Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

Easily one of my most delicious bakes to date! Soft pumpkin brioche swirled up with buttery cinnamon and brown sugar, then topped with vanilla bean glaze

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What is brioche?

Brioche is an incredibly delicious light and fluffy French bread, that feels more like a decadent pastry. It is technically in the Viennoiserie family of laminated enriched pastries, like croissants. The dough is enriched with milk, butter, and eggs, and makes the most tender and rich bread.

Here’s my recipe for a gorgeous Cinnamon Almond Brioche loaf.

I love brioche bread on its own (it is PERFECT!) or you can add raisins, chocolate chips, or roll it up into these delicious Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls. Once you master the method, you can be really creative with this dough.

Love these Cinnamon Rolls? Definitely check out:

Hawaii Spice Cinnamon Rolls with Coffee Glaze

Orange Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Chocolate Rugelach Pull Apart Cake

Ingredients for Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

pumpkin – for this pumpkin brioche recipe, we are using pureed pumpkin. You can used freshly roasted pumpkin, or the canned pumpkin. Be sure it is PURE plain pumpkin puree, not the pumpkin pie filling which is sweetened and spiced.

salted butter – I love salted butter here. There’s a lot of richness in the dough, filling, and glaze, so the saltiness of the butter really balances it all out. I always use Kerrygold grass fed butter –  the higher butter fat content makes for the most rich, delicious bakes, and is absolutely worth every penny.

all purpose flour – I prefer to use unbleached all purpose flour made King Arthur Flour. I find that their flours always deliver consistent results, and the higher protein content in the AP helps with gluten development.

ground spices – this recipe calls for SEVERAL spices. The complexity of the blend takes these cinnamon rolls to the next level, so use them all if you can. Also, be sure that they are fresh! I like to keep mine in the fridge when possible.

large pasture raised eggs – always, always always use pasture raised or organic eggs in your baking. Pasture raised eggs are more nutrient dense and add so much richness to your bakes. You can even see it in the color of the yolks, the deeper the orange the color, the better the quality of the eggs. The splurge is worth it, or keep your own chickens like me!

whole milk – the beauty of brioche is the duality of richness with fluffiness. How can they be so different but so perfect together? Good whole milk, great butter, fresh eggs, and plenty of gluten development.

brown sugar – I love dark brown sugar in the filling because the added molasses pairs so nicely with all of the warm spices. 

How to make the best Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

• To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the warm milk, dry active yeast, and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine, and let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. After 5 minutes, the yeast should be foamy and bubbly on top.
• Add the eggs and pumpkin puree to the bowl, and whisk to combine until the pumpkin is fully incorporated.
• In a separate medium bowl, combine the unbleached all purpose flour, ground ginger, cloves, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine. 
• Swap out the whisk attachment with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl. Stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to reach any flour that is stuck on the bottom of the bowl. Knead until all of the flour is incorporated, then for another 5-7 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter to the bowl, 1 tablespoon at a time until fully combined. The dough should be very soft and tacky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature for about 1 hour, then place the bowl in the fridge for another 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size. This will help the soft dough firm up.
• Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the softened butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and kosher salt to form a paste. 

bloom the yeast

roll out the dough into a large rectangle

let proof at room temperature for 1 hour

proofed! look how fluffy

baked! ready for the icing

Shaping Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

• Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Lightly flour a large work surface, and pour the risen dough out onto the work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and roll out into a large rectangle, 12×18 inches.  
• Use a small offset spatula to smooth the cinnamon brown sugar filling over the dough into an even layer. With the long edge facing you, roll the dough up into a tight log. Use a serrated knife, or plain dental floss, to trim off the edges, and then cut 12 1-inch rolls.
• Place the rolls, cut side up, into the prepared baking pan. Cover the pan with a clean dish towel, and let the rolls proof at room temperature for 1 hour, or until puffy and almost doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25 minutes until deeply golden brown. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and kosher salt until smooth.
• Allow the rolls to cool for 10 minutes, then generously spread the glaze over the tops of the rolls. Serve warm. 

Pro baking tips 

• Flour you work surface well! This pumpkin brioche dough is very sticky.
• Pumpkin brioche dough has to rest in the fridge for at least 45 minutes to allow the dough to firm up. This will make it much easier to work with.
• You will need an electric stand mixer for this recipe. All of the mixing and kneading happens in the bowl of the mixer!
• Add in the butter slowly, and make sure that each piece of butter disappears into the dough before adding another. This is a marathon, not a sprint.
• Towards the end, I usually add a tablespoon or two of flour while the mixer is still running to bring the dough together and ‘clean up’ the sides of the bowl.

BAKING TOOLS I LOVE

There are just a few tools that I can’t live without in the kitchen, and I’ve linked them all for you here!

If you loved these delicious Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls, I would truly appreciate it so much if you would give a star review and comment! Also, be sure to snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram @lions.bread. It always makes my day seeing your creations!

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The Recipe

Print

Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls

decadent and fluffy pumpkin brioche swirled up with cinnamon brown sugar filling, then topped with a vanilla bean glaze - they're heavenly!

Course Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine American

Keyword brioche, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin

Prep Time 30 minutes

Servings 12 rolls

Author LeAnne Yaakubov

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 1 cup whole milk warmed, 250g
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast 9g
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 24g
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree 150g
• 4 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour 540
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt 13g
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 5 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter softened, 70g

For the filling:

• 10 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter softened, 140g
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar 150g
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• Pinch of kosher salt

For the glaze:

• 4 ounces cream cheese softened, 112g
• 3 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter softened, 45g
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

1. To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the warm milk, dry active yeast, and granulated sugar. Whisk to combine, and let rest at room temperature for 5 minutes to activate the yeast. After 5 minutes, the yeast should be foamy and bubbly on top.
2. Add the eggs and pumpkin puree to the bowl, and whisk to combine until the pumpkin is fully incorporated.
3. In a separate medium bowl, combine the unbleached all purpose flour, ground ginger, cloves, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
4. Swap out the whisk attachment with the dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl. Stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula to reach any flour that is stuck on the bottom of the bowl. Knead until all of the flour is incorporated, then for another 5-7 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the butter to the bowl, 1 tablespoon at a time until fully combined. The dough should be very soft and tacky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let proof at room temperature for about 1 hour, then place the bowl in the fridge for another 30-45 minutes or until doubled in size. This will help the soft dough firm up.
5. Meanwhile, make the filling. In a medium mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to combine the softened butter, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, cloves, and kosher salt to form a paste.
6. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside. Lightly flour a large work surface, and pour the risen dough out onto the work surface. Dust the top of the dough with flour, and roll out into a large rectangle, 12x18 inches.
7. Use a small offset spatula to smooth the cinnamon brown sugar filling over the dough into an even layer. With the long edge facing you, roll the dough up into a tight log. Use a serrated knife, or plain dental floss, to trim off the edges, and then cut 12 1-inch rolls.
8. Place the rolls, cut side up, into the prepared baking pan. Cover the pan with a clean dish towel, and let the rolls proof at room temperature for 1 hour, or until puffy and almost doubled in size.
9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the cinnamon rolls for 25 minutes until deeply golden brown. Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and kosher salt until smooth.
10. Allow the rolls to cool for 10 minutes, then generously spread the glaze over the tops of the rolls. Serve warm.

The poSt Pumpkin Brioche Cinnamon Rolls first appeared on Lion’s Bread Blog