Got a rainy and kind of boring fall day on your hands? Perfect! It’s a great day to make these pumpkin spice cinnamon buns. The main recipe is exactly the same as the Pumpkin Bread that I posted about a few days earlier. This time, you just roll it out, sprinkle on the spices, sugar, and butter; roll it up, and bake your way into some amazing deliciousness.
I’ve been pawning these off on my voice students and their parents and they’ve been a huge hit. Even my pickier-than-thou child will eat them, as long as there aren’t any decorative pecans or pumpkin seeds on the top.
If this is your first time baking cinnamon buns, I took a few more step-by-step photos of the process in this post.
After years of baking bread, I find that I have the most success baking on a day when it’s raining or the humidity is high. For some of you, depending on where you live, that will practically be any day. I live on the Canadian Prairies, and more often than not the air is really dry–especially in winter!!
I also find that my rising times for dough are usually a bit more than most recipes call for. When a recipe claims a rising time of an hour, I know I’ll probably need an hour and a half, if not two hours.
Related: How to make your own pumpkin puree
I also like recipes that fit in a stand mixer and can be made with a dough hook. This one will fit in a standard-sized Kitchen-Aid mixer. No mixer? Don’t worry, you can still mix this recipe by hand and still be successful.
One last note: in the recipe card below I can for light cream for the sauce. I find that 10% cream is the sweet spot for feeling decadent but not being too ridiculous. You can also use whipping cream (amazing!), 2% milk, or coconut milk (to keep things dairy free). All will work well, but the coconut milk mixture will not thicken up very much–if at all.
Related: St. Lucia Day Cinnamon Buns
So what are you waiting for? Try a batch of these cinnamon buns today. You won’t be disappointed.
PUMPKIN SPICE CINNAMON BUNS
A delicious fall twist on classic cinnamon buns.
Ingredients
- Dough
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp yeast
- 1tbsp honey
- 2 eggs
- 5 cups flour
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/2 Tsp salt
- Filling
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- Sauce
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup light cream
Instructions
- Set out one cup of warm water and dissolve honey. Add yeast and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add pumpkin puree, eggs and oil then stir. Add in salt and 2 cups flour, then mix with your dough hook. Keep adding in flour until your dough forms a ball. Usually 5 cups, but depending on the humidity it can take as little as 4 1/2 and as much as 6.
- Grease a clean bowl, put in dough, cover with a clean towel, and set to rise in a warm place. Once it has doubled (anywhere from an hour to 2 hours depending on the humidity that day), punch down and roll out into a rectangle of approximately 1/2 inch or 1 cm thickness.
- Spread the melted butter, brown sugar, and spices on the rectangle.
- Roll the rectangle and cut into evenly sized discs.
- Arrange buns evenly in a pie plate or casserole dish
- Cook sauce ingredients on medium-high heat until sugar is dissolved and all ingredients are combined. Pour sauce evenly over the cinnamon buns. Reserve a small portion of sauce for drizzling over freshly-baked cinnamon buns.
- Let rise for 30 minutes or until desired size.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Let cool (just a tiny bit!) and serve.
If you enjoyed this blog post, find me on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram for more delicious recipes, small space gardening and flower farming tips, and more! I also make weekly videos over on my YouTube channel where I share lots of tips and tricks for cold-climate gardeners. I hope to see you there!
WANT SOME SIMPLE prairie FRUIT RECIPES?
If you’re looking to make delicious recipes with your homegrown hardy fruits, look no further. Check out my Hardy Fruits Cookbook for over 25 mouth-watering dishes!
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