Everything about Pumpkin Season seems so cozy. Sweaters, Sunday morning coffee and Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. Yummmm!
These are different from my normal cinnamon rolls because they have a special ingredient that makes them extra soft and fluffy which many people, like Mel’s Kitchen Cafe with her amazing recipe, have been using for years….. pudding! I almost always add instant pudding to my layer cakes, but I never thought to add it to cinnamon rolls. It made such a difference!
You basically make your regular pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe, but substitute pudding for the milk or buttermilk. When i use pudding in my cakes, I just pour the box of powdered pudding mix right in the batter.
For these cinnamon rolls, you actually make the pudding first. i used instant vanilla pudding. You can also make the cooked box pudding or your own homemade pudding. They will all taste good in the recipe.
You only need half a box of pudding. if you want a larger batch of rolls, then use the whole box and double the recipe. Combine the 1/2 box of instant pudding with 1 cup of milk. As you stir the mixture, it will thicken. Add that to your other wet ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients including the flour. Kneed with a dough hook, then refrigerate overnight.
My son absolutely loved this recipe. And he has told me many times that he doesn’t like pumpkin. This was actually his first time eating anything with pumpkin in it. Why do kids, at least mine, say they don’t like something even if they’re never tried it??? I didn’t tell him it was pumpkin in the rolls until after he ate one and told me to always use this recipe!
Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 package yeast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 6 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 box instant vanilla pudding
- 1 cup cold milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
- 3 cups flour
Filling
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
Frosting
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp heavy cream
Instructions
Rolls
- In a standing mixer bowl, place yeast, sugar and water inside and let in dissolve about 5-10 minutes.In a separate bowl, combine the 1/2 box instant pudding and 1 cup of milk. Stir until thickened. Add to yeast mixture. Add butter, egg, pumpkin, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix on medium speed. Attach dough hook and add flour. Let the dough mix and kneed for a few minutes. Detach the hook and bowl. Cover with a towel and let rise for an hour. Remove the towel and cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight.
Filling
- Combine all the ingredients for the filling. Roll out dough into a rectangle. Spread filling on top. Roll dough up the long way, so it still has the longest length. Cut into 12-15 equal pieces and place in a parchment lined 10 inch round baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size about 1-2 hours. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Remove plastic and bake for about 17-25 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Glaze
- Mix butter, cream cheese, vanilla, powdered sugar, and heavy cream in a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, place white chocolate and melt in the microwave until softened, but not too long, about 30-45 seconds. Stir until melted. Add the chocolate to the frosting and stir. Spread on warm rolls.
