Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pour the lukewarm milk into a bowl. Add the instant yeast, honey, and a little olive oil. Stir and let the mixture sit until the yeast begins to activate and looks slightly foamy.

Sift some of the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the salt. Do not add all 5 cups at once. The exact amount can vary depending on the brand of flour, so add it gradually. You want a soft dough, not a hard or dry bread dough.

In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice. Add the optional vanilla sugar if using. Set aside.

Pour the activated milk and yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour. Add the eggs, ½ cup pumpkin purée, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice mixture, and the optional ¼ cup granulated sugar if you prefer sweeter cinnamon rolls.

Begin mixing everything together. Gradually add more sifted flour as needed until a soft dough forms. Knead by hand or use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Whichever method you use, do not add too much flour. The dough should stay soft and tender.

Cover the dough and let it rise until puffy and increased significantly in size.

I like using my warm-oven method. Gently warm the oven, then turn it off completely before placing the covered dough inside. The oven should only be warm. Be careful not to make it too hot because you do not want the dough to start baking before it has risen.

If using fresh pumpkin, peel and cut it into pieces, then boil it in water until very soft — soft enough to mash easily with a fork. Drain it very well after boiling because pumpkin can hold a lot of water.

For this dough, I prefer using an immersion blender instead of simply mashing it. Blend until completely smooth, with no chunks. The purée should be thick, not watery. Measure ½ cup for the dough. Canned pure pumpkin purée works too; do not use pumpkin pie filling.

Make sure the 5 tablespoons of butter are very soft and easily spreadable, but not melted. In a separate bowl, combine the light brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix well.

Once the dough has risen, transfer it to your work surface. Gently roll it into a large rectangle.

Spread the very soft butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the brown sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice mixture evenly over the butter.

Starting from one long side, roll the dough into a log. Cut the log into individual cinnamon rolls. Arrange the rolls in your prepared baking dish, leaving a little space between them so they have room to expand.

Preheat the oven to 350°F while the rolls finish rising. If the rolls are rising in the oven, take them out before preheating it.

Bake the rolls for approximately 25 to 30 minutes, or until the edges of each bun are slightly golden in color. Baking time depends on your oven; every oven is different.

Let them cool slightly before adding the cream cheese topping.

In a bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, softened butter, powdered sugar, vanilla if using, and cinnamon if using. Mix until smooth and creamy.

I use only about 2 tablespoons powdered sugar because we prefer the frosting less sweet. If you like a sweeter cream cheese topping, simply add more powdered sugar to taste. Spread the frosting over the cinnamon rolls while they are still slightly warm.