the fat middle pieces.)
    • Brush a 9x9" square pan with half of the remaining melted butter. Place the buns in the pan 4 by Press down on the buns to flatten them out and squish them into each other. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap (or place in a large plastic baand let rise in a warm place until puffed and almost doubled in size, 1 - 2 hours.
    • Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF.
    • When the buns are fully risen, brush the tops with the remaining melted butter. Bake the buns until golden brown, 30-40 minutes.
    • Whisk together all the ingredients for the glaze until smooth and pourable. Drizzle the hot buns with the glaze (you may not want to use it aland let them cool for at least 20 minutes before serving (the buns are still baking from residual heat.)
    • The buns are best within hours of being baked, but can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. (Or use leftovers to make killer bread pudding.)

    Notes

    All the butter in the dough makes this a slow-riser; it took about 4 hours for the initial rise and 2 hours for the second in my chilly apartment this morning. You have a couple of do-ahead options, though: you can make the dough up to a day or three ahead, and let it rise in the fridge overnight or longer (it probably won't rise much, so leave it a few hours of room-temperature time to double in bulk before working with it). You can also let the shaped buns rise in the fridge overnight (same here - let them double at room temp before baking them off).
    These buns are mildly spiced and closer in flavor to a classic cinnamon bun than pumpkin pie. I like them the way they are, but if you want more spice, try adding 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon allspice to the dough along with the nutmeg.
    If you want bigger buns (heh), roll the dough into a shorter, fatter rectangle, and cut the log into 9 pieces.
    Nutritional values are based on one of sixteen servings.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 343kcalCarbohydrates: 60gProtein: 7gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 347mgPotassium: 121mgFiber: 2gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 2035IUVitamin C: 0.5mgCalcium: 39mgIron: 0.8mg
    Making this? I'd love to see!Tag your snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet!

    pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls

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    the cover of the award-winning cookbook, Alternative Baker

    Hungry for more?

    Alternative Baker celebrates the unique tastes and textures of 14 gluten-free flours, from buckwheat flour to almond flour to sorghum and coconut! This cookbook will fill your kitchen with sweet treats that burst with flavor every month of the year.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment & Rate this Recipe Cancel reply

      I love reading your comments, reviews, and questions! If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider giving it a star rating when you post a comment. These help people discover my recipes online. Thank you for your support and for being part of The Bojon Gourmet community!

      xo, Alanna

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      Rate this recipe after you've made it:




    1. Ann Lam says

      November 23, 2011 at 9:30 am

      Oh my gosh. Alanna, this is amazing. I need to work up the courage to try these, but I will! Thank you, again!

      Reply
    2. Alanna says

      December 20, 2011 at 5:45 am

      You could totally rock these! Don't be afraid. :)

      Reply
    3. Joyce says

      November 14, 2012 at 6:57 pm

      I will have to try these! Have you had the sticky buns at Foreign Cinema yet? I think they might be incomparable. What is their secret?!!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        March 31, 2013 at 9:17 pm

        No, I haven't! They sound amazing. :)

        Reply
    4. Anonymous says

      November 23, 2013 at 11:23 pm

      You are amazing. Thanks for sharing your beautiful food with us.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        November 24, 2013 at 1:00 am

        Wow, that is the sweetest comment ever. :)

        Reply
    5. Anonymous says

      December 22, 2013 at 9:28 am

      This is a great recipe! I just made some for a potluck at church tomorrow. :) I added some walnuts to add some texture..but wonderful recipe. Five starts!

      Reply
      • Anonymous says

        December 22, 2013 at 9:28 am

        *stars.

        Reply
      • Alanna says

        December 23, 2013 at 6:21 pm

        I'm so happy you tried the buns - how perfect for a church potluck! And I love the idea of adding walnuts - Yum! Hope they're a big hit. :)

        Reply
    6. Michelle says

      November 04, 2014 at 4:23 am

      This recipe is amazing..... I wish I had made a double batch - I took them to work and had a line of people at my desk, waiting to get their bun. I was pretty famous afterward.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        November 04, 2014 at 6:47 am

        That's awesome! I'm so glad you all liked them. Also, your note made my day - thank you so much.

        Reply
    7. Tara F says

      July 14, 2015 at 9:10 am

      Hi Alanna, would it be okay to replace the pumpkin with sour cream? I am going to make them with the pumpkin, but would also like to try them without the pumpkin and cloves.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        July 16, 2015 at 1:13 am

        Hi Tara, I don't think sour cream will be a good sub for pumpkin since it's so much higher in fat and will change everything. Let me know how you like the pumpkin version!

        Reply
    8. Tara F says

      July 16, 2015 at 2:33 am

      okay, thanks so much! I'm just now learning how to bake, so I really appreciate your reply. I am going to make the pumpkin cinnamon buns soon. I love your recipes! =)

      Reply
    9. Oana says

      October 09, 2015 at 3:27 pm

      Wonderful recipe! I am just wondering if these can be adapted for a gluten-free version? If yes, what kind of flour would it be OK to use? Thank you for your recipes and for the lay out of the site - such an absolute delight!

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        October 09, 2015 at 7:52 pm

        Thanks, Oana! I wish it were as simple as switching out the flours, but GF baking with yeast is a whole other animal. If I were you, I'd look for a GF pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe and incorporate the filling and glaze of this one into it. Let me know if you find something you like!

        Reply
    10. Sara says

      October 17, 2015 at 7:01 pm

      I just made these and they are great. I might try leaving out the nutmeg and cloves and just go for the traditional cinnamon bun flavour. Also, I might top them with a cream cheese frosting! Thanks Alanna!

      Reply
    11. jenny says

      February 10, 2019 at 2:51 am

      I make these all the time, and my family loves them. I used pureed sweet potato this time (leftover from a pie), and the buns are rising in the refrigerator overnight, and will be our ski breakfast on our way up to the mountain tomorrow. I'm going to bring the whole pan; we'll eat the remainders on the way down. They really are so yummy and perfect. I like making them the day before, and letting them rise slowly in the fridge, and also, I always use a measuring tape when rolling out doughs like this. So much better (for me) than guessing. Thank you for the consistently great recipes and instructions.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        February 15, 2019 at 10:27 pm

        I'm so glad you like the recipe!

        Reply
    12. Carrie says

      May 05, 2019 at 10:58 pm

      Has anyone freed the gluten out of this by chance? I’d like to try this for mother’s day. It looks amazing. Would a one-to-one flour work? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Alanna says

        May 06, 2019 at 9:34 am

        I'd love to find a way to make this recipe GF! For now you could try Snixy Kitchen's GF Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. I'll add a note to the recipe! :)

        Reply

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    I'm Alanna, a recovering pastry chef and award-winning cookbook author. I love sharing well-tested, from-scratch recipes for your favorite desserts and sweet treats made (undetectably) gluten-free with alternative flours. Because everyone deserves to eat good food. Bojon appétit! About →

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As for why Zeppo and Hank choose him instead of the die-hard cat lady with the soft lap – that's one of life's great mysteries. 

Bojon appétit, my sweets!

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