Amish Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls are a fall recipe worth making again and again. They’re topped with the most wonderful caramel icing.
These are the kind of cinnamon rolls that are perfect for to make on Halloween weekend or Thanksgiving morning. They have been my favorite cinnamon rolls for many years now. You’ll want to make them more than once!
This recipe comes from a wonderful, older cookbook full of Amish-style recipes: Cooking from Quilt Country : Hearty Recipes from Amish and Mennonite Kitchens.
How to make Amish Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls:
- Prep the dough with a small amount of mixing of the dough ingredients, and then put the ball of dough in a bowl– cover and let rise for an hour. If you’re lacking a warm place for rising, use your oven. Turn on the oven light. Then set your oven to 400 degrees for one minute. Turn it OFF and then place your pan inside the warmed oven. Make sure you have turned off your oven!
- Punch the dough down, roll it out, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
- Roll up the dough, pinch the seam and cut into 1-inch slices. Place the slices in a pan, cover and let rise for about 45 minutes.
Make-ahead tip:
If you want to make these the night before, prep the rolls to the point of putting them in the pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. Take them out in the morning and let them rise before baking.
Bake for 20 minutes- until they are beautiful and golden, as shown!
Then make the caramel icing (super easy), and drizzle it on top of your warm rolls. This recipe makes 12 rolls. That’s just enough for you and your family/guests to enjoy without over-indulging! One roll is plenty as these are quite an indulgence.
Ingredient questions:
Should you use canned or homemade pumpkin puree?
I’ve only used canned unsweetened pumpkin puree for this recipe (not the pie filling). If you have homemade puree, I think that will be fine as long as the consistency of it is very similar to canned.
Do I have to use bread flour?
The recipe calls for 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of bread flour. If you don’t want to buy bread flour for this recipe, go ahead and use 2 cups of all-purpose flour. The rolls might not rise as much, and they might be a little less dense than cinnamon rolls typically are.
Here are a few more pumpkin-themed breakfast recipes you might like to try:
- Pumpkin Steel Cut Oats
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
- Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
- Pumpkin Waffles
- Best Pumpkin Bread Recipe
- How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Cinnabon Pumpkin Muffins
- Pumpkin French Toast Casserole
Amish Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Icing
Ingredients
ROLLS:
- ⅓ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg, beaten
- One .25-ounce envelope active dry yeast
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup bread flour
FILLING:
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
FROSTING:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ to ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
PREPARE THE ROLLS:
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter just until warm (120 to 130°) and butter is almost melted, stirring constantly.
- In large bowl, combine the pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add the warm milk mixture and beat with an electric mixer until well mixed. Beat in the egg and yeast. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the two flours. Add half of the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture. Beat mixture on low speed for 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl frequently. Add the remaining flour and mix thoroughly (dough will be very soft). Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, then grease the surface of the dough lightly. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Punch the dough down. Turn the dough onto a floured surface. Knead a few turns to form a smooth dough, sprinkling with enough additional flour to make the dough easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a 12x10-inch rectangle.
PREPARE THE FILLING:
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush the surface of dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture. Beginning with the long side of the dough, roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal. With a sharp serrated knife, gently cut the roll into twelve 1-inch slices. Place the rolls cut-side-up in greased 9-inch-square baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
BAKE THE ROLLS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the rolls about 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove from the pan to a waxed paper-lined wire rack. Cool 10 to 15 minutes.
ADD THE ICING:
- While the rolls are cooling, prepare the icing: In a small saucepan, heat the butter until melted. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Stir in brown sugar and milk. Cool over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a small mixing bowl and cool the mixture slightly. Stir in the vanilla, salt and powdered sugar (start with ½ cup). Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. If necessary, add more powdered sugar for desired consistency. Drizzle icing over warm rolls.
Notes
- *If you'd like to begin preparing these the night before... Follow directions through putting the rolls in the pan, then cover and refrigerate overnight. Take them out in the morning and let them rise for 45 minutes (maybe a bit more because the dough will be cold).
*If you're lacking a warm place for rising, use your oven. Turn on the oven light. Then set your oven to 400 degrees for one minute. Turn it OFF and then place your pan inside the warmed oven. Make sure you have turned off your oven!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is an easy recipe! I made the dough in my bread machine and it tirned out great. Just be aware, that your photos and your directions contradict each other. You can not fir 12 rolls in a 9″ square pan. 12 rolls fit in a 9 x 13 pan. Only 9 rolls fit into a 9 ” square pan – just as in your photos.
Thanks for pointing that out. I wonder if I made them as 12 when I first made these! I changed it to 9. Everyone wants a bigger cinnamon roll anyway haha 🙂
I had the same issue and I’m thinking it may be a humidity issue. I just added 1 T of milk at a time until it fixed itself. (3 T in my case)