Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These cinnamon rolls were the first time I ever tried to make a breakfast pastry from scratch and I learned a lot! The dough was surprisingly flaky and delicious.

Next time I will make a change:

• Make 1/2 the amount of dough. This will make the pumpkin & cinnamon to dough ratio higher. If you like your cinnamon rolls more doughy, leave the proportions the same but split the dough in half and use two 9x13 baking dishes. This will make the glaze easier to drizzle, since the dough needs room to rise. 

Ingredients (split these in half for less doughy, more pumpkiny rolls):

2 (0.25 oz) packages Rapid Rise Active Dry Yeast

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups warm water (approximately 110 degrees, I just used hot tap water)

1 tbsp salt

6 1/2 cups flour

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

Glaze:

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 cup sugar in warm water. 

Stir in salt and 2 cups flour. Beat well for 2 minutes. 

Add eggs and oil. Beat again.

Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

Coat your hands and the dough with oil. Now this is where it gets messy. Don't worry if your dough starts sticking to the surface. I floured my surface, but it didn't take long before the dough was sticking to the surface. I ended up having to scrape it off!

Knead dough for 5 minutes. Oil a large bowl and place dough inside, turning to coat with oil. 

Cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size, about 40 minutes.

Flour your surface again. (If you are splitting your dough, now would be the time to cut it in half). Roll the dough to desired thickness.

In a small bowl, combine white and brown sugars, cinnamon. Add pumpkin puree and mix well.

Spread this mixture evenly over the dough.

Roll slowly along the long edge. Cut into 12 equal pieces. I used a pizza cutter.

In a lightly greased 9x13 dish, place the pieces in 3 rows of 4.

See how they're touching? Not much room to rise. That's why I want to make them smaller next time with 1/2 the amount of dough.

Cover with the damp towel again and let rise for 40 more minutes.

At this point, I tightly covered it with plastic wrap and refrigerated it so I could bake it in the morning.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes.

While this is baking, make the glaze by mixing confectioner's sugar and milk in a small bowl. 

No room for drizzling. :(

I had to separate a bunch so I could drizzle the glaze without spilling over the side of the dish. Let cool for a few minutes before drizzling.

Serve warm.