Our fall bake of pumpkin cinnamon rolls with warm spice and cream cheese frosting.
We baked Erin Collins’ gluten-free pumpkin cinnamon rolls from Meaningful Eats as written, choosing the cream cheese frosting. They were amazing: soft, warm with spice, and worth the time spent waiting for the dough to rise.
This is an attributed bake of Erin’s recipe, not a Baked & Bouquets-developed formula. Use the specific gluten-free bread flour in the ingredient list; a different blend has not been tested here.
Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Makes 12 rolls. Prep: 35 minutes. Bake: 30–35 minutes.
Ingredients
- Dough: 4½ cups (675 g) King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm water
- 1 cup (240 ml) warm whole milk
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) melted butter
- Filling: 1 cup (213 g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) melted butter
- Frosting: 8 ounces (226 g) room-temperature cream cheese
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) room-temperature butter
- 1⅓ cups (160 g) powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
Equipment
- Stand mixer with paddle
- Spatula
- Mixing bowls
- Kitchen scale
- Rolling pin
- Pizza cutter or sharp knife
- 9 × 13-inch baking pan
- Hand mixer or stand mixer for frosting
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients. Combine the bread flour, sugar, instant yeast, salt, and baking powder in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle.
- Add the wet ingredients. With the mixer on low, add warm water, warm milk, egg, pumpkin purée, and melted butter. Mix on medium for 3 minutes. The mixture should look more like thick cookie dough than kneadable bread dough.
- Chill the dough. Scrape down the bowl with a lightly oiled spatula, cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes so the dough is easier to shape.
- Prepare the filling. Stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Grease a 9 × 13-inch pan.
- Roll and fill. On a surface lightly dusted with the same gluten-free bread flour, shape the chilled dough into a ball, then roll to a 15-inch square. Brush with the melted filling butter and scatter the spiced sugar evenly over it.
- Cut and coil. Cut twelve strips about 1¼ inches wide. Roll each strip into a spiral and arrange the rolls in the prepared pan.
- Let them rise. Cover and leave in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until the rolls look visibly puffed.
- Bake and cool. Heat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden. Let the pan cool for 15 minutes.
- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and optional cinnamon; start on low, then whip until smooth and fluffy. Spread over the warm rolls.