Thanksgiving!
November is coming to an end, which means it’s Thanksgiving time in the US! Our favorite part of Thanksgiving is by far the food and quality time spent with family. It’s a beautiful time of year as well, as the weather grows colder and the autumn colors are especially vibrant. And everything is pumpkin spice flavored! Which brings us to today’s recipe – pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls!
This year, I (Emma) am spending my Thanksgiving in the UK, and this recipe is one that has really cured my autumnal homesickness. In the UK, the seasons seem to jump straight from summer to winter, and I miss the beauty of autumn in Northeastern America! But this recipe is just perfect for the fall, and it’s really quite simple to make. As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s also a great recipe idea for brunch or dessert!
Today’s Recipe
Our recipe incorporates pumpkin puree into the cinnamon bun dough, which gives it a beautiful orange color and makes it super fluffy and soft when baked. The classic butter, sugar, and cinnamon filling has a few more spices in it, just to give the cinnamon rolls a bit more of a “pumpkin spice” flavor. Two other important things about this recipe – you can replace the brown sugar in the filling with white or a combination of both sugars, and make sure your milk is warm enough to dissolve the yeast but not too hot! In Danish, we call this “fingervarm,” meaning when you dip your finger in the milk it doesn’t hurt or burn it, but just feels warm to the touch.
Please try out the recipe and let us know in the comments how it goes! This is truly a delicious treat to make all year round, but especially in the autumn and winter. Enjoy!
Krydrede Kanelsnegle (Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls)
Ingredients
DOUGH
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 75 ml (1/3 cup) whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 113 grams (1/2 cup) pumpkin puree
- 57 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 375 grams (3 cups) all-purpose or bread flour
- 1 egg for egg wash
FILLING
- 113 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or mixed spice)
- Pinch of salt
ICING (Optional)
- Powdered sugar
- Water
Instructions
- If using active dry yeast, heat the milk in the microwave or on the stovetop until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. Add your yeast, stir, and leave it for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to bubble up. If using instant yeast, simply add the yeast to the milk – there is no need to dissolve it.
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and pumpkin puree in a large bowl. Mix well.
- Once the yeast mixture has bubbled up a bit, add it to the egg mixture, or if using instant yeast, you can add it immediately. Mix well again.
- Then add the softened butter and flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to come together. Tip it out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes). Add more flour if needed – the dough should be soft and smooth, not dry and not sticking to the surface. If using a stand mixer, allow it to knead the dough together for about 10 minutes.
- Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- For the filling, combine softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and salt and stir together until you get a smooth paste.
- Once your dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a rectangle that is about a quarter of an inch (0.5cm) thick.
- Spread your filling evenly on top and roll it up into a log. You’ll want to roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle, so that your buns have more swirls.
- Cut the log into 1-1.5 inch (3cm) thick pieces. Here is where you can customize the recipe: place the pieces (swirl side up!) close together in a buttered baking dish for gooey, American-style cinnamon buns, or separate them (plenty of space in between!) on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper for more of a crispy, Danish-style cinnamon snail.
- Cover the buns loosely with cling film or a clean dishtowel and let them rise another 45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Make your egg wash (1 egg whisked together with a splash of water until there are no more gloopy streaks of egg white), then brush over the buns and bake for about 15 minutes.
- Once they are done, let them cool, ice the buns if you want to (make icing by combining powdered sugar with a tiny amount of water and mixing until you get a consistency that you can drizzle over the buns), and then enjoy!
