#11 Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These pumpkin cinnamon rolls were made for a girl's night I had with four of my friends. This was the dessert portion of our homemade meal: chicken fettuccine with garlic bread. Yum. 

The awesome thing about these is that they are SO easy. Unfortunately, I have to admit I didn't make the dough on my own - no self-rising yeast, flour, nothing. Instead, Pillsbury Crescent Rounds. So. Simple.

One of my friends told me these were the best cinnamon rolls she'd ever had. I didn't really believe her until I saw her a few days after our girl's night, and she told me she hadn't stopped thinking about them . . . I hope that's a good thing.

These are a great dessert (or, let's just admit it, breakfast) for this fall season. The batch can be easily doubled (or tripled, and so on) to make however many cinnamon rolls you would like.

Another great thing about these is something my friends pointed out - the outsides of the cinnamon rolls, or the not-as-good part if we're honest, isn't hard and crunchy. The entire cinnamon roll, from outside to inside, is soft and moist.

Also, who can say no to a maple cream cheese frosting? Not me, if you couldn't already guess. And, thankfully my friends couldn't get enough of it either. Their plates were licked clean. Literally.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls 

Prep Time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 18 minutes. Total time: 28 minutes.

Yields: 8 rolls

Ingredients:

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Rounds
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 tablespoon milk
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Dash of ground nutmeg (technically 1/16 teaspoon)

*For the maple cream cheese frosting:
2 oz. light cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk (plus more, if needed)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Spray an 8-inch cake pan with cooking spray. Set aside.


3. Separate the dough into 8 rolls and unroll each. (I put mine on waxed paper, and it worked just fine as long as you don't leave them there too long. Otherwise, they'll start to stick.)

4. Brush the melted butter onto both sides of each piece of dough. 

5. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin puree, milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg until thoroughly mixed.

6. Evenly divide the pumpkin filling and spread onto each piece of rolled-out dough. Carefully roll up dough, lightly pinching the seams together.

7. Arrange the rolls one inch apart in the prepared cake pan.

8. Bake 16 to 18 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

9. To make the frosting, mix all ingredients together until you've reached the consistency you want. If you want more of a glaze, add more milk. If you prefer a frosting, use less milk.

10. Top cinnamon rolls with frosting. Allow them to cool a couple minutes before serving.


Enjoy!


Click here to print recipe!


*This frosting recipe is half of what my pictures show. I had doubled this recipe for my frosting, but I thought it was way too much. (I didn't know that was possible either.) So, if you like more frosting on your cinnamon rolls, go ahead and double it. If not, keep it as is.

*Note: Nutrition facts may vary due to brand of products.

Recipe adapted from 

http://diethood.com/pumpkin-pie-cinnamon-rolls/