The favorite baked breakfast good gets a fall makeover with pumpkin laced dough, praline filling and a spiked bourbon cream cheese frosting in these Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting.
Ain’t no party like a #virtualpumpkinparty!! I hope you’re ready to be completely overwhelmed with all things pumpkin today, because boy have I got sooo much of it coming right at ya, starting with these completely indulgent and naughty Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting. Because ‘tis the season, right?
Sometime last year, I stumbled upon my friend Sara’s blog and immediately subscribed because, well, it’s called Cake Over Steak after all…My kind of woman! It was just shortly after I subscribed that Sara (along with a fantastic gaggle of other food bloggers) sent out the links and recipes for the 2015 #virtualpumpkinparty and I KNEW I had to be a part of it this year.
Well, I’m happy to report that this year’s #virtualpumpkinparty is bigger and better than ever, with just shy of 100 bloggers contributing recipes involving all things pumpkin. You can check out the links to all of the other recipes below, but first, let’s start with the amazingness that is these Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting.
If you know me (or have been reading this blog for some time) you’ll know I’m all about that balance. There’s a time and a place for everything, and even though I enjoy healthy, whole foods 80-90% of the time, I REALLY take advantage of that 10% of the time that I leave for being indulgent. And what better time for being indulgent than for a #virtualpumpkinparty? To me, there seems to be no better excuse.
Even though this is the first time I’ve shared a cinnamon roll recipe on the blog, these warm, yeasty breakfast treats are nothing new to me. You see, my Dad’s been on a big cinnamon roll kick for, oh, the past year or so.
But we’re not talking any cinnamon rolls. No, that would be way too #basic for Dad. We’re talking the likes of Caramel Apple Cinnamon Rolls, Sticky Bun Cinnamon Rolls, etc. So I took advantage of the few days I spent up with them in Santa Cruz a couple of weeks ago and tapped into my Dad’s expertise to create the recipe for these ever-so-scrumptious Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting.
These rolls are the ultimate special treat for Halloween morning, or for coming out of your tryptophan-induced food coma the day after Thanksgiving. Even better, there’s no need to find a warm place in your house for these to rise, you simply form the cinnamon rolls, place them in whatever dish you’ll be using to bake them in, cover them and pop them into the refrigerator to rest overnight. In the morning, all you have to do it preheat your oven and pop them in for 35-40 minutes. Whip up the Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting while they’re baking, and breakfast is ready!
Your family or significant other will wake up to the smell of freshly baked Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls and any worries of family drama or arguments or trying to avoid Aunt Jane will be gone.
Now, this is a yeast bread, but don’t be scared off quite yet. If this gal (points to self) can make these fluffy bites of bourbon-glazed heaven, so can you. I highly recommend using a KitchenAid stand mixer for making the dough, but I suppose you could just as easily make it the old-fashioned way – using your hands! Even if you do use the stand mixer (this is the one I use) you’ll be turning the dough out onto a floured surface to finish kneading and roll out to spread on the filling.
Speaking of the filling – oh, the filling! This is absolutely my favorite part (well, aside from the pumpkin in the dough and the bourbon in the frosting 😉 We first make somewhat of a caramel by combining brown sugar and butter and just a dash of corn syrup in a saucepan on the stove. Once the mixture is well on its way to being a cohesive filling, we stir in chopped pecans to complete the “praline.” It’s the perfect sweet and crunchy accent to the rich pumpkin dough.
Once you have the dough rolled out and the filling spread on, you’re nearly there! Simply roll up your dough into one long log, slice it into 1 ½-2 inch pieces, and tuck the pieces neatly into your baking dish. You might have some extra end pieces that you can’t fit into the 9×13-inch pan, I put the odds and ends into a separate loaf tin to bake (and nibble) on the side.
After you’re done baking the rolls and making the glaze in the AM, all there’s left to do is to put the two together. Don’t be shy here, you want that Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting all over and around each and every one of your Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls. I won’t tell if you decide to double the recipe, we only have a #virtualpumpkinparty once a year after all!

Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Rolls with Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1 packet of active-dry yeast 1/4-ounce
- 1/3 cup lukewarm water
- 8 tablespoons butter melted then cooled
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1 15- ounce can pumpkin
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
For the praline filling:
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 cups chopped pecans toasted
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon bourbon
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
- First, make the dough. Combine yeast and lukewarm water in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Add butter, sugars, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin and stir (using the dough hook) to combine. Gradually begin adding in the flour, one cup at a time, stirring well after each addition, but not over-stirring (you just barely want all the flour incorporated in the dough before adding more.)
- Keep adding the flour until the dough can be removed from the mixer without sticking too much. It will be a little sticky, but feel free to put more flour on your hands to help you get it out of the mixer and onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough lightly on the floured surface, adding light dustings of flour as needed, until you feel you can roll the dough out into a large rectangle.
- Using a rolling pin (or pizza roller), roll the dough into a rectangle that’s large enough for the dough to be about ¾ of an inch to an inch thick. You’ll want one of the long sides of the rectangle closest to where you are standing.
- Once you have the dough rolled out, make the praline filling. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar over medium heat. Stir until the two are coming together smoothly, then add in the corn syrup. Stir again, keeping the pan over medium heat, until all ingredients combine to a smooth mixture. Stir in the pecans.
- Spread the praline mixture evenly over the dough. Working from the edge of the rectangle that’s closest to you, start rolling the dough into a log. Do this slowly and carefully, using a rubber spatula and more flour to guide the dough as needed. Pinch the ends into the dough to prevent the log from falling apart.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the log of dough into 1 ½ - 2-inch pieces. Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray, and place each roll snugly side-by-side. If you have extra rolls that you can’t fit in the pan, place them in another, smaller baking dish coated with cooking spray, such as a loaf pan.
- Cover rolls with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove plastic wrap from baking pans and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Keep an eye on the rolls towards the end, as you want to make sure the praline filling doesn’t burn.
- While the rolls are baking, make the frosting. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a small microwavable dish and melt for about 25 seconds, or until you can easily stir the two together. Add bourbon and milk (you can double up on the milk if you want to keep the frosting “virgin”,) stir to combine and microwave for another 10 seconds or so, until the ingredients are easily combined. Stir in the powdered sugar and microwave for 15 more seconds. Set aside.
- Once rolls are done baking, remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes or so before drizzling on the cream cheese frosting. I added the frosting while the rolls were still in the pan, but you could also remove them and then individually frost them.
- Serve immediately for best results, although these do reheat well for a couple of days.
Notes
- Don't be scared away by the "prep" time - 8 of those hours are just the overnight rise - but be sure to get the dough together the night before you're planning to serve these srcumptious cinnamon rolls.
- Sub vanilla extract for the bourbon in the frosting to keep it alcohol-free.
- These are freezable as well! If you can, it's best to freeze the cinnamon rolls individually before frosting them, and make the frosting the morning you're planning on pulling these out of the freezer. You can freeze them already frosted as well, they just may be a bit more soggy when you reheat them. They'll keep in your freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Now sit down to a hot cup of coffee and a Pumpkin Praline Cinnamon Roll with Bourbon Cream Cheese and click on the links below to find the recipes from all of my other blogger friends!
- Cake Over Steak – Quick Pumpkin and Kale Risotto + Arancini
- Twigg Studios – Sausage Stuffing Baked in a Pumpkin
*Each of these posts will have the links for the entire list of participating bloggers!
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