Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Bake salted caramel pumpkin cinnamon rolls with freshly milled flour, cinnamon cream cheese frosting, and homemade caramel. Includes a 12-roll recipe and video.
MILLING FLOURBAKING & RECIPES
Kelly Smith
10/20/20265 min read
Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls with Freshly Milled Flour
Pumpkin season deserves something special, and these Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls bring together so many of my favorite fall flavors. Pumpkin and cinnamon go into the dough, a buttery cinnamon filling winds through every roll, and the baked rolls get finished with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and homemade salted caramel sauce.
There are several parts to this recipe, but each one adds something delicious. This is the kind of baking project I love sharing from the Yellowknife Homestead kitchen—starting with ingredients, milling the flour, and making something special to put on the table.
From wheat berries to pumpkin cinnamon rolls
For this batch, I pulled out my NutriMill Classic and freshly milled the wheat for the dough. Milling has become part of how I make everything from everyday bread to pizza crust and special treats like these pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
If you’re curious about why I mill my own flour, I shared more of my story in Why I Mill My Own Flour. That article is a good place to start if you want to learn more about bringing wheat berries and freshly milled flour into your own kitchen.
One thing to remember: measure the flour after milling. A cup of wheat berries and a cup of flour are different measurements. For these pumpkin cinnamon rolls, add the flour gradually and give it time to absorb the moisture before deciding the dough needs more. You want a soft, slightly tacky dough.
A batch sized for your home kitchen
The original recipe I worked from came from a lady who runs a bake stand and makes very large batches of baked goods. My batch made 24 pumpkin cinnamon rolls cut 2 inches thick.
That’s wonderful when you need a lot of rolls, but it’s more than many households want to make at once. For the recipe below, we’ve cut all the quantities in half to make 12 generously sized pumpkin cinnamon rolls.
The video shows my original 24-roll batch. Follow the quantities below when making the smaller batch.
Watch me make them
Come into the Yellowknife Homestead kitchen and follow along as I make the dough, filling, caramel, and frosting:
Watch Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls on YouTube
Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Yield: 12 rolls, cut 2 inches thick
Oven: 350°F
Baking time: Begin checking at 25 minutes; bake until golden and cooked through in the center.
Pumpkin dough
1½ cups milk of choice
½ cup butter
½ cup cane sugar
1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup plain pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4½–5 cups freshly milled flour, divided
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
Cinnamon filling
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
Salted caramel sauce
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup water
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
¾ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Cinnamon cream cheese frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
How to make the pumpkin cinnamon rolls
1. Start the dough
Combine the milk, butter, and cane sugar in a large pot. Heat until scalding without boiling, then remove from the heat and let cool until comfortably warm.
Stir in the yeast and let stand for about 10 minutes. Mix in the pumpkin purée and cinnamon, then stir in 3½ cups of the flour.
2. Let the dough rise
Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, until bubbly and noticeably expanded.
3. Finish the dough
Mix in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually work in the remaining flour as needed, using 4½–5 cups total for the entire recipe.
Keep the dough soft and slightly tacky. Give the freshly milled flour time to absorb moisture before adding more.
You can shape the dough now or cover and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
4. Make the salted caramel
In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir to moisten the sugar, then cook over medium heat without stirring until the mixture turns amber.
Warm the heavy cream separately. Remove the caramel from the heat and slowly whisk in the warm cream. It will bubble vigorously, so add it carefully.
Stir in the vanilla and kosher salt. Set aside to cool until thick but pourable.
5. Mix the cinnamon filling
Beat together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and softened butter until smooth and spreadable.
6. Shape the rolls
Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately ¼ inch thick. Spread the cinnamon filling over the dough, leaving a narrow bare edge for sealing.
Roll into a log and seal the seam. Cut into 12 rolls, each about 2 inches thick, and arrange in greased baking pans with room to expand.
7. Let them rise again
Cover the pans and let the rolls rise until puffy, approximately 30–60 minutes. Chilled dough may need longer.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
8. Bake
Bake for approximately 25–30 minutes, checking that the dough in the center rolls is baked through. Larger rolls may need additional time.
If the tops brown before the centers are finished, loosely cover with foil and continue baking.
9. Make the frosting
Beat the softened cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, then mix in the vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until fluffy and spreadable.
10. Frost and drizzle
Let the pumpkin cinnamon rolls cool for about 30 minutes. Spread or pipe the cinnamon cream cheese frosting over the rolls, then drizzle with the salted caramel sauce.
Gently warm the caramel if needed to make it pourable.
A few things to keep in mind
Use plain pumpkin purée. Pumpkin pie filling already contains added ingredients and is not what this recipe calls for.
Let the dough guide the flour amount. Pumpkin moisture and freshly milled flour can vary. The flour range is a guide, and adding too much can make the dough stiff.
Watch the caramel’s color. Look for amber rather than relying on a fixed cooking time. Have the warmed cream ready before the caramel reaches that stage.
Check the center rolls. A golden top is only part of the picture. The dough in the middle needs to be baked through, too.
Keep a copy in your recipe binder
If you prefer baking from a printed page, the Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls recipe printable is $0.49.
It includes the 12-roll recipe, all four ingredient sections, and numbered directions on a full-page design made to fit into your recipe binder. Warm fall colors, pumpkins, leaves, and wheat give it the Yellowknife Homestead French country feel, while keeping the recipe easy to follow.
You’ll find the downloadable recipe page in the product listing below.
The grain mill I use
My children gave me my NutriMill Classic Grain Mill for Christmas in 2024, and it has become part of my baking routine here at Yellowknife Homestead.
You can find the mill through my NutriMill link. Use code YELLOWKNIFE for $20 off qualifying items.
I’m a NutriMill affiliate and may earn a commission when you shop through my link.
Whether you’re making these pumpkin cinnamon rolls for a fall gathering, a holiday breakfast, or a baking day at home, I hope you enjoy bringing all these flavors together.
Grown with Love, Made from Scratch.
Kelly
Yellowknife Homestead
Opening image created with AI.