Fall is my absolute favorite time of year! These Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze are the perfect fall treat!
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Homemade cinnamon rolls are just special. There is something about homemade rolls, filling the house with their heavenly smell, that cannot be beat. Every holiday I make a version of my Best Ever Cinnamon Rolls. These Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze are perfect for Thanksgiving! And since fall is my favorite season, I make these as often as I can to enjoy this time of year.
Homemade cinnamon rolls do take some time to make, but they are completely worth it. The trick with these is making them the day or night before. This way, you do not have to wake up in the middle of the night to get these going. Just prep them in advance, throw them in the oven, and your house will smell like heaven in no time!
Pumpkin spice is put in both the dough and filling here so that everything tastes like fall! You can make your own pumpkin spice easily, learn how to make it here! The maple cream cheese glaze is a perfect compliment to the rolls, but feel free to leave the maple syrup out if you wish. The glaze is my favorite part of a cinnamon roll, so this batch makes a LOT! I also love to add some chopped pecans or walnuts.
I typically have to double the recipe because people are known to eat three or four per person in our house. They are just too irresistible! Plus, you will want leftovers. And if you fight over the inside pieces like we do, you will want extra “center” rolls. 🙂 These Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze are sure to be a hit in your house!
Find all of our cinnamon and sweet rolls here! These are some of our favorites:
Blackberry Toasted Coconut Sweet Rolls
Chocolate Hazelnut Coffee Rolls
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
Dough
- ½ cup milk
- 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 oz, not instant yeast)
- 1/2 cup warm water (as per yeast package directions, typically 100-110F)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin spice (see note)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour more or less as needed
Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (approximately 1/3 can)
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice (see note)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup pecans chopped (or walnuts) (optional)
Glaze
- 2 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons milk room temperature
- ½ Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make Dough
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water as per package directions for the correct temperature to ensure that you keep your yeast alive (typically between 100-110℉).1 package active dry yeast, 1/2 cup warm water
- In a large bowl, mix the milk, sugar, melted butter, salt, egg, and 1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin spice. Add two cups of the flour and mix to combine.½ cup milk, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 large egg, 1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin spice
- Add in the yeast mixture. Add additional flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is easy to handle (the amount of flour that you need will vary). (See Note 1).4 cups all-purpose flour
- Roll the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. You can also do this in a stand mixer (it tends to take longer than 10 minutes). The dough has been kneaded enough when it slowly bounces back when you press into it, and you can stretch the dough very thin to where you can see light through it without it getting holes and tearing.
- Place the dough into a greased bowl (you can use 1-2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to coat the bowl you mixed everything in). Cover bowl with saran wrap and then a kitchen towel. Let sit until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 60-90 minutes.
Assemble Rolls
- When dough has doubled in size, punch it down. Then put it back on a floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 15x9 inches.
- Mix the filling of cream cheese, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice together in a medium bowl. Spread the mixture over the dough in a thin layer. Depending on the exact size of your dough, you may need a little more to coat it all.4 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- Spread the 2 Tablespoons melted butter on top of the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the butter. Top with walnuts or pecans if you are using them.2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, 2/3 cup light brown sugar, 3/4 cup pecans
- From the long edge, tightly roll the dough all the way to the other long edge and pinch dough together to seal.
- Using a serrated knife, cut the log in half. Then cut each half into half again so that you have four equal pieces. Lining up two pieces at a time, cut each into three rolls so that you have a total of 12 rolls.
- Coat the bottom of your 9x13" baking dish with some additional melted butter and sugar to coat. Place the cinnamon roll slices close together (four rows of three) in the dish and let them rise until the dough has doubled again, approximately 45 minutes.
Bake
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Once the rolls have doubled in size, place them in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until they are starting to brown.
- While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing. Whisk the cream cheese in a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and maple syrup and whisk in until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar and whisk until smooth. Taste and add additional maple syrup if you wish, however go light as you do not want it to overpower the pumpkin spice.2 ounces cream cheese, 2 Tablespoons milk, ½ Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- When the rolls are done, let them cool slightly and then top with the icing. Serve warm.
Notes
- It is very important to not add too much flour as your dough will be very tough and not rise. You know you have enough when it is not overly sticking to the sides of the bowl when mixing, and feels tacky but not super sticky when you touch it. You might not need all 4 cups of flour, so make sure you are only adding a little at a time.
- If you are having issues with your dough rising during each proofing, it is likely too cold. Place the bowl or dish inside an oven (off), wrapped in blankets, in the sun, or in another warm place to help activate the yeast.
I love cinnamon rolls and the addition of pumpkin to these make them a perfect fall treat!
This is the perfect way to start a chilly fall day! What a lovely recipe. Thanks so much for this!
Oh ya! I hear theses lovely morsels calling my name. Beautiful pictures and recipe. I love cream cheese in recipes like this!
This combines two of my favorite fall things; pumpkin and maple! Looks zoo good!
That looks so devine.. Can’t wait to try.. Thanks for the recipe
Cinnamon scrolls are truly one of life’s pleasures and with a pumpkin spice flavoring, they are the epitome of fall treats. Delicious.
Pumpkin Spice and Maple! Such a fabulous combination of flavors 😀
What a tempting and delicious way to start the morning. I think the pumpkin spices make this the perfect breakfast for the fall temperatures. My kids would gobble these up in no time. Yum!
Oh my goodness gracious me what I wouldn’t do for one of these before me right now! GORGEOUS!
Thank you, Elizabeth! I was so happy with how they turned out!
I can already feel the pounds creeping on just looking at this cinnamon roll! I want two!
That is the difficult part! I have to restrain myself from making them too often! 😀
These look fabulous, I love your photography. I shall pin these for making later:)
Thank you, Jacqui!
oh man.. I usually don’t eat cinnamon rolls, but PUMPKIN cinnamon rolls? SOLD
Oh these look amazing! And that glaze! Ugh, I’d just drink it out of a mug!
I love cinnamon rolls and these look really yummy!
These look divine and so tasty! I wish they were healthy, but I’ll cheat and eat these instead!
WOW! I love a good homemade cinnamon roll, nice job!
YUM! Breakfast pastries are a weakness of mine!
My mouth is watering! I want one of these right now! Perfect for the season!
These look all sorts of amazing!
I tried it! It came out great!