Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

These pumpkin cinnamon rolls carry the pumpkin in the dough, which bakes up orange and stays soft, with pecans toasted inside the spiral. The pumpkin brings water with it, so the dough will feel stickier than a plain cinnamon roll dough; adding flour to fix that is what makes the rolls dry, so leave it sticky. The recipe makes twelve, the pan can be assembled the night before and baked in the morning, and the cream cheese icing goes on while the rolls are warm.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups (440 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for the work surface
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk, warmed to 105-110°F
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (one 7 g packet)
• 2/3 cup (160 g) pumpkin puree (plain puree, not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1/4 cup (50 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup (57 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 6 tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter, softened, for the filling
• 2/3 cup (145 g) dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, for the filling
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, for the filling
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 3/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 4 oz (113 g) cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, for the icing
• 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Warm the milk to 105-110°F. Stir in the yeast and a spoonful of the sugar. Leave it 5 to 10 minutes, until it foams.
2. Instant yeast does not need that step and can go straight in with the flour. Active dry does need it.
3. Whisk the pumpkin puree, the rest of the sugar, the melted butter and the egg into the milk.
4. Add the flour, the salt and the three dough spices. Mix to a rough dough, then knead it: 8 to 10 minutes by hand, 5 to 6 in a stand mixer with a dough hook.
5. Pumpkin carries a lot of water, so this dough comes out wetter and stickier than a plain cinnamon roll dough.
6. Add the last of the flour a tablespoon at a time and judge it by feel. The dough should stick to the bottom of the bowl and pull away from the sides. More flour than that is what makes the rolls dry.
7. Cover the bowl and leave it somewhere warm for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled.
8. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to roughly 16 by 12 inches.
9. Spread the softened filling butter right to the edges. Mix the brown sugar with the filling spices, scatter it over, then scatter the pecans.
10. Roll it up from the long edge into a log. Cut 12 rolls with unflavored dental floss slid under the log and crossed over the top, or with a serrated knife used in a sawing motion and no downward pressure. Pressing straight down flattens the spiral.
11. Sit them cut side up in a buttered 9×13 dish and cover them. Second rise 30 to 45 minutes, until they are puffed and touching each other.
12. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 22 to 25 minutes.
13. The rolls in the middle of the dish will look paler than the ones round the outside. That is what done looks like. Waiting for the middle ones to brown gives dry rolls.
14. Leave them 10 minutes. Beat the cream cheese and butter smooth, work in the powdered sugar, the vanilla and the salt, then loosen it with the milk. Spread it over the rolls while they are warm so it runs down into the spirals. Hot rolls turn the icing to liquid; cold rolls leave it sitting on top.

Tips

• Use plain pumpkin puree rather than pumpkin pie filling, which is already sweetened and spiced and will not work here.
• Cut the soft dough spiral cleanly with dental floss to avoid squashing the rolls with a knife.
• Assemble the rolls in the dish the night before, cover tightly, and refrigerate up to 14 hours before letting them sit at room temperature for an hour and baking.